ESPN reports that Aroldis Chapman, the renowned left-hander from Cuba, has fired his agent and has hired Randy and Allen Hendricks.
The fact that the Hendricks boys also represent the Angels’ Kendry Morales might or might not mean something, but it couldn’t hurt.
Baseball free agency is upon us, and since it’s a weekend, it’s not surprising it’s off to a slow start.
The Angels’ stated stance seems to be making a choice between John Lackey or Chone Figgins; hoping to bring back Vladimir Guerrero for a good price; and looking for, in Arte Moreno’s words to the Los Angeles Times, “a power bat, a starter and another bullpen guy.”
Here’s my take on that, point-by-point:
– Lackey has been a solid No. 1 for the Angels, and should command a huge contract simply via the timing of his free agency. If all reports are somewhat accurate, he is way too pricey to come back to Anaheim.
In my opinion, the Angels have a viable No. 1 on the premises, but are reluctant to even address that because they have three more seasons worth of Jered Weaver contracts to negotiate with Scott Boras (more on this later).
– Figgins, right, has to be a Top Five attraction on the overall board, because he can help a club in so many ways (everything except power). If the five-year, $50 million tag is accurate, it is not too much for his value somewhere, but it is here.
Angels fans are hoping for a repeat performance by Kendry Morales in 2010. But one thing will be different about the switch-hitting first baseman next season.
His number.
Morales will switch from No. 19 to No. 8 next season.
The last Angels player to wear No. 8 on a regular basis was catcher Josh Paul in 2005. Oft-injured third baseman Dallas McPherson also wore it at times during his ill-fated Angels career.
Outfielder Terry Evans will also swap No. 64 for No. 17 in spring training.
Interesting to hear the Angels aren’t entering the Matt Holliday race — not that, given the claiming price, it made any sense for them in the first place.
Holliday and Jason Bay might be the two best hitters out there, but they are left fielders, not likely Hall of Famers, and make much more sense in the current economy to the teams that play in Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park.
And neither one is Mark Teixeira, although surely that is how they will be portrayed on the market.
It is also interesting to learn the Anaheim club’s priority is to retain John Lackey and/or Chone Figgins, especially given the dollar amounts floated so far in the free agency “anything but money discussed” period that ends Friday.
If it’s true that $72 million was not enough for Lackey in the first place, and that Figgins is looking for a five-year, $50 million package, the Angels would be better served to look elsewhere.
In the organization, for a start.
It would probably serve the franchise’s interests (and the fans’) better if multiyear yet cost-effective deals could be done with right-hander Jered Weaver and first baseman Kendry Morales, similar to the one that was struck before last season with right-hander Ervin Santana.
ANAHEIM
The coming of Brandon Wood has been foretold in story and blog for years now (but not song yet, I don’t think). Earlier this season, Angels manager Mike Scioscia and GM Tony Reagins each had the same thing to say — that Wood’s “time” would come … but it wasn’t here quite yet.
Wood (still only 24 after a third season split between Triple-A and the majors) reaches a crossroads this winter. While the potential for change in the Angels’ roster this off-season is great, Wood is out of minor-league options — which means he cannot be sent to the minors next season without clearing waivers first (highly unlikely).
So where does Wood fit in the Angels’ plans for next season?
“We’ve internally talked about this for a long time. I’m sure there’s a decision that has to be made with a lot of guys,” Scioscia said Tuesday. “He’s absolutely ready for the opportunity much like Kendry Morales was.
“Now I’m not saying he’s going to put up Kendry’s numbers. But as far as where he is and what he’s going to accomplish playing at a level outside the major leagues is not going to move his career forward. … Just because you’re ready for the challenge doesn’t mean you’re going to jump in and hit 34 bombs and drive in 105 runs or whatever (as Morales did in his first full major-league season). That’s not what we’re saying. What we’re saying is right now he’s ready for that challenge.
“The next growth stage is going to be major-league experience for this guy and eventually he might be like Howie (Kendrick) — struggle, figure it out and take off. He might be like (Erick) Aybar — play okay, figure it out and get to your level. Maybe he’s like Kendry Morales and, boom, it clicks and he does what Kendry did. We don’t know. We don’t have a crystal ball. But right now he’s not going to get any better outside of seeing major-league pitching and starting to adjust from that. So, yeah, he’s ready for that challenge. But there’s a lot of things obviously moving forward this winter that are out of his control.”
Wow. I bet some of you never thought it would end this way.
Surely, the Angels would’ve been swept by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs again.
In July, there was no way the Angels could cope with the improved Texas Rangers.
And, in April, all those Oakland Athletics 
offseason moves clearly indicated a changing of the guard atop the AL West (just ask PECOTA).
Even before then, the Angels’ fate was sealed when Mark Teixeira and Frankie Rodriguez got away (there might be some truth about Teixeira, since he finally got a big hit for New York — but not $20 million worth more than the year Kendry Morales had).
The Angels somehow overcame the devastating loss of Nick Adenhart, and got this far.
Their season finally ended on a cold Sunday night at new Yankee Stadium, when New York finally closed them out in Game Six and earned its first World Series berth since 2003.
And, it might mean saying goodbye to Vladimir Guerrero, Chone Figgins (right), John Lackey, Bobby Abreu and others.
NEW YORK
The Angels got the monkey off their backs – only to run into King Kong.
The New York Yankees, baseball’s $200 million gorilla, ended the Angels’ post-season run with a 5-2 defeat in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series Sunday night.
The win sends the Yankees into the World Series for the 40th time in franchise history, this time against the Phillies.
For the Angels, the loss sends them into a winter of uncertainty with the list of potential free-agent departures including key players like Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu.
In the end, the Angels were done in by an offense that couldn’t keep up with Yankees’ deep lineup. They were outscored 32-18 in the six games and at the end their best hitter was … Jeff Mathis?
Mathis led off the third inning Sunday with his fifth double in the series. Two outs later, Abreu drove him in with an RBI single to right when Yankees starter Andy Pettitte hung an 0-and-1 curveball.
That was just about the only mistake Pettitte made in the game.
The Angels’ only other scoring threat against him came in the sixth inning after Pettitte retired the first two batters, the slumping Figgins and Abreu once again failing to set the table for the middle of the order. Torii Hunter beat out an infield single and went to third when Guerrero hit a pitch nearly off the ground and dropped it into right field for a double.
But Kendry Morales bounced back to the mound, Pettitte knocking it down near his face and throwing Morales out at first to end the inning.
Already the all-time leader in post-season starts and innings pitched, Pettitte became the winningest pitcher in post-season history (breaking a tie with John Smoltz at 15) by holding the Angels to just that one run on seven hits and a walk in 6 1/3 innings.
Angels starter Joe Saunders walked a tightrope through three innings to match Pettitte, stranding six runners on base in that time. But he tripped up in the fourth and never made it out.
With Mathis and Morales having given him a 1-0 lead, Saunders walked Robinson Cano to start the fourth then gave up a ground-ball single to left to Nick Swisher (batting .103 in the post-season when the game started).
Melky Cabrera bunted the runners over and Saunders walked Derek Jeter to load the bases. Johnny Damon singled in two runs to give the Yankees the lead and Mark Teixeira reloaded the bases on an infield single.
Working carefully to Alex Rodriguez, Saunders fell behind in the count 3-and-1 then threw a fastball at the knees. But home-plate umpire Dale Scott called it ball four, forcing in another run.
The walk was Saunders’ fifth in the game and Angels manager Mike Scioscia pulled him.
The game stayed close into the eighth thanks to Darren Oliver and Ervin Santana and the Angels briefly made it a one-run game, 3-2, when Guerrero drove in his seventh run of the post-season with a two-out RBI single off Mariano Rivera in the eighth.
It was the first post-season earned run off the Yankees closer since Game 2 of the 2000 World Series against the Mets.
But the momentum didn’t last. The Angels misplayed two bunts in the bottom of the eighth – Howie Kendrick dropped one throw and Scott Kazmir threw the other over Kendrick’s head – leading to two more Yankee runs without benefit of a hit. The errors were the seventh and eighth of the series by the Angels (seven in the three games at Yankee Stadium).
There is no ALCS game until Saturday, maybe longer, so let’s jump ahead.
When John Lackey leaves, who does Jeff Mathis catch next season?
Everybody.
The Angels might continue their current catching arrangement, splitting the duties between Mathis and Mike Napoli.
(Associated Press)
Unless Vladimir Guerrero comes back at a discounted contract — and haters, he will play somewhere in MLB next season — the Angels will have an opening at designated hitter.
Will Mike Scioscia plug Napoli in at DH, catch him maybe twice a week to give the outfielders a half-day off, and carry a third catcher (Bobby Wilson)?
That would also give Gary Matthews a chance to play twice a week, which would be nice since the Angels still owe him $23 million for two years.
The Angels can’t bring back everyone. Guerrero, Lackey, Bobby Abreu, Chone Figgins and Darren Oliver are free agents. Jered Weaver, Maicer Izturis, Joe Saunders, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Napoli and Mathis will get arbitration money, which means they get raises one way or the other.
Kendry Morales has kind of a unique contract, but he might be arbitration-eligible, too. What was his monster season worth?
Faced with paying that bill, expect the Angels to use a lot of in-house solutions.
Getting back to the original point, how many games will Mathis start next season?
