It was a bizarre winter for the Los Angeles Angels. The team was expected to be on of the big spenders, having the ability to ameliorate their offensive deficiencies by paying for Carl Crawford, Adrian Beltre, and Jayson Werth. They were said to have so much budget room that they could’ve added two of the tree offensive stars or pairing one of them with Cliff Lee. Those moves would’ve improved the team heading into 2011. Instead, the Angels didn’t make the splash. They saw Werth, Lee, Crawford, and Beltre go elsewhere. Reports kept coming out that the Angels just weren’t making legitimate offers. Perhaps they would’ve been wise to stay out of the free agent fray, but then they turned around a acquired Vernon Wells. Wells, the former Toronto Blue Jays star, finally had a bounce back season in 2010, his best season in five years. His acquisition comes at a cost of $85 million over the next four seasons and the loss of Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera. If the Angels were so worried about budget that they weren’t going to commit long term deals to the three big free agents, it seems odd that they would take on Wells’ contract. Something just doesn’t add up. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean that 2011 is a lost cause for the veteran club.
2010 was the year that everything finally caught up to the Los Angeles Angels. After winning the American League West Division for the previous three years and five of the past six years, the Angels struggled to an 80-82 record and a third place finish in the division. Over the past few seasons, the Angels simply let their veterans leave, but they kept on winning. Before the 2009 season, they let Mark Teixeira sign with the Yankees, while letting closer Francisco Rodriguez go to the Mets. Despite the losses, the Angels replaced the two with Kendrys Morales and Brian Fuentes. The result was another division title. Before last season, the Angels bid goodbye to Vladimir Guerrero, Chone Figgins, and John Lackey. They added Hideki Matsui and gave the third base job to Brandon Wood to start the season. None of it worked. The free agent losses hurt the Angels in a variety of ways. Obviously, the talent level dropped, but even more importantly, the depth dropped.
When Kendrys Morales fractured his leg in a bizarre homerun celebration accident, Manager Mike Scioscia was forced to use a variety of players, including catcher Mike Napoli at first. Brandon Wood hit just .146/.174/.208, necessitating a trade for Alberto Callaspo. Scott Kazmir didn’t rebound from a poor 2009 season, leaving a hole in an otherwise solid rotation. The bullpen was mediocre with a 4.03 ERA, 8th best in the American League.
But, the Angels did a few things that gave a fan base that has become accustomed to winning reason to believe that 2010 was an aberration. General Manager Terry Reagins acquired Dan Haren in one of the season’s biggest heists. He called up 22 year old flame thrower Jordan Walden and 23 year old speedster Peter Bourjos. With Kendrys Morales back and healthy and one of the deeper rotations in the game with the underrated Jered Weaver, a full season of Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, and Joel Pineiro, the Angels do have the tools to compete, especially in their division. After the 2010 season, Angels Owner Arte Moreno, one of the most fan friendly owners, pledged that the Angels would be active in the free agent market and be aggressive in improving the team.
With a good chunk of money to spend and the motivation that despite winning just 80 games, they were only 10 games worse than the division winning Rangers, it appeared that the Angels would be aggressive with at least two of the five major free agents—Carl Crawford, Adrian Beltre, Jayson Werth, Cliff Lee, and Rafael Soriano.
Instead, they all they did was add Vernon Wells while losing two offensive regulars.
That isn’t exactly true as the Angels did sign two of the better left-handed middle relievers on the market in Hisanori Takahashi and Scott Downs. The two relievers do help balance an Angels bullpen that finished the season without a single southpaw in the group. Takahashi finished his first full season in the Major Leagues with the Mets with a 10-6 record with a 3.61 ERA and 8 saves in 53 appearances, 12 of which were starts. The 35 year old Japanese import held lefty batters to a .217/.274/.270 batting line. Downs, the former Blue Jays’ workhorse southpaw, appeared in 67 games for the Blue Jays, finishing with a 5-5 record, a 2.64 ERA, and a 7.0 K/9 ratio. He held lefty batters to a .152/.247/.241 slash line. Downs also held right-handed hitters to a .243/.283/.354 line, making it likely that he’ll be the primary setup man for Scioscia.
Both relievers infinitely improve the bullpen. One can always question the wisdom of committing a combined five years to pitchers who will be 35 and 36 years old this season. But, both will help for the 2011 season to help shape what figures to be a solid, varied bullpen.
The problem is that Moreno’s missive raised offseason expectations for the Angels. With an offense that finished 9th in the AL in runs scored, and 10th, 13th, and 10th in the slash mark categories, it seemed that the Angels would look to spend money to improve an offense to match and support its playoff caliber pitching staff. Vernon Wells is an upgrade, but a risky upgrade. Is he the player who hit .273/.331/.515 with 44 doubles and 31 homeruns or is he the player who averaged .265/.317/.426 with 32 doubles and 17 homeruns. It is a risky move, especially since they are responsible for his contract until 2014. The money is a justifiable source of criticism for any Angels detractor. Four years and over $20 million per season is a large chunk for a 32 year old outfielder who had just one plus season in the last four.
The Angels might not be wrong.
Few have supported the Nationals handing Jayson Werth a seven year deal. While Boston received accolades for adding Carl Crawford, some have questioned his value over the course of a seven year contract. Adrian Beltre is 32 years old and coming off of a career year. Adding him for the short term is wise, but a six year deal is far too much for a player who is entering his age 32 season and whose game is predicated on playing stellar defense. Many have regarded this offseason as a return to excess for Major League Baseball. Saddling a franchise with a long term contract when the prospects of actually getting production for the life of the contract are slim isn’t the best idea. While the knee-jerk reaction of the Angels’ 2010 season was to spend and quickly rebuild the lineup, their patience may be the key for their 2011 success. It would’ve certainly made for better headlines and more positive feelings, but the Angels might be the one team that played the market well.
Vernon Wells is overpaid; it was a bad contract handed out by JP Ricciardi during a very different economic climate. It seems like poor judgment that the Angels would simply take the contract. But, they are only on the hook for the next four seasons. The Nationals are paying the 32 year old Werth for the next seven seasons for at a rising cost. Crawford’s game is predicated on speed. His career on base percentage is an uninspiring .337 while Wells is at .329. Adrian Beltre’s 2010 OBP of .365 was his best since 2004, the other contract year of his career. While the Angels will pay Wells more per season, their length of commitment is far less. In the long term, the Angels won’t be the team paying their outfielder an exorbitant sum.
Wells does improve the Angels in a number of ways for 2011. His OPS has been over .840 in two of the past three seasons. Now healthy and possibly invigorated, Wells projects to be a solid outfielder in 2011. A .280/.340/.480 season with 25 homeruns is a reasonable expectation. His major impact comes on the defensive side. His addition takes Bobby Abreu’s glove out of the field. With Wells, centerfielder Bourjos, and Torii Hunter in rightfield, the Angels figure to have an above average outfield defense. With their offense still questionable, an improved defense is a priority to allow their pitching staff to succeed.
But, the offense may make small improvements. Kendrys Morales will be back and he is a difference maker. He was off to another good start before getting injured last season, hitting .290/.346/.487 with 11 homeruns in 193 at bats. A healthy Morales gives the Angels the middle of the order hitter they were missing last season. At just 28 years old, Morales is just entering his prime years and because of his extended absence, he is an addition to their offense. Although Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu will be 35 and 37 years old respectively, they both still get on base at a .350 clip. The two middle infielders, second baseman Howie Kendrick and shortstop Erick Aybar, both made it through their first full seasons. While both didn’t perform well, they enter their age 27 season with the projectability to be better.
The Angels offense isn’t an upper echelon offense, but they don’t necessarily have to be. The West Division doesn’t look to have a runaway winner. The Rangers are without Cliff Lee. The A’s still have more offensive questions than the Angels. The Mariners were the league’s worst offense last season. The Angels will have a full season of Dan Haren and a more experienced Jered Weaver at the top of the rotation. The rest of the rotation and the fortified bullpen are more than adequate to contend. While the Angels were 10 games behind the Rangers, much went wrong for that result. Dan Haren makes a difference. Morales makes up part of the difference. The improvement of their middle infielders will help. Growth from Bourjos will help. The Angels’ farm system can help.
23 year old switch hitting catcher Hank Conger received 29 at bats in the Major Leagues last season. In triple-A, he hit .300/.385/.463 with 26 doubles, 11 homeruns, 55 walks, and 58 strikeouts. 19 year old outfielder Mike Trout is likely one or two years away from being a viable option. That coincides with the end of Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu’s contracts. Instead of blocking his path, the Angels will continue to groom him for a Major League job.
Is Weaver a Cy Young Favorite this year?
The Angels do have enough pieces to enter the 2011 season as is. They can be a pitching and defense team, especially in the West. Dan Haren is one of the most underrated pitchers in Baseball. Since 2007, Haren has averaged 34 starts, 226 innings, 8.5 H/9, 1.0 HR/9, 1.9 BB/9, and 8.3 K/9. That came with a 3.37 ERA, a 1.154 WHIP, and 130 ERA+. Few have been more consistent. Jered Weaver has blossomed into an ace and appears to be a part of the Cy Young Award discussion. Ervin Santana isn’t spectacular and is prone to streaks, but few pitchers average 15 wins, a 4.39 ERA, 212 innings, 9 H/9, 1.1 HR/9, 3.0 BB/9, and 6.8 K/9. Joel Pineiro proved he can be a viable number four starter. Scott Kazmir looks as if he struggle in the five spot, but the Angels will deal with their fifth starter problem much like every other team, especially in their division where only the A’s seems certain that they will out-pitch the rest of the division. With the retooled bullpen and a full season from Jordan Walden, the Angels can pitch with their division. They can’t hit with the Rangers, but their offense may just be better than Oakland’s and Seattle’s.
It is always disappointing to a fan base when their team doesn’t make the headline signings. Boston fans got to see Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford added to their team within one week. Philadelphia fans got the thrill of getting Cliff Lee back. But, the Angels were relatively quiet. They’ll enter the season with questions, but for 2011, they may just have some answers. Their competition isn’t that far ahead of them, if at all. Given their strength of pitching, their improved defense, and a better lineup, one can expect more than the 80 wins they achieved last season. They may have disappointed this winter, but that doesn’t mean that they will this season. Their moves may have been puzzling, but they just aren’t that bad. With some help—Texas potential pitching problems, A’s failure to rise to expectation level—the Angels can win another division title even if they didn’t make the splash move.
- Angels agree to terms on 2010 contract with Joe Saunders
- D-Backs and Angels Complete Haren Deal
- Angels, Aybar agree to 2010 contract; Early Injury Updates
- Angels’ Major League coaching staff set to return in 2010
- Angels’ Hunter Suspended
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http://fullcountpitch.com/2011/03/14/...
