Daily links for the LA Angels including Haren excited to join the Angels, Saunders stunned at being traded, Tony Reagins still looking to add a big bat and much more.
The Story: Dan Haren is excited to come home to play for the Angels.
The Monkey Says: And the Halos are excited to have him even though I am sure Haren would be excited to be on any team other than the decrepit Diamondbacks.
The Story: Tyler Skaggs is reportedly the player to be named later in the trade for Dan Haren.
The Monkey Says: It still isn’t official, but if this is the case, the Angels just gave up a very good prospect, but one that is miles away from being major league ready thus still making the trade borderline highway robbery. Skaggs can’t be named as the prospect yet because he signed less than a year ago and is thus ineligible until August 7th.
The Story: Joe Saunders was stunned at the news that he had been traded.
The Monkey Says: I feel bad for Joe, who was fighting back tears when talking to the media, especially because he had never really even heard his name in trade rumors. That being said, giving him up doesn’t really hurt the Angels that much given how much they are upgrading his spot in the rotation. Best of luck in the desert, Joe.
The Story: The Angels are still looking for a big bat to add with their sights set on Garrett Jones and Derrek Lee.
The Monkey Says: Tony Reagins clearly isn’t going down without a fight. Jones is a new name in the rumor mill for the Angels, but he fits with what the Angels have been doing as he is under team control for several years still, but that will also make him expensive even though he arguably isn’t a “big bat.” At this point, I might prefer Lee if only because he should be relatively cheap as an underachieving rental player and the Angel system can’t stand to give up much more prospect depth, especially in the starting pitcher area.
The Story: Scott Kazmir won’t return anytime soon.
The Monkey Says: Kazmir’s MRI supposedly looked good, but he is weeks away from throwing again. This is actually a bit surprising because I honestly thought that his injury was made up so that he could be pulled from the rotation. That’s good news in my book because it provides hope that he might be able to return to form.
The Story: Is Scott Kazmir a GM killer?
The Monkey Says: Reagins’ trade for Kazmir looks really bad, but he still has plenty of leeway with Arte Moreno and there is always hope Kazmir can bounce back next season. If any trade will cost Reagins his job it will be this Haren trade because if both Haren and Kazmir turn out to be busts, the Halos will be stuck under a mountain of big contracts and poor rotation production.
The Story: Alberto Callaspo’s arrival makes the Angel infield rather crowded.
The Monkey Says: Crowded to the point that Howie Kendrick even played first base last night. One thing Callaspo’s addition does do though is potentially make Howie Kendrick available via trade either this year or next if the Angels need to throw him in to get a primetime player.
The Story: Will the Angels regret trading Will Smith as part of the package for Alberto Callaspo?
The Monkey Says: Smith has been projected as a star of sorts at various points, but as the article points out, his star is dimming fast. He might still be a useful big league starter, but the notion that he could be ace caliber seems to be off the board, so there isn’t likely to be too much regret from the Angels years from now.
The Story: Change the Angels in the outfield.
The Monkey Says: The Rangers exposed one of the Halos’ biggest deficiencies this last series, but I don’t expect the Angels to make any changes even though I love the idea of calling up Peter Bourjos. However, I do think outfield defense will be addressed this off-season, hopefully in the form of Carl Crawford.
The Story: Brian Stokes is enthused in his progress recovering from shoulder issues.
The Monkey Says: Whatever. Stokes is still weeks from returning to the majors and I suspect he won’t actually be activated from the DL until rosters expand since he was so unimpressive in his first round of action with the Angels.