Halo Headlines – 12/9/09

  • The Story: Why did the Mariners sign Chone Figgins?  The Monkey Says: I can answer that without even reading the article.  Figgy is perfect for their ballpark and came at a solid price.  Not to mention Seattle has to love screwing the Angels in the process.
  • The Story: Kelvim Escobar is on the comeback trail… again.  The Monkey Says: Escobar is drawing some preliminary interest as a reliever and will pitch in a Venezuelan league later this week as an audition of sorts for prospective employers.  He will then promptly complain about arm soreness and somehow wind up on the 60-day DL for the Venezuelan team even though they have no DL of any kind.
  • The Story: The Tigers asked for Peter Bourjos in a Curtis Granderson deal before sending Granderson to the Yankees.  The Monkey Says: The only real point of that story is demonstrating that Bourjos is becoming the de facto blue chip prospect of the Angel franchise and will undoubtedly have his name pop up in countless rumors for the next few months.
  • The Story: Andy Pettitte could dictate the future of John Lackey.  The Monkey Says: The thought is that if Pettitte returns to the Yankees then pretty much no suitors with real money will be left except the Angels.  That theory definitely holds water, assuming the Halos really do want him back. (UPDATE: The Yankees are close to re-signing Pettitte, so expect the Lackey re-signing rumors to heat up.)
  • The Story: Jose Arredondo is upsetting Angel management with his actions this summer.  The Monkey Says: Jose defied the Angel brass by heading to the Dominican this winter rather than working out in Arizona like they wanted, plus he is now complaining about more elbow soreness.  Arredondo has a long history of problematic behavior and the club might be running out of patience.  First, he’ll have to prove healthy if the Angels hope to get an appropriate return for Dondo in a trade.  So much for the one-time Angel closer of the future.
  • The Story: Vladimir Guerrero is looking for a two-year deal this off-season.  The Monkey Says: And he will be lucky if he gets it.  The door also remains open for Vlad to return to Anaheim on a one-year pact if the Angels strike out in the rest of free agency, though I don’t know if I can stomach another year of him inexplicably batting clean-up.
  • The Story: Tony Reagins is no longer calling Erick Aybar untouchable in Roy Halladay trade talks.  The Monkey Says: If that is true, then the Halos could move to the front of the pack to acquire Halladay.  I just don’t see it being for real though.
  • The Story: Mike Scioscia says that signing Jason Bay is a “long shot” for the Halos.  The Monkey Says: That sounds like posturing from Sosh.  Only Boston and Seattle have expressed any serious interest in signing Bay, so the Angels definitely have a legit chance to bring him in if they want.  My guess is that Scioscia just doesn’t want to tip the team’s hand.
  • The Story: The Angels are looking to deal away one of their middle infielders, likely Maicer Izturis.  The Monkey Says: Losing Izzy would hurt their overall depth, but they are right to want to sell high on him before he hits free agency at season’s end, though it is possible that Howie Kendrick could be moved if the Angels want to do something more significant.