Halo Headlines – 1/20/10

  • The Story: Buster Olney reports the Angels are in on the bidding for Joel Pineiro.  The Monkey Says: I don’t buy it.  The Angels don’t have the kind of money Pineiro wants and frankly I think he would be a downright disaster in the American League away from the tutelage of Dave Duncan who saved his career.
  • The Story: The Angels avoided arbitration with Jered Weaver.  The Monkey Says: Weaver gets a $4.265 million deal in 2010.  It would have been nice for the Halos to sign Weaver to a long-term deal, but since Scott Boras is his agent, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
  • The Story: The Angels avoided arbitration with Howie Kendrick.  The Monkey Says: Kendrick will earn $1.75 million and has some incentives in the deal too.  It should be noted that Kendrick will be the lowest paid of the middle infield trio, so I can’t help but think that one of them is going to get dealt before the season.
  • The Story: Mike Napoli and Reggie Willits have also signed contracts and will skip arbitration.  The Monkey Says: Napoli will make $3.6 million while Willits gets just $625,000.  Napoli is now making a lot of money for a guy who doesn’t play everyday and becomes prime trade bait if the Halos decide they would rather spend that kind of money elsewhere.
  • The Story: Arbitration figures have been exchanged for the four remaining Angels.  The Monkey Says: The team and Joe Saunders are very close in their figures and that they didn’t come to an agreement today makes me think they are talking about a multi-year deal.  However, Erick Aybar has a nearly $1 million gap to close, so that could certainly become an interesting negotiation to watch.
  • The Story: The new Angel line-up is high on potential.  The Monkey Says: Oh, really?  That’s funny because all the stats suggest almost everyone one the team vastly overachieved last year.