Halo Headlines – 1/21/10

  • The Story: The Angels have agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract with Joel Pineiro pending a physical.  The Monkey Says: Pineiro has a long history of health issues so the physical is no gimme.  Based on Pineiro’s performance last season, this is a steal of a deal, but based on all his previous years this seems like a potential disaster.
  • The Story: Some people really like the Joel Pineiro signing.  The Monkey Says: Don’t count me among them, I will save my reasoning why for a full blown post later today.
  • The Story: There is room for two left on the Angels’ 25-man roster.  The Monkey Says: Make it one with the addition of Pineiro which also pushed Matt Palmer into the long relief role that he is much more well-suited for.  The Angels can either fill the final spot with another reliever (a strong possibility since they carrier 12 pitchers most of last season) or with a corner infielder.
  • The Story: The Seattle Mariners might still have $10 million left to spend this off-season.  The Monkey Says: I am starting to think they are running a counterfeit money scheme up there in Seattle.  The question is will the M’s spend it all on one very good player or two lesser players.
  • The Story: Hideki Matsui would like to see a Japan vs. US world championships.  The Monkey Says: Having the MLB champs play the Japan champs would be interesting, but there is no way it will ever be done in a serious manner.  The season is long enough as it is and tacking on a trans-oceanic series onto the end of it is never going to fly with the players’ union.
  • The Story: A profile of prospect Bobby Wilson.  The Monkey Says: I like the comparison of Bobby Wilson being a lot like Jose Molina but with a bit more of a bat.  Since Bobby is out of options, he’ll have to be traded or exposed to waivers (where he will definitely be claimed) if he doesn’t make the big league roster.  Personally, I think the Angels should just trade Jeff Mathis and promote Wilson to save a little money as they are comparable defensively and lord knows nobody would miss Mathis’ bat.
  • The Story: A profile of prospect Pat Corbin.  The Monkey Says: Corbing is a member of what is shaping up to be a pretty vaunted Angel draft class of 2009.  He doesn’t throw hard but has multiple pitches, so he has a good shot at being a big league starter.