Halo Headlines: Angels ready to go with youngsters in rotation, Dipoto talks about targeting ‘quality of character’

The February 12th, 2014 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Angels ready to go with youngsters in rotation, Dipoto talks about targeting 'quality of character' and much more…

The Story: Jerry Dipoto prepares us all for the possibility that Richards, Santiago and Skaggs will be in the Opening Day rotation.

The Monkey Says: Whatever, this was classic a Dipoto-speak interview. The only thing to really take out of this is that Dipoto basically admits the team did not want to give guaranteed money to someone who might not win a rotation spot. He left the door open to sign someone to a minor league deal. That's a good idea for depth purposes, but there is pretty slim picking left even on that front.

The Story: The Angels are hoping to bolster their roster through "quality of character."

The Monkey Says: As I wrote a week ago, it seems the Angels are now trying to cover up their remaining holes through the strength of team chemistry. That's why they signed Ibanez, Pena, McDonald and so on. It is interesting since Dipoto is a SABR guy, but I suppose it can't hurt to try and find good leadership in the clubhouse even if there is no evidence that shows that it helps (though there isn't evidence that shows it doesn't help either).

The Story: The Angels need to determine Mike Trout's worth.

The Monkey Says: Priceless? Is the answer priceless? It used to be that players like Trout would sign for steep discounts in exchange for the security, but that seems to be shifting. Just last week, Freddie Freeman got $135 million over eight years. That isn't much of a discount. Contract negotiations should pick up in the next week or two, but there is no guarantee Trout will sign anything, but there is a major incentive for the Halos to get something done so that arbitration doesn't begin looming over them.

The Story: The Fangraphs top 100 prospect list has no Angels on it.

The Monkey Says: They were the only team without representation. In fact, I don't think a single Angel appeared on any top 100 list from a major publication.

The Story: The rejuvenation of Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout's potential extension are among the top storylines of the spring.

The Monkey Says: Oh trust me, Angel fans are already well aware.

The Story: Projections for the Angels bench players.

The Monkey Says: Quite the rosy prediction for Pena, especially since his power seems to have vanished the last two years. I do, however, like that Shuck would only get 116 plate appearances.