The November 13th, 2013 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels including Dipoto getting 'fair amount' of trade interest on Angels hitters, Pujols taking live batting practice again and much more…
The Story: Jerry Dipoto says the Angels are getting a 'fair amount' of trade interest on Angels hitters.
The Monkey Says: None of their assets are great, but they have a wide variety of position players available, so really any team with any need whatsoever has cause to give the Halos a call. It is only a matter of time before they trigger at least one, and probably more, trade.
The Story: Albert Pujols is taking live batting practice again.
The Monkey Says: And we have the pictures to prove it. This is a great sign that he is able to hit again this early in the offseason as opposed to last winter when his recovery from knee surgery lingered and lingered all the way into Spring Training.
The Story: The Angels are rumored to be on the verge of hiring Rico Brogna as their assistant hitting coach.
The Monkey Says: This isn't official, but it would be an interesting hire. Brogna has mostly been coaching high school football since he retired, though he did manage Arizona's Double-A team in 2010 and scout for the Rays in 2011 before "retiring" to focus on football. Clearly he is a different kind of cat and maybe that is exactly why the Angels want to bring him into the fold.
The Story: The Phillies have their eye on Peter Bourjos.
The Monkey Says: Trading with the Phillies is a good idea because Ruben Amaro might get desperate and overpay, but there isn't really a great personnel match for what the Angels want. Kyle Kendrick probably isn't going to blow any skirts up. What would be interesting is packaging Bourjos with Iannetta as the Phils have a need at catcher too.
The Story: Placido Polanco is being considered as a possible solution at third base for the Angels in 2014.
The Monkey Says: Yuck. Polanco still has a good (but no longer great) glove, but he is 38 and declining so badly with the bat that he has been a replacement level player the last two seasons despite his solid defense. It seems like the Angels would be better off going with a young, cheap kid with a good glove and hope that his bat clicks, because Polanco just isn't going to get any better. Luis Jimenez would fit that profile just fine and cost the league minimum.
The Monkey Says: It could be weeks before an agreement is in place even though they've been talking about it for months. One has to think that the pitching market is going to be pretty much in a holding pattern until Tanaka gets posted as a lot of teams are interested in him.
The Story: Finding a shortstop trade partner for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Monkey Says: The Angels continue to make a ton of since for the Cards, but the Halos have to be willing to punt on offense at shortstop in 2014 (and maybe beyond). I am warming up to that idea, especially if the Angels package Aybar with Bourjos in order to get maybe Shelby Miller instead of Lance Lynn and/or have David Freese added to the package.
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