The November 9th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Izturis signs in Toronto, Trout wins a Silver Slugger, Dipoto confims interest in Fujikawa and much more…
The Story: Maicer Izturis signed a three-year, $10 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Monkey Says: Best of luck to Maicer. I'm sure Toronto won't at all regret signing a 32-year old utility infielder with chronic leg problems to a long-term deal where he will be asked to play half his games on artificial turf. My condolences go out to his hamstrings.
The Story: Mike Trout won a Silver Slugger award.
The Monkey Says: That's a nice honor for Trout, but really, the Silver Slugger is such a forgettable award that… wait, what were we talking about?
The Story: Jerry Dipoto confirmed that he is interested in Japanese closer Kyuji Fujikawa.
The Monkey Says: The story says that Jerry spent about a month per year in his time with the D'Backs scouting in Japan, so that explains why he would have interest even though the Angels didn't really have a scouting presence their last season.
The Story: An "AL source" confims that the Dan Haren deal fell apart primarily over health concerns.
The Monkey Says: Like his agent did the other day, Haren has come out to deny those rumors, but it doesn't seem to be doing much good.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto more or less shot down the idea of trading Kendrys Morales.
The Monkey Says: I kind of think the Angels should trade him since he is going to be a free agent and likely leave the team after the season. They could then invest in someone like Nick Swisher to take his spot long-term. That might be wishful thinking though as it would be a major investment. A lesser player like Travis Hafner could work potentially.
The Story: AL West executives discuss the idea of signing Zack Greinke.
The Monkey Says: They all want him and they all realize he will cost a ton, but neither Dipoto nor Rangers owner Nolan Ryan sounds daunted by the coming bidding war.
The Story: The top ten single-game Win Probability Added performances in Angels history.
The Monkey Says: Even you young 'uns shouldn't be surprised by which performance checks in at number one.
The Story: Should the Halos buy out Vernon Wells.
The Monkey Says: No, not unless he is willing to give up a major chunk of change. He provides utility, albeit not much, as a reserve outfielder. If he doesn't give back any money, then the Angels are letting him go basically just so everyone will stop making fun of them. Even if it is a small amount, it shouldn't really incent the Angels since they aren't exactly hurting for financial flexibility as the Mets were when they kicked Jason Bay to the curb.
The Story: Is Hiroki Kuroda a fit for the Angels?
The Monkey Says: Hell, yes. I wanted them to sign him last year. However, it is worth noting that Kuroda seems to be angling for a multi-year deal this time out, so he isn't quite the great value he was last winter.
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