The November 30th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Wilson wants $100 million, Tigers are interested in Maicer Izturis, Dipoto trying to get creative with the payroll and much more…
The Story: C.J. Wilson allegedly asked the Angels for $100 million.
The Monkey Says: I suppose it can’t hurt to ask, right? Wilson’s original asking price was $120 million over six years, so I guess this is what he considers a hometown discount. What remains to be seen is whether or not he wants the $100 million over six year (which means he would earn less annually than Weaver) or over five years, which fits with his original $20 million annual price tag. Either way, he’s asking for too much and I think that is why we are finding out what he asked for. Nobody but the Angels would’ve leaked this info and the only reason for them to do so is to let the fans know that Wilson is asking for crazy money and is thus too expensive for the Angels. It is worth noting though that most insiders, including John Hart who still has Ranger front office connections, think Wilson will end up with the Angels. Wilson has also said he hopes to make a decision by the end of the winter meetings, so at least this whole saga will finally come to an end soon.
The Story: The Tigers are interested in acquiring Maicer Izturis.
The Monkey Says: I am all for it. I’ve been saying that Izturis should have good value in a market where Clint Barmes gets $11 million, so it is nice to see that they are at least listening to offers. What I don’t get is what Detroit has to offer. They are thin in relief and looking to acquire offense, not give it up. The best match I can see is Rick Porcello. He was drafted in the first round back in 2007, so he has load of potential, but after three seasons in the majors, he actually seems to be getting worse. If I’m the Angels, that’s who I would be asking for, although they might have to give up Izturis plus a prospect to talk the Tigers into it, unless they are even more soured on Porcello than we realize.
The Story: Jerry Dipoto is trying to get creative with his limited payroll space.
The Monkey Says: With all the rumors the Angels have been involved in recently, he clearly is leaving no stones unturned when it comes to finding cost effective alternatives to free agency. Unfortunately, the one thing we haven’t heard is him finding a way to pawn off Bobby Abreu’s contract on someone, which would really help with that whole payroll flexibility thing. Then again, Dipoto isn’t a wizard, so he probably won’t be able to pull off that magic trick.
The Story: The Rockies asked for Tyler Chatwood in exchange for Chris Iannetta.
The Monkey Says: That request supposedly caused the Angels to end the trade pretty quickly, so maybe this Iannetta thing is a bit overblown. There are a lot of prospect geeks that really hate on Chatwood after his poor rookie season, but prior to the season, he was considered the top pitcher in the Angel system. Surely some team out there thinks he has more value than a platoon catcher who might not be able to hit away from Coors Field.
The Story: The Angels are the team that needs Aramis Ramirez the most.
The Monkey Says: The Angels do need a slugging third baseman, but they also need to make sure that if they pay out big money for one, that said third baseman isn’t going to start mailing it in and infecting the clubhouse with his poor attitude. That’s the risk they take with Ramirez and why they ruled out signing him weeks ago, even though his agent wants everyone to think they are still in on him so that he can drive the price up.
The Story: Bobby Abreu was somehow the best clutch hitter in all of baseball last season.
The Monkey Says: There are lies. There are damned lies. And then there are statistics. Please, someone make sure that Lyle Spencer never reads this article. He might never shut up.
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