Los Angeles Angels Rumors

In our Prospect Preview series, Baseball Rumor Mill will take a look at a number of prospects for the upcoming 2010 MLB draft who figure to be selected in the early rounds.  Up first, Jameson Taillon.

Though SI coverboy Bryce Harper has received the lion's share of the press heading into this summer's MLB draft, we will be hearing a lot more about Jameson Taillon once the high school season gets started and the draft draws closer.

Listed at 6'7" and 230lbs and hailing from Texas has drawn Roger Clemens comparisons for the big right handed pitcher.  Taillon has been impressive in every venue he pitched at in 2009, culminating with a gold medal run with the 18-and-under USA team at the COPABE "AAA" Pan American Championships in Venezuela.  Sporting mid-90s velocity and a devestating curveball, Taillon figures to be the #2 pick in the upcoming draft. 

Jameson Taillon figures to be the #2 pick in the 2010 MLB draft

As Taillon heads into the 2010 season, he notes that he's working on improving his physical conditioning and perfecting his mechanics.  Beyond the Pan-Am Championships, Taillon was very happy with the summer he had playing in the AFLAC and Under Armour games as well as other showcases.  His favorite player is Josh Beckett and he really admires the way the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels operate.  Unfortunately for Taillon, he's unlikely to fall in the draft to either team. 

For more on Taillon's interview with the 2010 MLB Draft Blog, click here.

Buster Olney of espn.com has a few rumors and notes to pass along:

• Adrian Gonzalez has begun preliminary talks with the Padres about an extension, but Olney feels the liklihood of one being signed soon is slim.  Even if an agreement is reached, it is unlikely to be longer than through 2011.  Gonzalez is entering the last year of a four year $9.5M contract that will pay him $4.75M in 2010 and a $5.5M club option for 2011. 
• More likely, Olney feels, we'll see a bidding war for Gonzalez at next June's trade deadline.
• The Dodgers, Angels and Mets are the rumored suitors for Joel Pineiro.

Will Adrian Gonzalez be traded at July's trade deadline?

The Boston Red Sox landed one of the top free agents of the 2010 off season by signing former Angels pitcher John Lackey to a five year, $85M deal, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports had reported earlier in the day that Lackey was in Boston taking a physical.  Though numerous sources are reporting the deal as completed, Jerry Crasnick of espn.com believes that a formal agreement will not be reached until after today. 

Tim Brown from Yahoo Sports reports that the Angels still believe they are in the running for Lackey and that a deal has not been reached between Lackey and the Red Sox.

If the Red Sox do sign Lackey, the move affects the Blue Jays because both former Blue Jay Marco Scutaro and Lackey are Type A free agents.  Because Lackey is the higher ranking free agent, the Angels will receive the Red Sox first round pick, #29 overall, while the Blue Jays will be bumped to the Red Sox second round pick. 

John Lackey appears headed to Boston

The Rule 5 Draft was held today.  Here are the first round picks. Draft picks are listed by the team making the selection, player name and the team he was selected from.

As a reminder, players selected in the Rule 5 draft must remain on the 25-man roster the entire subsequent season or they are returned to the team from which they were taken.

1. New York Yankees* (from Washington): Jamie Hoffmann, Dodgers
2. Pittsburgh: John Raynor, Marlins
3. Texas^ (from Baltimore): Benjamin Snyder, Giants
4. Kansas City: Edgar Osuna, Braves
5. Cleveland: Hector Ambriz, Diamondbacks
6. Arizona: Zach Kroenke, Yankees
7. New York Mets: Carlos Monasterios, Phillies
8. Florida# (from Houston): Jorge Jiminez, Red Sox
9. San Diego: pass
10. Oakland: Bobby Cassevah, Angels
11. Toronto: Zech Zinicola, Nationals
12. Chicago White Sox: pass
13. Milwaukee: Chuck Lofgren, Indians
14. Chicago Cubs: Mike Parisi, Cardinals
15. Tampa Bay: Armando Zerpa, Red Sox
16. Seattle: Kanekoa Texeira, Yankees
17. Texas: pass
18. Florida: pass
19. San Francisco: Steve Johnson, Orioles
20. St. Louis: Ben Jukich, Reds
21. Colorado: pass
22. Philadelphia: Ken Herndon, Angels
23. Los Angeles Dodgers: pass
24. Boston: pass
25. Los Angeles Angels: pass
26. New York Yankees: pass

* Acquired from Nationals as part of Brian Bruney trade
^ Acquired from Baltimore as part of Kevin Millwood trade
# Acquired from Houston as part of Matt Lindstrom trade

The Tigers, Twins, Braves and Reds did not have picks because their 40 man roster was full.

The number 1 pick of the 2009 Rule 5 Draft, Jamie Hoffmann will now play all of 2010 on the Yankees 25-man roster

Roy Halladay is sure to keep the hot stove stoked all winter long.  Here are today's rumors surrounding the possiblity that the Blue Jays will trade Hallady.

• The Angels have offered Joe Saunders, Erick Aybar and Peter Bourjos to the Blue Jays for Halladay says Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun.  Jordan Bastian of mlb.com believes that Halladay might not waive his no trade clause to go to Los Angeles.
• Even if they get Halladay, Lyle Spencer of mlb.com reports they might be able to add a second elite pitcher like John Lackey as well.  Angels GM Tony Reagins says that it's "possible, but not likely."
• Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated notes that the Phillies are in the mix for Halladay.  Jordan Bastain of mlb.com agrees.  Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. is playing his cards close to the vest, saying that the Phillies making a trade for a major pitcher is unlikely. 
• Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos does not believe that Tornoto will move Halladay during the winter meetings.  Buster Olney of espn.com reports that the Jays are still in information gathering mode. 
• The Yankees have inquired about Halladay and and the Blue Jays have reportedly asked for Jesus Montero and either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain and other pieces in return.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that the Yankees are very involved in the Halladay discussions.  The New York/Halladay rumors remind Sherman of the Mark Teixeira situation last year.

Roy Halladay rumors are swirling all over the country

The deadline for teams to offer arbitration to free agents was this past Tuesday and Keith Law of espn.com gives us his analysis of teams varying decisions to either offer or decline arbitration with their free agents.

• Billy Wagner was offered arbitration by the Red Sox and then signed with the Braves, giving the Red Sox the 20th overall pick in the 2010 draft along with a compensation pick.  Law loves that decision, but questions the Braves move, wondering how much value they'll get out of Wagner at the expense of the draft picks.  However, it seems likely that the Braves are anticipating losing Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzalez making the draft picks a wash.  
• The Dodgers did not offer arbitration to Randy Wolf or Orlando Hudson, a clear indication that the team is in desperate financial difficulty and are afraid of the players actually accepting arbitration.  Both are Type A free agents meaning the Dodgers essentially gave up four draft picks if neither signed with LA. 
• Law agreed with the Giants decision not to offer Bengie Molina arbitration and hopes this means that the Buster Posey era - 5th overall pick of the 2008 draft - will start soon.

Is the Buster Posey era beginning in SF?

• Milwaukee did not offer Felipe Lopez arbitration, a curious decision.  Lopez only made $3.5M in 2009, did not have impressive HR, RBI or run totals and is represented by Scott Boras, so it seems unlikely that Lopez would have agreed to arbitration anyway.  Lopez is a Type B free agent and would have netted the Brewers two draft picks. 
• Similarly, the Angels raised some eyebrows by not offering Darren Oliver arbitration.  Oliver had a good year last year, likely would not cost much and as a Type A, if he left, would have netted the Angels two draft picks.  It's good news for Oliver, however, who might have had trouble finding suitors willing to give up a draft pick for him.
• Gregg Zaun and Brian Shouse were both offered arbitration by the Rays who would be ok whether the players accepted or rejected the offer.  Neither would have an unreasonable salary in 2010, but both are Type B free agents and would give the Rays a supplemental draft pick if they left. 
• The Twins have turned a "fringe prospect" into either 1.5 years of Carl Pavano or a half season of Pavano and a sandwich pick in the 2010 draft. 

The Tigers payroll was over $115M in 2009 and despite a competitive playoff run to the very end of the season, the team is looking to pare down its payroll for 2010 and moving Miguel Cabrera could save the team a lot of money.  Detroit has already openly shopped outfielder Curtis Granderson ($23.75M left on his contract from 2010-2012) and pitcher Edwin Jackson (arbitration eligible and due for a big raise) and not recieved too many bites.  Cabrera's contract blows away that of Granderson and Jackson, as he's set to make the following in each year of his deal: 10:$20M, 11:$20M, 12:$21M, 13:$21M, 14:$22M, 15:$22M. 

Despite being owed $126M over the next six years, there will still be interest in Cabrera because of his immense productivity.  Some potentially interested teams include:

Red Sox: David Ortiz and Mike Lowell come off the books after 2010 and if the Red Sox can convince the Tigers to give them some financial relief in 2010, the money might work out.

Angels: When Cabrera was traded from Florida to Detroit, the Angels were heavily involved in the bidding and would be happy to take Cabrera now, two years later.

Mets: With Carlos Delgado's likely departure, the Mets have a hole at first base that Cabrera could fill.

White Sox: Similar to the Red Sox, the White Sox remove Paul Konerko from the books after 2010 and Cabrera would fill in nicely.

Giants: They are in desperate need of offense, but already have two big contracts in Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand and would need to put Pablo Sandoval somewhere.

Mariners: Resigning Felix Hernandez is their priority, but Cabrera would be a big addition to their anemic offense.

Braves: Much like the Giants, they could really use the offensive help, but may lack the financial flexilibity to bring on Cabrera.  Moving Derek Lowe or Javier Vazquez would allieviabe some financial constraints.

Financial reasons will force the Tigers to try and move Miguel Cabrera this off season

As the Roy Halladay hot stove begins to fire up, the Red Sox hope to take much of the drama out of the situation by acquiring the right handed pitcher before the start of the winter meetings on December 7th, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.  In return for Halladay, the Jays are reportedly asking for top Sox prospect Casey Kelly and emerging starter Clay Buchholz. 

For the Blue Jays, the move to trade Halladay is not a desire, but more a need based on Halladay's unwillingness to sign an extension with Toronto and hopes to play for a contending team.  With one year left on a three-year, $40M deal that Halladay signed before the 2008 season, the Jays hope to get as much as they can for the perennial Cy Young contender this off season, rather than waiting until July.  They'd also save the $15.75M that Halladay is owed in 2010. 

The Red Sox are not the only team interested in Halladay, not even within their own division.  Despite winning the world series, the Yankees still have holes in their pitching rotation, something they'd be happy to will with Halladay.  The Sox urgency is certainly an effort to get out in front of the Yankees where general manager Brian Cashman is waiting to receive his budget for the 2010 season before making any major moves.  The Blue Jays would likely ask for some of the Yankees top propsects like Austin Jackson or Jesus Montero along with either Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. 

The Red Sox and Yankees will be in hot pursuit of Roy Halladay this off season

The Angels figure to be another team interested in Halladay if they are unable to retain free agent pitcher John Lackey.

Despite all the drama, espn.com's Buster Olney puts the odds of Halladay being traded at only 50/50.

Ken Rosenthal of foxsports.com believes that free agent outfielder Johnny Damon and agent Scott Boras will seek to sign a contract similar to what fellow 35+ outfielder Bobby Abreu signed a few weeks ago with the Angels.  Abreu and the Angels agreed to a two-year, $19M deal on November 6th after signing a one-year $5M deal in late February in 2009. 

Most speculation has the Yankees interested in bringing Damon back, but on a short term basis.  Rosenthal, however, feels that if Damon is looking for Abreu-money, that is not good news for Yankees fans.  Seems as if the Yankees would be happy to have Damon back at less than $10M per season. 

The Yankees hope to retain Johnny Damon - can they afford him?

A few notes about Jason Bay to pass along.

• On the eve of full free agency, Bay rejected Boston's latest offer: "close to $60M" over 4 years.
• The Yankees do not appear interested in Bay.
• The Angels, on the other hand, have not ruled out looking into acquiring Bay. Matt Holliday, however, does not appear to be on their radar.
• The Giants join the Yankees as being publicly uninterested in Bay.

The market for Jason Bay appears to be narrowing