Results tagged ‘ Mark Trumbo ’

Is there still room on the Angels’ 2013 payroll?

The acquisition of Josh Hamilton was, in many ways, a two-for-one signing because it also allows general manager Jerry Dipoto to trade a suddenly-expendable player for another starting pitcher.

Question is: Can the Angels take on more payroll in the process?

Hamilton’s five-year, $125 million contract will pay him $17 million in 2013 ($15 million in salary, plus a $10 million signing bonus that’s dispersed evenly over the course of his five-year contract). That, in addition to arbitration projections and minimum contracts, puts the Angels’ 2013 payroll at roughly $159 million, which is about where they finished at last year.

Asked about expanding it further in case of adding a pricey arm, Angels president John Carpino basically said it would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

“Instead of putting [the payroll] at a place where it’s, ‘This is where we’re at,’ it’s, ‘What’s the opportunity cost of doing it?’” Carpino said at Hamilton’s Saturday news conference. “So, if something became available that’s an opportunity cost, it just comes down to wanting to win. But it also has to make sense fiscally.”

Teams are a lot more willing to give up a would-be free agent than a cost-controlled arm, of course.

That’s why, with R.A. Dickey off the board, names like Ricky Nolasco of the Marlins ($11.5 million in his walk year), Gavin Floyd of the White Sox ($9.5 million in his walk year) and Matt Garza of the Cubs (projected $10 million in his final arbitration year) seem to be the most feasible. Rick Porcello of the Tigers (projected $4.7 million in his second arbitration year) has also been mentioned.

Peter Bourjos, who’s still a year away from arbitration and will make about $500,000 in 2013, appeals to many teams. Kendrys Morales, Vernon Wells and — seemingly to a lesser extent — Mark Trumbo can also be made available.

The Angels’ preference would be to acquire a young, pre-arbitration starter who won’t add to the budget (Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore of the Rays comes to mind). But whether or not that situation presents itself remains to be seen.

– Alden Gonzalez

Dipoto sees no logjam at 1B/DH for Angels

A lot has been made about the logjam at first base and designated hitter the Angels’ signing of Albert Pujols created. General manager Jerry Dipoto, however, doesn’t see it that way.

With previous first basemen Mark Trumbo (stress fracture in his right foot) and Kendrys Morales (broken left ankle) still slowly recovering from injuries, Dipoto appears to prefer to go into Spring Training with the comfort of having Trumbo, Morales, Bobby Abreu and Alberto Callaspo — each of whom was at one point perceived as trade bait now that Pujols is the Angels’ first baseman — all on the roster.

Here’s what Dipoto said when asked about it on Tuesday, during an informal luncheon to announce Howie Kendrick’s four-year extension …

“A lot of times, the perception from outside is a little different than the perception from within. There’s different elements to each player. Albert Pujols right now is our everyday first baseman, and we have, if you view the position as first base in a combination with DH, and a combination with what you would consider the bat that fills the void in extra outfield, corner infield, utility-type role, you can conceivably turn what appears to the naked eye to be two positions into closer to four. As we sit here right now, we’re very uncertain about where Kendrys is with regards to his time on the calendar, and we go into the season for potentially four spots worth of plate appearances with right now three players. And when you can be in a situation, or when you find yourself in a situation where the upside of Kendrys Morales’ return is just that to your roster, I think you’re in a very good position.”

More coming soon on Angels.com.

– Alden Gonzalez 

Scioscia looking in-house

Angels manager Mike Scioscia didn’t sound overly enthused on Sunday about the Angels going outside the organization for an upgrade as the non-waiver Trade Deadline approaches.

“The potential to get better is in our clubhouse,” Scioscia said. “We’re not going to look at the standings. We’ve seen some growth and some shortcomings. We have to focus on playing good baseball. We’re not the deep team we need to be, but we’re deeper now than we were.”

It’s no secret that any club offering an impact hitter to the Angels will be asking for super prospect Mike Trout in return.  Trout might not be untouchable, but you might burn yourself if you try to get too close to the multi-talented outfielder. It would take something almost unimaginable for the Angels to part with the future star they plan to align with Peter Bourjos and possibly Mark Trumbo in a potentially lethal outfield. — Lyle Spencer

 

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