Fallen Angels?

Some surprising events have taken place in baseball in the past several days. This isn't so infrequent, but occasionally these signing and brokered deals of the late-season hot stove transform a team from something it was, into something it now is. For better or worse. A deal or trade might be the one missing piece to playoff contention, or a bad signing may lead to the demise of a franchise. While nothing so dramatic has occurred lately, there certainly were some moves that raised eyebrows around the baseball world.

For starters, the most recent trade that took place between the Los Angeles Angels and the Toronto Blue Jays brought with it a lot of speculation. Toronto has been criticized for some time now for the long-term contract that they gave to center-fielder Vernon Wells back in 2008. This 7-year, $126 million crutch crippled the franchise that has to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox in the American League East. I say crippled because while there are lots of expensive deals that weigh teams down, nothing hurts a franchise more than when that players doesn't live up to the terms. In fact, Wells didn't live up to the deal in 2007, before he signed this deal. In that year he batted a meager .245 with 16 homers, 80 RBI and an OBP of just .304. But the lone Canadian team extended him, and while he began to put up better numbers after the deal was signed, his play didn't compare to what he did earlier in the decade.

Here is the rub; the Angels overpaid to get decent/good production from a aging player who is not quite living up to his contract. We can't blame the man for the player he has become, nor for living up to such a lofty price tag. At 32, Wells is no spring chicken, and he did have a somewhat bounceback year in 2010. The Angels can realistically expect about a .280 average, with 25-30 dingers, around 35 doubles, and around 90 RBI from him on a yearly basis. These are good numbers, but not worth the $100 million left due on the his contract for the next four seasons. The real problem lies in the resulting Angels' image.

The Angels had missed out on several big name free-agents this off-season already. They sniffed around the Cliff Lee situation, but were never really in the race. They made it painfully aware that they wanted Carl Crawford, but were outbid by the Red Sox. And finally, they missed out on Adrian Beltre, a dynamic third-baseman that they desperately needed, only to see him go to a division rival. The Angels lost out on pretty much everyone they went after this off-season, and in my opinion, they panicked. They already have Torii Hunter in the outfield, who still plays a good center, but who they moved to right so that youngster Peter Bourjos received some playing time. True, outfielders Bobby Abreu left, and Juan Rivera never lived up to everyday starter expectation, but Wells isn't the answer. In fact, Hunter has a better UZR (a sabermetrics fielding statistic) at -3.8 than Wells' -6.4. (Top fielders have around a 5-10) Meanwhile, 1B Kendry Morales is coming back from his leg injury, so he should step back into the middle of the order and be productive, which means that Wells will most likely hit 5th in the lineup.

Why there is a sudden influx of extremely expensive 5th and 6th hole hitters, I don't know. Take Jayson Werth, or the aforementioned Adrian Beltre for instance. These guys are good, but not the guys who make or break a team. Meantime, the kind of money they are receiving is out of whack with their production. What makes the LA/Toronto trade stand out even more is that the Angels departed with Mike Napoli, a good hitting/bad glove 1B/C who over the course of 162 games, can put up similar powers numbers to Wells, at a fraction of the cost. The downside is that with Morales returning, Napoli didn't really have a home, but LA could have traded him to get a cheaper, and more integral piece. So the Angels give away Napoli and Rivera for an incredibly expensive contract, that two years ago most analysis said was 'unmovable'. The Angels can recover from this, and maybe Vernon will help make this team competitive, but as of right now, I think this is one of the dumber moves of the off-season.

You want to hear another dumb move? The Yankees signed Raphael Soriano to a 3-year $35 million deal to be a setup-man behind Mariano Rivera. Soriano has been a setup-man most of his career, and will do so admirably again for the Yanks, I'm sure. But after a 2010 campaign, when he was the best closer in baseball, the Yanks essentially signed him so that no other AL would have him. Mariano Rivera is the best closer ever, and he isn't going anywhere for two more years. The Yankees did need to sure up their bullpen as Kerry Wood left, and Joba Chamberlain can't figure himself out, but to spend $35 million on a setup-man is just gross. Most closers don't make that much money. When Soriano does finally take over the closing role in 2013, he will be 33 years ago. That doesn't mean he won't be able to close games out, but it's not the prime of his career. Maybe the Yankees will have a shutdown tandem for the 8th and 9th inning and I will look foolish for complaining. But once a guy gets a taste of the big time, he usually doesn't want to play second-banana again. Time will tell how Soriano handles his new, old role.

Other recent, note-worthy signings include Jeff Francis starting a reclamation project with the Kansas City Royals; The same Royals also extended under-appreciated 1B Billy Butler for four years at $30 million. Brian Fuentes is solidifying the Oakland Athletics' bullpen in much the same way Soriano is doing for NY, but for 1/3 the cost. The Minnesota Twins brought back Jim Thome and Carl Pavano with highly reasonable deals, and will make that team competitive in the AL Central again. Former Red Sox teammates will be teaming up again in Tampa Bay as the Rays signed both Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez for one-year deals. I don't think either player will offer the production the Rays are looking for, and while I understand the team having to cut payroll because no one comes to their games, I doubt these moves are going to keep Tampa in line with the Beasts of the East. And finally Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds signed a big 3-year $38 million extension after winning his first NL MVP award. Votto will be just 29 when this agreement is over, so look for the Reds to bargain another, more lengthy contract before free-agency comes a-callin' after Mr. Votto in 2014.

While some players say hello to new clubhouses and new teammates, there are a few who are saying goodbye. Gil Meche of the Royals is retiring after 10 seasons of productive pitching. While Meche was never wonderful, he was usually a consistent innings-eater. Injuries the past two years plagued him, and he called it quits even with $12.4 million still owed him on his contract. Meche knew that the time was right though, and said no to the final year and the money. It's rare that a guy has enough class to do something like that, and for that, I applaud you Gil.

Another retirement is a bit more notable, no offense to Mr. Meche. But when you are one of the greatest closers ever, and the first player ever to record 600 saves, you deserve a special goodbye. Although the great Trevor Hoffman isn't quite leaving baseball yet. He is joining the front-office of the San Diego Padres, the team he resided with for 16 seasons. The all-time saves leader with 601, will most likely be a Hall of Famer one day. He was a 7-time All-Star, a 2-time NL saves leader, and his 14 seasons of 30+ saves, and 9 seasons of 40+ saves are the most by any reliever ever. For well over a decade, he was the lone face of the franchise and a gentleman of the game. His presence in the game of baseball will be sorely missed, but his legendary play will live on.

Don't forget to keep a lookout for the upcoming Prediction Special, and maybe even a new segment. What is it you ask? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned to find out. Take care, and thanks for reading everybody.