Earlier today, Ken Davidoff of Newsday reported that the Angels and Tigers have discussed a deal that would send star center fielder Curtis Granderson to Los Angeles.
While Granderson could certainly be an impact addition for the Angels, I find the interest to be rather odd. The Angels could certainly use Granderson's power in their lineup, and an outfield of Granderson/Hunter/Abreu with Rivera at DH is superior defensively than their current alignment, but I'm not sure if the upgrade is worth what the Tigers will likely expect in a deal.
The Angels' farm system doesn't really compare to what it once was, their best prospects, Jordan Walden, Trevor Reckling, Hank Conger, Peter Bourjos, Mike Trout and Randall Grichuk, among others, all have numerous flaws, none would be considered among the best in the game.
The Tigers would likely want some players that can immediately have an impact in return for Granderson, so it may be likely that the Angels would have to include either Mike Napoli, Brandon Wood or Erick Aybar in an offer to Granderson in order to make it work. At that point, I seriously question whether the deal is worth making for LA.
Certainly, Granderson is an above-average all-around center fielder, but he's not nearly as valuable if he's being moved to left field, and he's also essentially worthless against left-handed pitchers. Look at his splits from 2007-2009:
RHP: .301/.378/.562 in 1350 at bats
LHP: .202/.261/.309 in 446 at bats
I just don't see why the Angels would go out of their way to spend talent and money on Granderson when they already have a solid outfield, and some of the best prospects in their farm system are outfielders, too.
If the Angels decide that they're willing to give up some of their best young pieces to add an impact player, they should probably target someone that's a better all-around hitter, and someone that won't be forced to move from an up-the-middle defensive position to a corner spot, where his value isn't as high. Why not target someone like Josh Johnson or Adam Dunn if they're interested in adding an impact player, those guys seem to better fit their short-term needs?
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This all depends on one thing: Chone Figgins.
ReplyDeleteIf they lock him up, a guy like Brandon Wood is much more expendable compared to an Angels roster without Figgins.
I don't think that they want to trade Aybar, and I look at Wood as the odd man out on that roster.
I still don't think that Granderson will garner the attention that many people think. He may have been donned a star, but he isn't. A guy who can't hit lefties, and seemed to have KEY defensive miscues at the end of the year isn't a star.
I think that the rotation is more of a question than anything for them. Assuming they don't resign Lackey, they have Weaver, but behind that, Kazmir was inconsistent early, Santana was injured and also inconsistent. Saunders garnered a 5.17 FIP, which is by no means very attractive.
Granderson will bring in mostly salary relief. A package made up of guys like Wilson, Sandoval and/or Evans would be more than enough. I still don't know if (being an Angels gm) would really be interested in him. Outfield s set with Rivera, Hunter, Abreu. They should be concentrating on moving Mathews Jr. for Bradley. Those contracts match up just too well. Yes, I realize Mathews' glove was bad last year, but it's better than bradley never playing and causing problems. Mathews gets his starting spot/ angels get rid of a problem/ Bradley gets away from chicago/ can DH/ chicago can exhale. With a little money freed up from the departure of Lackey the Angels can concentrate on a package to acquire Halladay. Reckling, Wood, Congo and Bourjos would be a nice haul for the Jays. The only issue is could Izturis, Sandoval, Aybar hold down ss/3b without Figgins?
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