Lefty Jason Vargas signed a four-year, $32-million deal with the Kansas City Royals, leaving the Angels to look elsewhere to fill the holes in their rotation.
Vargas, who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners for Kendrys Morales last year, had a 4.02 ERA in his only season with the Angels. He made $8.5 million in 2013, so his new deal represents a slight reduction in annual salary in exchange for more long-term security.
The Angels had hoped to bring Vargas back, but they were obviously not willing to match the Royals’ offer. The Angels will not get any compensation for losing Vargas because they did not make the $14.1 million qualifying offer.
With Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson and Garrett Richards as the only locks in the Angels rotation for 2014, the Angels would like to fill two starting spots. If they can’t, they have fallback options of Joe Blanton, Tommy Hanson, Jerome Williams and newly signed Wade LeBlanc and Chris Volstad, who each got minor league deals.
Among free agent pitchers, the Angels may be looking at Bronson Arroyo (who confirmed the Angels’ interest), Phil Hughes or Scott Feldman.
The Angels are also likely to explore trading for a pitcher, preferably a young pitcher who is not eligible for free agency for at least three or four years. That sort of deal would likely mean trading Mark Trumbo, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar or Peter Bourjos.
