LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – As Jerry Dipoto left the winter meetings Thursday, still looking to sign as many as two more free agents, he used his strongest language to date about the players who are not on the list.
No Ervin Santana. No Ubaldo Jimenez. No Kendrys Morales. No Shin-Soo Choo.
Although the Angels have a need – and probably the money — for any of them in 2014, Dipoto said the club remains steadfast in its refusal to sign anyone who cost them their first-round draft pick.
“We’re committed to the idea of preserving our first-round pick,” Dipoto said. “We haven’t had one the last two years. We are notably thin in the farm system, particularly with upper level pitching. For us to start a significant rebuilding of our minor league system is important to us.”
The Angels, who pick 15th, have not had a first-round pick since 2011, when they took C.J. Cron with the 17th pick. This will be their highest pick since 2004, when they selected Jered Weaver at No. 12.
With the compensation free agents off the list, that leaves a list of pitchers headed by Matt Garza.
If Garza was close to signing, as has been rumored, it’s not likely to be with the Angels. Dipoto said Thursday morning the Angels did not have offers on the table to any free agents.
Meanwhile, the Angels are still in the dark on whether Masahiro Tanaka will be posted, but Dipoto said he’s not letting the question hold up their pursuit of other pitchers.
“We’re going to stay dialed in with the pitching targets we’ve engaged right now,” Dipoto said. “We are not hesitating to move forward with our offseason plan.”
The Angels have also talked to Raul Ibanez, as the market for players to fill the Angels DH need continues to take shape. A day after Corey Hart signed for a guaranteed $6 million with the Seattle Mariners, Mike Morse inked a similar deal with the San Francisco Giants.
The Angels would not likely have been willing to go to that level with either player because their priority is a starting pitcher.
NEW LEFTY
The Angels did add one pitcher, left-handed reliever Brian Moran, who was selected in the Rule 5 draft. Moran, who had been in the Seattle system, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays and then traded to the Angels in exchange for international signing bonus space.
Moran, 25, has a 3.06 ERA in five minor league seasons, including 3.61 over the past two years in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. In 2013, he had a 3.45 ERA with 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Lefties hit .235 against him.
“He’s annihilated left-handed hitters at Triple-A,” Dipoto said. “He’s had a very good minor league progression. He’s been in the PCL for two years and has really torn it up. Left-handed hitters just don’t see this guy very well.”
Moran has a legitimate shot to make the Angels’ opening day roster, or else the Angels wouldn’t have acquired him. As a Rule 5 draft pick, Moran must be kept in the major leagues all season, or else he has to go through waivers and then be offered back to his original club.
No Rule 5 pick has made the Angels opening day roster since right-hander Derrick Turnbow in 1999.
In order to get Moran from the Blue Jays, the Angels essentially allowed the Blue Jays to take $244,000 worth of their space under the international signing bonus cap. The money is from the signing period that began in July, so it won’t affect the Angels’ pursuit of the top players available in next year’s class.
The Angels also selected right-hander Jose Valdivia from the Mariners in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. Valdivia, 21, had a 2.23 ERA in 321/3innings at Short-Season Class-A in 2013.
Contact the writer: jlfletcher@ocregister.com