A day after the Angels missed out on Masahiro Tanaka – who they knew was out of their financial reach – they also missed out on the pitcher who seemed to be a much better financial fit.
Matt Garza, who had been one of the Angels’ primary targets for months, agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. (The Brewers still had not announced the deal as of Thursday night, but it still seems like it will happen.)
Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto, who won’t comment publicly on free agents, had said a day before that the team was comfortable enough with the Angels rotation that he didn’t feel the urgency to add a pitcher if the price wasn’t right.
Because it’s likely that Garza, a California native, would have preferred the Angels over the Brewers if the offers were similar, one can assume that the Angels weren’t willing to offer what the Brewers did.
Garza, 30, has missed at least two months with shoulder and elbow injuries each of the past two years, so it’s possible that worried the Angels.
The Angels also may have been leery of bumping too close to the $189 million threshold for the Competitive Balance Tax. They are currently about $15 million under, but that doesn’t include performance bonuses that could be earned.
If the Angels are to upgrade their pitching staff now, it likely will be acquiring a pitcher such as Chris Capuano, Jason Hammel or Paul Maholm if one of them drops his asking price into the $4 million range. They also mght take a look at Bronson Arroyo, who has been more successful than the other pitchers and isn’t likely to settle for a one-year deal.
The Angels currently have a rotation of Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Hector Santiago, Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs. The latter three have never gone through a full season starting in the majors, which is why the Angels ideally would have a veteran to provide some depth if one of the young pitchers isn’t ready.
The Angels also have Joe Blanton and Matt Shoemaker on the 40-man roster, and non-roster invite Mark Mulder, who is attempting to make a comeback after not pitching in the majors since 2008.
