Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno said the team is not in the market for a big bat. Instead, rumors suggested they were looking for "cost-efficient controllable" players, but we've seen this offseason how hard it is to acquire such a commodity. Will Moreno have to succumb to the free agent market?
The Angels need a left fielder and a left-handed bat, so it makes sense why rumors have linked them to free agent outfielder Alex Gordon. The veteran would like to return to his former club, the Kansas City Royals, but the two sides simply may not be able to agree to a contract due to the reported "wide gap" in the talks.
Gordon will be among the cheaper top-tier options in free agency (compared to Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton) due to his age (he'll be 32 next month), so some speculate Los Angeles may not stand by Moreno's comments for long.
"The Angels need a left field upgrade and there just happens to be three very good ones available," writes ESPN's Jim Bowden. "Gordon might be the best fit because the Angels desperately need another left-handed bat, not to mention he bolsters their outfield defense."
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com provided a more in-depth reason as to why the Angels might still be active in free agency:
"New general manager Billy Eppler went right to work making this a more defensively sound squad up the middle with the Andrelton Simmons acquisition. But as it stands, it's hard to discern why any sensible pitcher would offer much in the strike zone to Mike Trout. This is especially true if the performance and/or playing time of the soon-to-be-36-year-old Albert Pujols, coming off foot surgery, is compromised in the early going.
"The Halos need another bat (preferably a left-handed one), plain and simple. The big problem, of course, is that the Angels are still paying Josh Hamilton more than $28 million in each of the next two seasons. But with a depth chart that currently calls for a Craig Gentry /Daniel Nava platoon in left field, this is a club keeping a close eye on the still-developing outfield market."
Surprisingly, the outfield market is still undefined with so many attractive names out there. Jason Heyward inked a $184 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, but that did not get the ball rolling for the other free agents available. Somehow Gordon, Cespedes and Upton are unsigned - in addition to other notable position players and pitchers - which would have never happened in offseasons past.
But here we are. The big spenders say they're done spending and everybody wants a young, cost-controlled player to out-perform his contract so teams don't have to worry about bloating their payroll. Well, every MLB team can't operate like it's in a small market, so something will have to give eventually.
While the Angels remain a painfully obvious fit for Gordon, the outfielder also suits the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals and others as well.
We're two months into the offseason, and while it doesn't appear promising for players looking for the big bucks at this point, one team will budge as Opening Day approaches and GMs/owners realize how much they need a roster upgrade.
Don't be surprised if the spendthrift Angels are one of them.
