The Major League Baseball offseason is starting to heat up big time and after big moves in the past week with the Tigers and Rangers trading Prince Fielder and Ian Kinsler, David Freese getting traded to the Angels and Brian McCann signing with the Yankees, even more moves may be on the horizon, including with Los Angeles looking at starters Bronson Arroyo and Bartolo Colon.
The Angels are shaping up to be one of the more active teams in the offseason after trading with the St. Louis Cardinals for third baseman David Freese, a position that was trouble for the team last season and now Hardball Talk reports that the team is now looking at Bronson Arroyo and Bartolo Colon as possible signings. Colon was of course with the Angels in the past and won a Cy Young award while playing for the team and Arroyo is being looked at by a number of clubs, including the Yankees and the Giants among others. The Angels also signed Joe Smith this past week and that move along with either Arroyo or Colon could help greatly improve the rotation after that was a point of weakness last season.
Smith was signed to a three year, $15 million deal with the Angels and now the team is looking at a couple veteran pitchers in Arroyo and Colon, who each can eat innings for LA. Arroyo reportedly wants at least a three year deal after pitching with the Reds and Colon likely would be a cheaper option. The team was ranked in the bottom half of the league in ERA from their starting pitching last season and both Arroyo and Colon come in after pitching over 190 innings, with Arroyo going for 202 and that would be valuable for the Angels.
Hardball Talk is also reporting that former Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes is getting some interest from the Miami Marlins, as his pitching style should fit their National League ball park. According to the Miami Herald, Hughes is coming into the offseason as a prime target for a number of teams, including the Mets, Royals, Twins and Angels and now he could end up in Miami. Hardball Talk writes that the park in Miami is very pitcher friendly and that should benefit Hughes as he moves from the confines of Yankee Stadium. Hughes had a rough year going 4-12 last season, but he is still young and has potential to be a solid back line starter.
The Yankees made a big splash by signing catcher Brian McCann to a five year deal worth over $80 million and now the team can focus on other players in free agency, including Robinson Cano and Hiroki Kuroda. HBT writes that Kuroda could potentially return after being one of the best pictures on the team last season and the biggest issue is his age at 39. Kuroda was the most consistent pitcher for the Yankees with a 3.31 ERA and apart from the Yankees there likely won't be any major teams going after him