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Angels get Teixiera: Analysis of the deal and its impact

Various media reports are saying that the Angels have landed Atlanta Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira for first baseman Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Steve Marek.

If these reports are true, this is the first significant trade deadline deal made by the Angels in years and represents a significant shift in philosophy and management by the Angels.

Owner Arte Moreno has gone on record as saying he does not want any “rent a players” and that is surely what Teixeira must be; he is represented by uber agent Scott Boras and is expected to seek a seven-figure contract in the off season.

Here are my initial takes on this deal:

- While I hate to see Casey Kotchman go - especially since he was having such a breakout season - the addition of Texieira will give the Angels a 3-4 punch in their lineup to rival the Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

It will be disappointing to see Kotchman play and develop for another team but it seems like the Angels are going all in with this trade; they are sacrificing their future at first base for a two, and possibly, three-month rental of Teixeira.

- Say goodbye to Maicier Izturis as your No. 3 hitter. The Angels have slotted Izturis into the No. 3 hole in recent weeks and he has produced. But now it is likely Vladimir Guerrero or Texieira will move into that spot - I think it’s a slight improvement over Izturis.

- I think that with Kotchman gone and after this season Teixeira as well, the Angels will have a need to fill first base. However, there will be a few things they can do in 2009, such as install minor leaguer Kendry Morales at that position, try Juan Rivera out some more at first base or possibly make a run at Ryan Howard when he becomes a free agent in a year or two. (Of course, the Angels haven’t had the best luck with NL East first baseman as free agents so maybe not. See Vaughn, Mo.)

- Make no mistake - this is a huge gamble for the Angels. They are risking a promising first baseman for the two month rental of a slugging first baseman; potentially the Angels are also risking disrupting team chemistry as well. Also can Teixeira adjust back to the AL pitching?

This is a move that - if the Angels can win a World Series this year - will make them look like geniuses. But it’s also a move where if they don’t win a World Series and can’t resign Texieira, then the team will look foolish - especially if Kotchman develops into the kind of Don Mattingly-like hitter many think he can be.

As my friend Crash puts it, “This is the one year I didn’t want the Angels to make a trade.” So of course the Angels make the trade at a time when they are the hottest team in baseball and are scoring more than six runs a game - go figure.

While I have some doubts and concerns regarding this deal I do have one key thought about this deal being done now as opposed to a few weeks ago:

Back in May and June when the Angels were scuffling for runs and trying to score, if you had told me that the Angels could get Teixeira in this same deal, I would have jumped at it. But now that the Angels are scoring runs, I understand that there is some second guessing about sending Kotchman away.

- The key thing with this trade is it represents a huge philosophical shift for the Angels. For years, under former general manager Bill Stoneman, the Angels would never make a trade always saying they did not want to mortgage the future for the present.

And every year Angels fans and the media - and of course, this blog - would argue that the team needed that big bat. And in 2004, 2005 and 2007 the Angels made it to the playoffs and were hampered by the lack of a big bat - and by other factors.

Stoneman was criticized for not making those deals and he resigned in the offseason and general manager Tony Reagins took over. I don’t know if this is a Reagins deal and/or how much Angel manager Mike Scioscia had in this decision (probably a lot) but this deal definitely has the Moreno fingerprints all over it.

Now Angels management can see what would happen if they got that big bat. Many media outlets and maybe even some fans are now going to anoint the Angels as the Team to Beat but I am not so sure; it requires more than two potent bats and quality pitching to win a World Series - it requires a bit of luck as well.

And all of you Angels fans out there - including myself - who have clamored for the Angels to get a big bat - well, you got your wish.

Now we have to see what happens.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 3:47 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.