FanHouse BillStoneman

One of the biggest criticisms by Angels fans of Bill Stoneman when he was general manager of the Angels was that he never made any big mid-season trades to help the ballclub. Whether these criticisms were fair or not, I don't know. Sure, he never made any huge deals, but it never kept the Angels from being the cream of the crop out west in the American League.

Well, Stoneman left last season and now in his first season as a replacement, new Angels GM Tony Reagins isn't planning on doing anything any differently. Don't look for the Angels to make a big move before this year's deadline either.

"I'm real confident in the guys we put together," Reagins said. "At this point in the season I still don't think we're clicking on all cylinders and yet we have the best record in our league or close to it. We haven't been clicking on all cylinders but we've been able to play at a high level and achieve the success we've had.

"My confidence level in this group is high. ... To make a move that would take away a significant piece - I don't see that happening at this point."

If the Angels were to make any improvements before the deadline, odds are they would be to the offense, because the pitching staff has been doing just fine. A name being thrown about as a potential addition in L.A. is the Braves Mark Teixeira, but I'm not sure he'd be worth it for the Angels. First of all, the Braves aren't even sure they want to move him, so the Angels would have to come up with a nice package to get him.

Secondly, it's not like Casey Kotchman sucks or anything. He doesn't have the power of Tex, but he is hitting .300 with an OPS of .795. Giving up some of their pitching depth for a player they're likely to have for only a few months, and one they don't really need in the first place, would be counterproductive.

It seems like every week a baseball team loses a World Series architect. First it was Walt Jocketty, who stepped down/was pushed out in St. Louis; then it was John Schuerholz, who relinquished general manager duties for the Braves to take on the role of team president. Today, it's Angels GM Bill Stoneman, whose expected to announce today that he's stepping down to become a team consultant. Tony Reagins, the team's current director of player development, is expected to replace him.

Stoneman had his share of successes and failures with the Angels, with the high-point clearly being the World Series win over the Giants in 2002. The team has remained competitive since then, and as FanHouse colleague Larry Brown details off-site, Stoneman's work to stock the minor league system leaves the Angels with a solid foundation of young talent for next several years with only one bad contract (Gary Matthews) to contend with.

Clearly, Reagins is stepping into an excellent situation, especially with the support of owner Arte Moreno, who's proven that he's willing to spend to make the team a winner. Also, there may come a day when this is no longer notable, but it's worth pointing out that Reagins is African-American. As the LA Times points out, he'll join Ken Williams of the White Sox and Omar Minaya of the Mets as the only minority general managers in the major leagues.

Major League Mongering will look at players rumored to be on the move between now and the July 31st pseudo-trade-deadline.

In what's been a pretty quiet trade market so far this season without any big name players switching jerseys, a lot of the focus has been on Mark Teixeira of the Texas Rangers. The first baseman is easily the best player available to any contending team who's interested, thanks to his big bat and gold glove defense. It's basically a given that Teixeira will get traded, but to whom?

The two teams who are competing against each other for Tex's services are the Braves and Angels. With a new movement by teams around the league to do everything possible to keep their top prospects, you would think that Jon Daniels would've jumped at the Braves offer. Jarrodd Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, and the Braves best lefthanded prospect in Matt Harrison for Teixeira. That's three top notch prospects for one player. Considering the Rangers are entering a rebuilding process, that's exactly the kind of deal they'd have to be looking for.

The sticking point is that the Angels just won't go away. General Manager Bill Stoneman has told Daniels that he'd package Casey Kotchman, Joe Saunders and a prospect for Texeira, just as long as that prospect isn't Brandon Wood or Nick Adenhart. Daniels, of course, is telling Stoneman he wants either Wood or Adenhart in the deal.

Now that Troy Percival has made it known he'd like to come out of retirement and pitch again, there have been quite a few Major League teams that have shown interest in the former closer.

Teams are always looking for bullpen help, and Percival can possibly provide it without forcing a team to give up a valued prospect or player. One team that isn't looking for any help in their bullpen also happens to be the team which Troy called home for most of his career.

The Angels have no interest in signing former closer Troy Percival, General Manager Bill Stoneman said Tuesday.

"With the strength of our pen - we have as strong if not stronger a pen than when we did not ask him back - I think that's probably out," Stoneman said. "To think we're looking for help for the bullpen, that's not where our priorities are at."

Where as it might be a nice story for Percival to return to Anaheim, Stoneman is right. It just wouldn't make any sense for an Angels team who's bullpen already features Francisco Rodriguez and Scot Shields.

Some teams that have shown interest in Troy are the Devil Rays, the Phillies, and the team he last pitched for, the Detroit Tigers.

If I'm Percival, I'd be more interested in the Tigers than anybody else. They need the help, and they provide the best chance at a World Series championship.

Previously at The Fanhouse:
Troy Percival To Retire As An Angel
Troy Percival Is Already Bored With Retirement
Troy Percival Might Want To Call Joe Maddon