Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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LOS ANGELES - Even after losing Mark Teixeira to the free-spending New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Angels don’t plan to pursue slugger Manny Ramirez.
Angels general manager Tony Reagins said Tuesday that instead of trying to land Ramirez, the club is “going to give our younger players an opportunity to play.”
Because owner Arte Moreno and manager Mike Scioscia had said complimentary things about Ramirez, speculation had grown that the team would go after the free-agent outfielder if Teixeira didn’t return to the Angels.
Kendry Morales, 26, will take over for Teixeira if Los Angeles doesn’t acquire another first baseman, and there already are plenty of Angels in the outfield.
Along with Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Reggie Willits and Gary Matthews Jr., the Angels made sure Juan Rivera would stick around, agreeing with him on a $12.75 million, three-year deal last week.
Teixeira, acquired by the Angels from Atlanta on July 29, reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday with the Yankees on a $180 million, eight-year contract. Two people familiar with the negotiations disclosed the agreement, which is subject to a physical. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet final.
The Angels had offered Teixeira an eight-year deal for a reported $160 million, but withdrew their offer last weekend. Teixeira and Ramirez have the same agent, Scott Boras.
Reagins thinks Teixeira got what he was seeking.
“You just want to wish the player well and you hope he made the right choice for him and his family. At the end of the day, I think he wound up where he wanted to be,” Reagins said in a telephone interview.
Asked about the Yankees’ spending spree this offseason, Reagins pointed out they have the resources to do it.
“I’m pretty sure they’ve made some good investments,” he said.
New York also gave CC Sabathia a $161 million, seven-year contract and fellow pitcher A.J. Burnett an $82.5 million, five-year deal.
Ramirez, meanwhile, is reportedly confident that the New York Yankees will make him a big offer, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman denied a report that he has offered a three-year, $75 million deal to the slugger.
Ramirez has told friends that he is confident the Yankees will offer him a contract of at least three years, according to the New York Daily News. A Dominican Republic newspaper, Impacto Deportivo, reported the deal is close and could be worth as much as $75 million.
But Cashman said "Not true" in a text message when asked about that report, MLB.com reported Monday.
The 36-year-old Ramirez batted .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs in 53 games for Los Angeles.
He is coming off a $160 million, eight-year contract he signed with the Red Sox before the 2001 season and said after the season he wanted to test his value in free agency.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.