For a rookie All-Star closer, Jordan Walden faced a lot of uncertainty about his role heading into this off-season but he emerged with his closer job intact.  What does he have to do in 2012 to make sure that the Angels don't go scrounging for a replacement again after this season?

2011 Stats: 5-5, 60.1 IP, 2.98 ERA, 49 H, 26 BB, 3 HR, 67 K, 32 SV

2012 ZiPS Projections: 4-3, 61.0 IP, 3.54 ERA, 55 H, 26 BB, 5 HR, 66 K

2012 Bill James Projections: 3-3, 56.0 IP, 3.86 ERA, 55 H, 26 BB, 3 HR, 58 K, 31 SV

2012 CAIRO Projections: 2-3, 48.2 IP, 3.41 ERA, 43 H, 20 BB, 3 HR, 52 K, 24 SV

2012 PECOTA Projections: 3-1, 56.0 IP, 4.28 ERA, 56 H, 27 BB, 5 HR, 47 K, 40 SV

2012 MWaH Projections*: 3-4, 62.0 IP, 3.25 ERA, 53 H, 24 BB, 5 HR, 67 K, 38 SV

*The MWaH projections are simply my best guess based off my own personal opinion and research

The March 1st, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Mark Trumbo cleared for full baseball activity, Bobby Abreu complains about his role again, Kendrys Morales takes his rehab to the next level and much more...

The Story: Mark Trumbo has been medically cleared to participate in full baseball activity.

The Monkey Says: One important distinction to make here is that Trumbo is cleared but not yet back at 100%.  That being said, this is still good news.  It also means that he can start doing real work at third base instead of the very limited range of practice he has taken there.  His crash course at the hot corner is about the heat up.

The Story: Bobby Abreu is now complaining about being limited to designated hitter.

The Monkey Says: Make it stop!  The Abreu Self-Delusion Tour doesn't seem like it is ever going to end.  Whether you are familiar with the advanced metrics or not, there is little arguing that Abreu has been a miserable defender for the last several years.  He has no business playing more than a handful of games in the outfield for any team.  And even if we accept his theory that it is harder to hit when not playing the field (which is highly debatable), whatever added offensive value it would bring would be more than canceled out by all the value he subtracts with his glove.  Frankly, his 2011 offensive numbers are not that much worse than his 2010 numbers (when he started 134 games in the outfield), so his argument doesn't really hold much merit.  The bigger issue here though is that he won't stop grumbling to the press.  It is pretty clear he wants out and the Angels would surely love to oblige him, but the more he complains about his role, the less attractive he looks to prospective trade partners.  This isn't going to end well.

He grumbled.  He griped.  He bitched.  He moaned.  He spouted off to the press.  He had multiple sitdowns with management.  Finally, he got what he wanted... sort of.

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Yes, Bobby Abreu complained enough that he is finally got a promise of playing time, at least 400 plate appearances.  He's still not all that happy with it, as he is still deluded enough to believe that he should be in the lineup at all times, but this olive branch delivered by Mike Scioscia seems to have placated him for the time being.  Or at least we hope.

There is only one small problem: where exactly does Bobby Abreu think that Scioscia is going to find these extra 400 at-bats lying around?

This isn't a problem because Abreu isn't any good.  He is clearly past his prime, but he definitely still has his uses.  Where it is a problem is that 400 plate appearances is quite a bit.  A player playing every inning at one defensive position is likely to get about 700 plate appearances over the course of the year.  That would mean Abreu is going to be playing more often than he is not.  That means finding 90 or starts for him over the course of the year.  That one means one or two or even three or four more deserving players might have to sit a lot more than they probably should just to appease Bobby.

Mike Scioscia, you might have just made a promised yourself into a corner.

Sosh isn't totally without recourse.  There are a few ways he can go about getting Abreu the necessary playing time.  The question is which option is best?  (SPOILER ALERT: not giving him 400 plate appearances is probably best, but also might not be an option)

OPTION #1 -  The Shell Game

This is the solution that Mike Scioscia already alluded to.  Giving Abreu a little bit of time all over the lineup.  I imagine that Scioscia prefers this arrangement because he is an optimist as it means all of the regulars are meeting or exceeding expectations.  This is what we call a good problem, but it is still an actual problem, a logistical one.

If everyone is healthy and performing, then it is going to be hard justifying sitting any of them and thus make it hard to find those 90 starts for Bobby.  Let's say Torii Hunter sits out 15 games, which is a stretch since he has played in 150+ the last two seasons.  Then Peter Bourjos sits for 20, even though he sat in just 15 last season.  Vernon Wells missed 31 games last season, mostly due to injury, but he could probably stand to sit for 30 games again this year, although it might be more like 15 if he suddenly returns to All-Star form.  The easiest playing time to find will be at DH.  Kendrys Morales might be able to return to form, but given his health, he could probably stand to sit for 40 games.  Add it all up and that is 90 starts for Abreu.  Hooray!  He wins.

Small problem, Mark Trumbo loses in a big, big way.  Trumbo is not going to get any playing time at first base and he won't get any time in the outfield either with Abreu chewing up all of the spare playing time.  Maybe he can sneak another 20 games in at DH (meaning Morales only makes 100 starts on the season) and then everything else would have to come at third base, assuming he can make that transition.  Even with that, he is probably looking at no more than 250 plate appearances, which is a lot less than he deserves.

The other downside to this is that it means that the lineup is going to be in almost constant flux.  Is it worth sacrificing offensive consistency just so Abreu can be happy?

The February 29th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Athletics interested in trading for Callaspo, Mattingly and Kemp say LA belongs to the Dodgers not the Angels, "El Hombre" campaign to be ceased and much more...

The Story: The Athletics have interest in Alberto Callaspo after losing 3B Scott Sizemore for the season.

The Monkey Says: As the article states, they aren't interested in giving up much to get him.  The Angels shouldn't be opposed to moving Callaspo, especially if Trumbo shows signs of promise at the hot corner, but depth is a good thing to have, so moving him for a middling prospect likely isn't worth it.

The Story: Don Mattingly and Matt Kemp speak out to say LA still belongs to the Dodgers, not the Angels.

The Monkey Says: The Dodgers have a richer history, so it is hard to argue, but over the last decade, the Halos have the upper-hand.  The mere fact that Dodger players are even being asked these questions shows just how much the Angels have closed the gap.  Also, Matt Kemp is scared of the Rally Monkey.  So there is that.

Mark Trumbo exceeded expectations in 2011, making a strong case for Rookie of the Year and a long future in the Angel organization.  All that managed to earn him in 2012 is a potential defensive position switch and a severely reduced role.  Is the Trumbomber really going to be relegated to a reserve role or can he patch up the holes in his game and force his way into the lineup?

2011 Stats: 539 AB, .254 AVG, .291 OBP, .477 SLG, 65 R, 29 HR, 87 RBI, 9 SB, 4 CS, 120 K

2012 ZiPS Projections: 590 AB, .253 AVG, .295 OBP, .437 SLG, 71 R, 25 HR, 91 RBI, 6 SB, 4 CS, 141 K

2012 Bill James Projections: 535 AB, .269 AVG, .313 OBP, .493 SLG, 69 R, 28 HR, 94 RBI, 8 SB, 5 CS, 112 K

2012 CAIRO Projections: 358 AB, .252 AVG, .296 OBP, .462 SLG, 44 R, 18 HR, 54 RBI, 6 SB, 3 CS, 80 K

2012 PECOTA Projections: 258 PA, .256 AVG, .297 OBP, .448 SLG, 31 R, 11 HR, 35 RBI, 3 SB, 1 CS, 58 K

2012 MWaH Projections*: 325 AB, .259 AVG, .310 OBP, .489 SLG, 38 R, 17 HR, 45 RBI, 4 SB, 2 CS, 77 K

*The MWaH projections are simply my best guess based off my own personal opinion and research

The February 28th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Abreu gets a promise of 400 plate appearances, Bourjos to have hip surgery after the season, Morales takes another step forward in his rehab and much more...

The Story: Bobby Abreu arrived in camp and received a promise of at least 400 plate appearances after meeting with Mike Scioscia.

The Monkey Says: This transcript is full of nuggets.  First off, the mere fact that Bobby already had a big meeting with the manager about playing time proves that he is not going to stop grumbling about playing time at all this year.  Even if he gets his 400 plate appearances, it doesn't sound like he is going to be too happy with it and will probably complain about it the first he doesn't get into a game for three or four days in a row.  Of course, he buttons the interview by saying he doesn't want to be a distraction while strongly intimating that he wants to be traded.  Bobby, news flash: you are being a distraction.  This is going to be a big problem and part of me wonders if the Halos gave Abreu this playing time promise to keep him quiet until they can find a trade partner to take him off their hands.  The reason I say this is that there just doesn't seem to be 400 plate appearances readily available for him.  To find those PAs, Vernon Wells might have to be reduced to a part-time player (in which case they should call up Trout) or Kendrys Morales would have to sit pretty regularly (in which Mark Trumbo will struggle to get any playing time) or all three outfielders are going to have to sit a lot more than expected.  The math just doesn't add up to make this kind of promise.

The Story: Peter Bourjos will have surgery to correct an issue with his hip that has plagued him for years.

The Monkey Says: Plagued was probably the wrong word to use, but I couldn't find my thesaurus.  Speedy Petey has been dealing with this for years and it has had no effect on his performance.  If there were any risk of this having a major impact on his health, the Angels surely would've had him undergo the surgery during the off-season even if it meant missing training camp.

The pitchers have already arrived in Tempe and, as of today, everyone else will have joined them.  Yessir, Spring Training Angels-style is in full effect now!

Now that the gang is all here, there is some business yet to be done.  Depth charts need to be sorted out.  Defensive positions need to be decided.  Roster spots need to be won.

We already looked at the Angel pitchers, so let's give the training camp task list treatment to all the newly arrived position players too.