The December 1st, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including reactions to the Iannetta-Chatwood trade, Tim Salmon on the Hall of Fame ballot, Trumbo receives another rookie honor and much more...

The Story: Keith Law likes the Iannetta acquisition for the Angels.

The Monkey Says: If Keith Law actually says something positive and snark-free about something, then you must be doing something right.  I really like his point about how Colorado could be the worst place for Chatwood's style of pitching to succeed.

The Story: Chris Iannetta has finally been freed.

The Monkey Says: An underreported aspect of this trade is that Iannetta got jerked around a lot by the Rockies management, kind of like Scioscia jerked around Mike Napoli.  Naps clearly flourished once he escaped Scioscia's rule, so maybe Iannetta can do the same now that he is out of Colorado, but that assumes that Scioscia won't put the same kind of pressure on Iannetta that he put on Napoli,

Ladies and gentlemen, Jeff Mathis' reign of terror is almost over.  Jerry Dipoto looks to have pulled off his first move as Angels GM by getting the team a new slugging catcher:

@Ken_Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal Source: #Rockies close to signing R. Hernandez to two-year deal, sending Iannetta to the Angels. Teams checking medicals. #MLB

So there it is.  Chris Iannetta is now the primary Angel catcher and Jeff Mathis should soon be getting his non-tender papers.  Hooray!  On that upgrade alone, this deal is a winner.

Ironically, Iannetta is a catcher with very good power who draws a lot of walks.  Remind you of someone?  Yeah, I know, the Napoli jokes are tired but they are unavoidable right now.  At least Dipoto had the foresight to remedy the problem that his predecessor created by dumping Napoli.  However, that doesn't mean Iannetta is the next Mike Napoli.  For starters, Iannetta has a career .235 average and has struggled with consistency.  More to the point though is that Iannetta has been less than impressive away from the thin air of Coors Field as exemplified by his Mathisian .587 road OPS last season.  That means there is a risk that he won't be the offensive savior some are already painting him to be.  Still, even in his worst season in which he hit .197, Iannetta still posted a .310 OBP and .383 SLG.  Meaning even when he sucks, he still gets on base and hits homers.  So there is some risk, but not too much.

What Iannetta doesn't have much of a risk of is falling into Scioscia's doghouse because of his defense the way Napoli did.  Iannetta may not inspire an over-the-top lovefest from Lyle Spencer with his defense, but Iannetta grades out as no worse than average behind the plate and possibly even pretty good.  His arm is mediocre, but he gets good marks for all the other stuff (blocking pitchers, framing, etc.).

Now for the somewhat controversial part of the deal, giving up Tyler Chatwood.  Opinions are already all over the place on him being traded for Iannetta (who appears to only be under team control for one year at about $3.6 million, though he has a team option for 2013 that may or may not void because of this trade).  Prior to the 2011 season, Chatwood was the Angels top pitching prospect, but then he got rushed to the majors and stunk the joint up, really killing his perceived potential.  Yes, he is very young and still possesses good stuff, but his performance has never been anything special aside from one season in Advanced-A ball.  As a result, some Angel fans are bemoaning his loss since he could be pretty good someday, but several outsider opinions are grading this trade as a steal for the Angels because they think Chatwood will never amount to anything.

Best case scenario for the Angels is that Iannetta flourishes in a new environment, as he had been under a lot of pressure in Colorado to live up to his potential so a change of scenery could really help, and Chatwood never amounts to anything.  Worst case scenario, Iannetta ends up not hitting in Anaheim and gets dumped after a year while Chatwood goes on to be a mid-rotation staple for the Rockies.

My money is this will be a lot closer to best case scenario for the Angels, though there is still one mitigating circumstance we haven't discussed yet: Hank Conger.  Does this mean the Angels are giving up on him?  It very well could.  Iannetta is good enough to catch 115+ games in a season, so Conger may not have a role in the majors this year.  That means they could send Hank packing or just send him back to Triple-A to work on his defense and then challenge Iannetta in 2013.  Or, since Iannetta mashes lefty but is more ordinary against righties, the switch-hitting Conger could platoon with Iannetta, though I find it hard to believe they gave up a prospect like Chatwood for a part-time player.  We won't know the answer to this part of the trade for awhile yet, but don't be at all surprised if Conger's name starts being prominently mentioned in trade rumors at the Winter Meetings.

In summary, this seems like a good deal for the Angels that will help them contend this season, but carries a small chance of making them look bad five years from now.  Sounds like a risk worth taking to me, especially if it finally puts to an end all the Mathis and/or Napoli jokes.

CORRECTION: I remember incorrectly about Iannetta's framing, he actually graded out poorly, so maybe his defense could become a bit of an issue for Scioscia.

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Next up on in our the MWaH/LAAI Top 30 Angels Prospect countdown we enter the top ten with the man who is sure to become the next fourth outfielder du jour for the Angels, Jeremy Moore.

Jeremy Moore
Position: OF  Level: AAA and a September call up to the majors
Bats: Left Throws: Right  Height: 6'1" Weight: 190 lbs.
Age: 24  Born: June 29, 1987

2011 Season Stats (AAA): 426 AB, .298 AVG, .331 OBP, .545 SLG, 24 2B, 18 3B, 15 HR, 66 RBI, 114 SO, 21 SB, 10 CS, .370 BABIP

2011 Season Stats (VWL): 131 AB, .260 AVG, .289 OBP, .435 SLG, 3 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 40 SO, 6 SB, 3 CS

2011 Season Stats (Majors): 8 AB, .125 AVG, .125 OBP, .125 SLG, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 SO, 0 SB, 0 CS, .167 BABIP

Bat – B. Hits for average, power, gap power, but strikes out way too much, no discipline.

Speed – B. One of the fastest in the system, though not a great base thief.

Arm – C+. Not a great arm, but good enough to play all three OF spots.

Performance - A. Hard to argue against 50+ XBH, 20 SB and .300 average.

Projection – C. Off the charts tools but his poor OBP and discipline will hold him back.

Comp – Floor: Fred Lewis. Ceiling: Johnny Damon

Estimated MLB Arrival Date: 2012

Video: Moore’s first career hit

(*As always, the above scouting report is provided by Scotty Allen of LA Angels Insider)

The November 30th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Wilson wants $100 million, Tigers are interested in Maicer Izturis, Dipoto trying to get creative with the payroll and much more...

The Story: C.J. Wilson allegedly asked the Angels for $100 million.

The Monkey Says: I suppose it can't hurt to ask, right?  Wilson's original asking price was $120 million over six years, so I guess this is what he considers a hometown discount.  What remains to be seen is whether or not he wants the $100 million over six year (which means he would earn less annually than Weaver) or over five years, which fits with his original $20 million annual price tag.  Either way, he's asking for too much and I think that is why we are finding out what he asked for.  Nobody but the Angels would've leaked this info and the only reason for them to do so is to let the fans know that Wilson is asking for crazy money and is thus too expensive for the Angels.  It is worth noting though that most insiders, including John Hart who still has Ranger front office connections, think Wilson will end up with the Angels.  Wilson has also said he hopes to make a decision by the end of the winter meetings, so at least this whole saga will finally come to an end soon.

The Story: The Tigers are interested in acquiring Maicer Izturis.

The Monkey Says: I am all for it.  I've been saying that Izturis should have good value in a market where Clint Barmes gets $11 million, so it is nice to see that they are at least listening to offers.  What I don't get is what Detroit has to offer.  They are thin in relief and looking to acquire offense, not give it up.  The best match I can see is Rick Porcello.  He was drafted in the first round back in 2007, so he has load of potential, but after three seasons in the majors, he actually seems to be getting worse.  If I'm the Angels, that's who I would be asking for, although they might have to give up Izturis plus a prospect to talk the Tigers into it, unless they are even more soured on Porcello than we realize.

Next up on in our the MWaH/LAAI Top 30 Angels Prospect countdown is the Angels Minor League Player of the Year, Kole Calhoun.

Kole Calhoun
Position: OF/1B  Level: High-A
Bats: Left Throws: Left  Height: 5'10" Weight: 200 lbs.
Age: 24  Born: October 14, 1987

2011 Season Stats (High-A): 512 AB, .324 AVG, .410 OBP, .547 SLG, 36 2B, 6 3B, 22 HR, 99 RBI, 96 SO, 20 SB, 10 CS, .362 BABIP

2011 Season Stats (VWL): 97 AB, .216 AVG, .361 OBP, .371 SLG, 6 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 24 SO, 4 SB, 1 CS

Bat – A. Hits for average, power, gap power and great discipline.

Speed – B. A good base thief with adequate defensive range despite not being overly fast.

Arm – C+. Not a great arm, but good enough to play all three OF spots.

Performance - A. Hard to argue against his numbers in High A.

Projection – B. Physical tools aren’t off the charts, but beautiful lefty power stroke.

Comp – Floor: Melky Cabrera. Ceiling: Young Hideki Matsui with less power.

Estimated MLB Arrival Date: 2013/2014.

Video: Calhoun walk-off bomb.

(*As always, the above scouting report is provided by Scotty Allen of LA Angels Insider)

This has been a big off-season thus far for Arte Moreno.  Despite being 65 years old, he seems to be learning more and more as each day goes by.

First, he learned what we already all knew, that Tony Reagins is an idiot and then fired Reagins for said idiocy.

Next, he showed a surprising newfound understanding that the status quo is NOT good enough anymore for the Angels and replaced Reagins not with some other crony from the Bill Stoneman era or a hand-picked Mike Scioscia lapdog, but rather a bright, up and coming GM from outside of the organization who was then given free reign to come in and completely clean out the Angel front office.

Having grasped those two lessons, Moreno could easily call it an off-season and look to be a much smarter baseball man for it.  But it turns out that the old dog has learned one more new trick.  He has learned to shut the hell up.

The November 29th, 2011 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Angels talk Guthrie trade with Baltimore, have "serious" interest in Aramis Ramirez, show interest in Iannetta and much more...

The Story: The Angels have reportedly discussed a potential trade for Jeremy Guthrie with the Orioles recently.

The Monkey Says: As I said yesterday, any of this stuff is really just Dipoto doing homework to see who is available and what the potential price is.  Guthrie has seemingly been on the trade block in Baltimore for years, but they've never let him go.  If the O's are serious about moving him this time, the Halos probably aren't overly interested since they have a number of other options in free agency to pursue before they would get to a pitcher of his level.

The Story: The agent for Aramis Ramirez says the Angels are one of four or five teams with "serious" interest in his client.

The Monkey Says: Which is exactly what you expect an agent to say, especially when few other big payroll clubs have expressed an open interest in your client.  This one doesn't even make much sense though since Jerry Dipoto said in no uncertain terms a few weeks ago that he was not going to pursue Ramirez.  This would seem to be a classic case of an agent claiming a team is interested in a guy for the sole purpose of driving up his price.  Move along, folks.  Nothing to see here other than an agent his is completely full of crap.