C.J. Wilson added to Angels' staggering haul
By Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports
8 minutes ago
tweet0EmailPrintDALLAS – Left-hander C.J. Wilson(notes), the best of a thin class of free agent starters, on Thursday agreed to a five-year, $75-million contract with the Los Angeles Angels, according to multiple reports, putting an exclamation point on a day that began with the Angels grabbing Albert Pujols(notes) from under the noses of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Angels' spree temporarily even trumped the Miami Marlins free-agent gluttony that saw them dole out $191 million to Jose Reyes(notes), Mark Buehrle(notes) and Heath Bell(notes).
Pujols agreed to terms on a 10-year deal worth from $250 to $260 million, meaning the Angels cut loose about $320 million as everybody else was focused on the Rule 5 draft and checking out of the Hilton Anatole hotel. The Angels have a new TV deal with Fox close to being finalized, according to the Los Angeles, Times, which could explain where all the money is going to come from.
More From Tim BrownPujols agrees to terms with Angels on landmark deal Dec 8, 2011 Marlins will give Ramirez time to adjust Dec 7, 2011 So Wilson leaves the Texas Rangers, who with Wilson at or near the top of their rotation won consecutive AL West titles and both times advanced to the World Series. The Angels won three division titles and five of six before being overtaken by the Rangers.
A converted reliever, Wilson is 31-15 with a 3.14 ERA over the past two seasons. He'll join a rotation with Jered Weaver(notes), Dan Haren(notes) and Ervin Santana(notes) that with Wilson should be one of the best in the game.
The Marlins bid until the end, as has become their habit, though they're unaccustomed this week to losing out on players. They'd reportedly increased the term of their offer to Wilson to six years, though it seems Wilson, 31, was drawn by the prospect of returning to the old neighborhood.
He grew up not far from Angel Stadium, attending Fountain Valley High School, located 12 miles from the ballpark. He then pitched at Santa Ana junior college and Loyola Marymount University, all in Southern California.
The Angels – under new general manager Jerry Dipoto (this was his first major deal for the club) – were working to make up 10 games to the Rangers. Wilson's decision would appear to weaken the Rangers, who got 67 starts out of him over the past two seasons and nine more in the postseason.
The Rangers did appear to be readying themselves for such an outcome last month, when they signed Joe Nathan(notes) to be their closer and moved closer Neftali Feliz(notes) to the starting rotation, where he'll presumably join Colby Lewis(notes), Derek Holland(notes), Alexi Ogando(notes) and Matt Harrison(notes).
Wilson's regular-season acumen has not translated into the regular season. Over the past two Octobers, he is 1-5 with a 4.82 ERA in 10 games, nine of them starts. He pitched better in the past World Series, posting a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings, which covered two starts and a relief appearance.
