The top target for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this offseason was outfielder Carl Crawford, but now that he has signed a massive seven-year, $142 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, the Angels must turn their thoughts elsewhere. They are now expected to go hard after third baseman Adrian Beltre, who played in Los Angeles with the Dodgers from 1998 to 2004. Closer Rafael Soriano is also expected in the mix for the Angels, who will remain busy this offseason.
Crawford, though, was the one that got away. The Angels met with Crawford last month in Texas, and are believed to offer him a six-year, $108 million contract, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Of course, that $18 million a year offer was equaled by Jayson Werth in his deal with the Washington Nationals, only Werth got seven years, so Crawford's price had to go up after Sunday's deal. Angels' outfielder Torii Hunter told DiGiovanna, "I'm crushed, man, I could have sworn he was coming here. I'm sitting here in a daze right now, like, what the heck just happened?"
With Boston signing Crawford and trading for Adrian Gonzalez, they are out of the Adrian Beltre market, and the Yankees don't really have a spot for Beltre either, so the top two spending teams are out of the running. It appears Beltre will play in the AL West next year, as his top suitors are the Angels, Oakland, and Texas, should the Rangers lose out on Cliff Lee. The Angels are still expected to seek Soriano, despite also having high-priced relievers Fernando Rodney ($5.5 million in 2011) and Hisanori Takahashi ($3.8 million) in their bullpen.
For more Angels news and information, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Halos Heaven.
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