The Texas Rangers won back-to-back American League championships to set the bar in the American League West, but the Los Angeles Angels spent $331.5 million Thursday to close the gap.
The Angels’ signings of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson as the winter meetings closed in Dallas surprised all of baseball – and certainly made life more difficult for the Seattle Mariners and general manager Jack Zduriencik.
The only player the Mariners came home with that they didn’t have when the meetings began was 24-year-old left-handed reliever Lucas Luetge, a Double-A pitcher obtained in the Rule 5 draft from Milwaukee on Thursday.
It caused not a ripple in the AL West.
The Mariners finished the 2011 season in fourth place for the second consecutive year – 29 games behind the Rangers and 19 in back of the Angels.
Now the Angels have added what general manager Jerry Dipoto called “the best player in baseball” in Pujols, a three-time National League Most Valuable Player and arguably the best free agent on the market.
Texas? The Rangers lose Wilson but move Neftali Feliz to their rotation after signing closer Joe Nathan.
The Mariners still have targets in their sights, both through free agency and trade, but the sticker shock of events in Dallas may be hard to shake off.
Asked about Pujols, Zduriencik told reporters in Dallas: “That’s a very special talent they acquired and just makes it more difficult for everybody in the division.”
Prince Fielder remains on the market, but that market likely outran Seattle’s budget when Pujols pulled down a 10-year, $254 million contract.
A few hours later, Wilson signed for $77.5 million over five years.
And the second-tier bats available through free agency, such as Minnesota’s Michael Cuddyer, are pulling in interest such as Colorado’s three-year, $25 million offer.
Baseball’s economics continue to assault the senses. Angels owner Arte Moreno, for instance, bought the team in 2003 for about $180 million. Next season his payroll will be about that high.
A glance at AL West payrolls for 2012 will do nothing to encourage the Mariners or their fans:
• The Angels will have an opening day payroll of an estimated $170 million.
• The Rangers’ payroll will climb to approximately $108 million, and Texas is still looking for bullpen help.
• The Mariners are expected to hold the line at their payroll from last season, about $95 million.
• The Athletics spent $67 million in 2011, and will come in far lower if they can trade pitchers Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey.
Can the Mariners close the gap on the division leaders, or even improve their 65-92 record of last season?
So far this offseason, they’ve traded reliever Josh Lueke to Tampa Bay for reserve left-handed-hitting catcher John Jaso and selected Luetge in the Rule 5 draft.
Seattle views Luetge as a possible left-handed specialist, a 6-foot-4, 203-pounder who held left-handed hitters to a .175 average last season in Huntsville, Ala., where he went 1-3 with three saves and a 3.13 earned-run average.
To keep Luetge, however, the Mariners would have to carry him on their 25-man roster all season, or offer him back to the Brewers.
Clearly, Zduriencik isn’t through with his stated goal of “improving the team” piece by piece. He told writers Thursday in Dallas, “This doesn’t change anything.”
The day did, however, alter the landscape in the AL West, where reaching the top became considerably tougher.
larry.larue@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners
Baseball’s Biggest contracts
MLB contracts worth $150 million or more:
Player, ClubYearsTotal
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees2008-17$275 million
Albert Pujols, Angels2012-21$254 million
Rodriguez, Rangers-Yankees2001-10$252 million
Derek Jeter, Yankees2001-10$189 million
Joe Mauer, Twins2011-18$184 million
Mark Teixeira, Yankees2009-16$180 million
CC Sabathia, Yankees2009-15$161 million
Manny Ramirez, Red Sox-LAD2001-08$160 million
Matt Kemp, Dodgers2012-19$160 million
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies2011-20$157.75 million
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers 2008-15$152.3 million
The Associated Press
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