 01/12/2004 7:57 PM ET
Angels' quick strike lands Guerrero
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By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com |
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| "Go for it" is what new Angels owner Arte Moreno (right) said about the chance to sign Vladimir Guerrero. (Ben Platt/MLB.com)
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Angels introduce Vladimir Guerrero:  56K | 300K
 Guerrero press conference audio
ANAHEIM -- The Angels' whirlwind courtship of Vladimir Guerrero took three days late last week and was consummated with an agreement for a guaranteed five-year contract worth $70 million, with a sixth-year option in favor of the club for $15 million. It happened faster than a sweep in a three-game series.
"It started Wednesday," Angels general manager Bill Stoneman said Monday. "We made an offer on Thursday, went back and forth, and by 5 o'clock on Friday afternoon we had it done. I really didn't think anything of this magnitude was going to happen, that the opportunity was going to present itself."
The opportunity did present itself and Arte Moreno, who purchased the franchise this past May from Disney, took advantage of it and opted to remake the Angels. The signing of Guerrero, a right fielder with one of the strongest arms in the game, will have a domino affect on a team that won the World Series only two years ago.
Mike Scioscia, the giddy Angels manager, said at the press conference introducing Guerrero to the Southern California media that there would be wholesale defensive changes to accommodate Guerrero.
"You're looking at our new center fielder right there," Scioscia said, apparently pointing at Garret Anderson, standing to the side of the room next to closer Troy Percival and third baseman Troy Glaus, the MVP of Anaheim's come-from-behind World Series victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Darin Erstad
/ LF
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Percival cracked a "Who me?" expression immediately after Scioscia's remark, sending laughter rippling through the room, but obviously, Anderson, an All-Star left fielder, will move to center. Jose Guillen, another newcomer who signed recently as a free agent for $6 million over two years, will play left. And Darin Erstad, who only two years ago played an acrobatic center field that was one of the centerpieces of the championship team, will go to first base, replacing the departed Scott Spiezio.
Former Angels manager Terry Collins moved Erstad from the outfield to first base for the first time in 1997. Erstad suffered through an injury-plagued season in 2003 as the defending champions slumped to 77-85, 19 games behind American League West-winning Oakland. The Angels won a franchise record 99 games in 2002, good enough to secure the Wild Card berth in the AL.
"If you look at our team, the core is still the same," Percival said. "Now that we have everybody healthy and with the additions that we've made, there's not a whole lot of holes on this team right now."
It took the enigmatic Angels 42 years to play in the World Series for the first time in 2002. And because the franchise was on the market for several years, Disney was reluctant to spend too much money on the on-field product. Moreno, though, has no plans to wait another 42 years for his team to return to the Fall Classic.
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Vladimir Guerrero
/ RF
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Guerrero, speaking through an interpreter, said a chance to play in the playoffs for the first time in his seven-year career -- all with the Montreal Expos -- was one of the factors in his decision to sign with the Angels. Guerrero also reportedly had offers from the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Mets, who also came into the picture late last week.
"Going to a competitive team was one of the many factors in deciding where to play. That carried some weight," Guerrero said.
"Anaheim is a good city and has a great Hispanic community," added Fernando Cuza, vice president of baseball for SFX Sports Group and one of Guerrero's agents. "The venue [now called Angel Stadium at Anaheim] is beautiful, it's a great lineup. Ownership. Management here. They were all contributing factors."
Guerrero having his family behind him was also apparently an issue. In attendance at the press conference were his three brothers, Julio, Eleazar and Wilton, a former Dodger now with the Kansas City Royals. His mother, Altagarcia Alvino, flew all the way from the Dominican Republic and proclaimed her support.
"I pray that he does as well for the Angels as he has for all his other teams," she said.
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Bartolo Colon
/ P
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Since the end of the season, the Angels have added pitchers Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar, Guillen and Guerrero, a spending spree with a total value of $151.75 million. This year alone, the Angels will come within hailing distance of the $120.5 million competitive balance tax threshold, Stoneman said.
Moreno said he viewed Guerrero's signing as a long-term capital investment in the franchise, this despite the fact that Guerrero missed 50 games in Montreal last season for a bad back and at one time was considering surgery. Angels physicians, though, cleared him after a physical and Guerrero claimed he is feeling good and in a proper exercise program.
"From Day One, I said that there was going to be some capital investment needed to put us in position to be competitive," Moreno said. "That was one of the commitments I made, that I would make an investment for both the short term and the long term. In talking to our baseball people, we're trying to take the direction of what we could do to supplement a championship team. The majority of that team is in place.
"I wouldn't say I had what I'd call a firm budget. This was an opportunity that doesn't happen very often. We're comfortable now where we are today, but we're also trying to position ourselves for 2005, 2006 and 2007."
Stoneman said he had contacted Guerrero's agents early in the free-agent offseason and came away daunted by his asking price. Guerrero, in fact, had turned down a five-year, $75 million offer to return to the Expos where he amassed a .323 lifetime batting average, 234 homers and 702 runs batted in. Defensively, he has committed just 87 errors in 1,004 games.
But Stoneman, a former Major League pitcher and the Expos' vice president of baseball administration when Guerrero came up as rookie in 1996, decided to take one last shot at it last week with Guerrero still on the market.
Suddenly the numbers were more in line with what Moreno was willing to spend.
"I said, 'Arte, if we're going to do something here, let me tell you, this is a really special player,'" Stoneman said. "'I know him personally. He's a team guy. He's a quiet guy. He just loves to play baseball. Add this guy and it really changes our lineup.' Arte said, 'If you want to go for it, go for it.'"
Stoneman went for it. And Monday, he stood next to Guerrero as he slipped on his new No. 27 jersey and red Angels cap, making the whirlwind signing complete.
Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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