The news just broke this evening, by Jon Heyman on Twitter, that the Angels have given Jeff Weaver a five year, $85 million extension. My first thought was “Jered Weaver got Felix money?!” before remember that Weaver is having one hell of a season this year, and has been solid over his entire career. He’s been worth 5.2 WAR already this year, thanks to a 2.10 ERA. Last year, he was worth 5.9 after a 3.01 ERA and a career high 233 strikeouts.
Is the deal worth it for Weaver? My initial inclination is to say yes. He won’t turn 29 until after this season, and this deal will lock him up until after his age 33 season when he’s exiting his prime. Assuming he throws 12 more innings this season, he’ll be at 200 for the third straight year. Last season was odd for Weaver, as his strikeout rate spiked to a career high. He’s back down to his career average this season. His control also took a step forward last year, and has continued to improve this year, as his walk rate is a career best 2.01 this season.
The signing of Weaver brings up an interesting question: what does this mean for Dan Haren in LA? He’s under contract until 2012, with a club option for 2013 that looked like a lock to be exercised. Does the Weaver signing mean that the Angels will be more hesitant to pick up that option? I don’t think the Weaver deal will have all that much of a bearing, due to Torii Hunter’s $18 million salary coming off the books after 2012. But did the money earmarked for Haren go towards Weaver? Also, what about Ervin Santana? He’s in the same boat as Haren, with a contract until 2012 and a club option in 2013. Did the money with his name on it also go towards Weaver?
But here’s the thing about this Angels team: I don’t think Weaver’s signing with affect either Haren or Santana’s 2013 options. The Angels only had two players under contract in 2013 before the Weaver signing: Scott Downs and Vernon Wells. Everyone else on their roster is either under team control, a free agent to be, or arbitration eligible. But here’s the kicker: while players like Peter Bourjos, Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo, and Hank Conger will still be in their pre-arb years in 2013, guys like Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar are free agents in 2013. The Angels are going to have to throw money at those guys to retain them, and I don’t think either would be very cheap, especially Kendrick.
It’s a good move for LA to go younger, which is something they’ve eschewed in recent years by bringing in guys like Hunter and Wells. But Wells’ ugly contract could really hamper what they need to do in the future in getting some of their younger players locked up. Weaver was the first domino to fall, now we’ll see what else is going to happen.
