Angels Steal Haren From D-Backs and 28 Other Teams

My beloved Halos traded for Dan Haren today in what appears to be a laughable deal. The Diamondbacks dealt their ace to the Angels for back-end rotation guy Joe Saunders and 2 prospects and a player to be named later. The rumors suggest that PTBNL is 2009 supp pick Tyler Skaggs. While Skaggs was coveted by the Diamondbacks, the trade still looks silly. Tony Reagins seemed to catch other GMs asleep at the wheel by sneaking in and acquiring Haren out of nowhere without giving up a big (or even good) package of players.

While I write this, it appears the Angels will fall 7 games back of the Rangers in the AL West. Without a Rangers collapse, the Angels still figure to fall short of the playoffs. But Haren is signed to a below market deal until 2013 and that has to hurt the feelings of many GMs. Except of course for D-Backs GM, Jerry Dipoto, who is fooled by winning percentage and thinks Joe Saunders is good at the pitching. I really expected Dipoto to shout "but he's a lefty" in announcing the trade. Pairing Haren and Jered Weaver should make the Angels a dangerous playoff team if not this year then in the following years. Sorry Diamondback fans, you're in for a long next few seasons.

My Reaction: Wheeeeeee!!!!!
Somehow the Angels managed to add a front of the rotation pitcher without giving up a major prospect. It's absolutely stunning that there wasn't another GM offering a better deal than this for Haren. The D-Backs didn't come close to getting one of the Angels top prospects, most importantly Mike Trout. This trade at least gives me a glimmer of hope for the Angels making the playoffs but I'm smarter than that. It does help ease the pain of Vlad Guerrero murdering the ball for the Rangers and the fact that the Angels are still paying Gary Matthews Jr a boat load of money.

Dan Haren's Reaction: Wheeeeeee!!!!!
Haren gets to move back to his homegrown SoCal digs and pitch for a perennial playoff contender. He shouldn't mind pitching in the AL West where he posted a 120 ERA+ with the A's between 2005-2007.

Arizona Fan's Reaction: Football starts soon, right?