Seeing that we have John Lackey, Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar, Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana in the pitching rotation, where would a pitcher like Barry Zito fit in the rotation if the Angels weren't forced to trade Santana?
-- Luis A., Santa Ana, Calif.
Something would have to give, obviously. Still unknown, however, is the health of Colon and how quickly he'll be ready to take his regular turn in the rotation. If the 2005 American League Cy Young Award winner rehabs from his rotator cuff injury and the Angels were to acquire another front-line starter, then one of their young starters would have to be shipped out to make room. The plus side is that likely would indicate the addition of offensive help. If Colon is not ready, then the team may need to hang on to its young starters.
All the attention has been geared toward improving the offense, and rightfully so, but what are the Angels doing to improve an already strong bullpen?
-- Jason T., Carson, Calif.
While the bullpen isn't quite pressing the hot button like the search for a big bat to plug into the lineup, the Angels have a part of their offseason agenda geared toward securing another arm to help share setup duties with Scot Shields. On Sunday, they signed free-agent right-hander Justin Speier. But one of the intriguing rumors to surface recently is the possibility of swinging a deal for Padres reliever Scott Linebrink. The right-hander pitched well enough in the seventh-inning role in 2004 and '05 to allow the Padres to deal Akinori Otsuka and have Linebrink take over the eighth inning.
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Mailbag: How would new players fit?
Mailbag: How would new players fit?
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