It's clear that come Sunday, when the free-agency period officially begins, the Angels are likely to pursue third baseman Aramis Ramirez and center fielder Gary Matthews Jr.

Add pitcher Barry Zito to that list.

Despite having six more-than-capable starting pitchers -- assuming Bartolo Colon recovers from a torn right rotator cuff -- the Angels are targeting Zito, a left-hander who won the 2002 Cy Young Award. A Southern California native, Zito was 16-10 with a 3.38 ERA for Oakland in the regular season.

If the Angels are able to sign Zito, who hasn't missed a start in his career and has averaged nearly 223 innings per season since 2001, it would allow them to trade one of their other pitchers for a hitter, perhaps Toronto center fielder Vernon Wells.

"Certainly the Angels are on Barry's list," his agent, Scott Boras, said by phone Tuesday. "No question they're a valued franchise in a division Barry has dominated in. Any team in the AL West who has not seen the merits of Barry Zito is hard to understand."

Boras confirmed that Angels general manager Bill Stoneman had called him but wouldn't say if Zito's name had come up in those talks.

The Angels, along with the Dodgers, Padres, Mets and Yankees seem to be the front-runners to land the 28-year-old, although Boras said Zito had given him "a list of teams all over the U. S."

Whether or not pitching coach Bud Black returns to the Angels -- he interviewed for managerial openings with the A's on Monday and the Padres last week -- wouldn't influence Zito's decision, Boras said. However, with Black's reputation, "I think it's a positive to have Bud on that staff," Boras said.

As far as where Zito stands in the list of potential Angels targets, it's hard to say. Pitching is at a premium these days, but the Angels have targeted offense as their main priority.

That leads them toward Ramirez, who hit .291 with 38 homers and 119 RBI last year for the Cubs. There had been speculation about a blockbuster deal for the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, but Boras stated again, "A-Rod is not going anywhere."

http://www.pe.com/sports/baseball/breakout...08.3319a2b.html

Interesting.

Santana+Saunders+Aybar for Wells+McGowan is what I'd like to see.

No McGowan. Santana, Aybar, Saunders for Wells.

Would never happen.



that rotation is already sick..if they sign zito they have to be one of the top 3 or 4 world series contenders.

why wouldn't that ever happen? if the Angels signed Zito, their rotation would be....

Colon
Zito
Lackey
Escobar
Weaver

And they would need offense so they could spare Santana and Saunders.

Why would the Angels want McGowan anyways? They don't have space for him on the 25 man roster for their own young arms as it is now.

they aren't that desperate.

they are basically one big bat from being a contender for many years to come. i think they will do everything in their power and explore every option to make sure it happens.

you didn't quote my entire post.

And yes...they ARE desperate for a bat like Vernon's.

McGowan = Throw in.

no *cries* i wanted the yanks to get Zito

I wish the Yankees don't get Mats or Zito. And their rotation to start the year is Wang, Mussina, Johnson, Wright, and some guy.

i don't want wright in our rotation

Why in the world would the Angels do that, when they can have Captain Gary for Weaver? :D

Well thats nice, I wish the Bluejays had a rotation of Chacin, Lily, Suppan, Weaver (JEFF), and Jose Lima. :D

fixed :D

He's just kidding folks, the Jays are going for a horrible year, Yankees win it all in '07. Get with it folks, 27 in '07.

Hey, thanks for that, a closet Yankee fan huh? :D

Zito isn't going to sign in the AL West... The rest is just rumors. He's going to the East Coast, IMO.

Great rotation

Chacin and Lilly are good pitchers...and we'll dominate in the playoffs with the Suppan/Weaver combo....and Jose Lima is a guy I can laff at!!!!

I have a feeling he will stay in the AL West...but in a Ranger's uniform.

haha thats a good one man