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The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were not able to deal starter Dan Haren after an eleventh-hour trade rejection and announced that they have declined Haren's $15.5 million club option for 2013. The Angels will pay Haren a $3.5 million buyout and Haren is now a free agent.
So the Dan Haren Tradewatch is officially over, and the Dan Haren Free Agent Observation has begun. I was surprised that the Angels chose to decline the option. Even though they would have lost some leverage after picking up Haren's option, I had thought that they would've found some team that would've been interested. Perhaps there was a hidden medical reason why the Angels-Cubs trade fell through. Greg Wisniewski tweets:
@minor_leaguer So, the Angels almost got something for Dan Haren, could have kept him and still tried to use him/get something, let him go.
— Greg Wisniewski (@coolhead2010) November 3, 2012
@minor_leaguer Makes me think the Angels think he's very broken.
— Greg Wisniewski (@coolhead2010) November 3, 2012
Looking back at the events from Friday night, especially the Cubs' sudden nixing of the trade, I am slightly less enthusiastic about signing Haren. Not that the Blue Jays shouldn't try, but I wouldn't necessarily blame them if they gave him a relatively lowball offer. Would you still want Alex Anthopoulos to sign him? How much would you be willing to offer, and for how many years?
On to Anibal Sanchez!