Sunday, August 21, 2011

Angels, Jered Weaver agree to five-year deal worth $85 million

Per Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, it is believed that the Angels and ace Jered Weaver have agreed to a five-year deal that is worth $85 million. Bolch notes that Weaver's agent Scott Boras would not confirm that news over the phone.

That said, the Angels have scheduled a news conference for tomorrow afternoon.

Despite his poor performance on August 13th (eight earned runs), Weaver has a 2.10 ERA and is 14-6 on the season. He leads the A.L. in ERA and is second in all of baseball behind Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto (1.89).

Weaver's ERA has declined every year since 2008: 4.33 to 3.75 (2009) to 3.01 (2010) to 2.10 (2011).

Last year, Weaver led all of baseball in strikeouts (233). This year, Weaver has struck out 158 batters in 188.1 innings pitched.

Giants place Brian Wilson on the DL

The San Francisco Giants have placed closer Brian Wilson on the 15-day disabled list (DL).

Since he last pitched on August 15th, Wilson is eligible to come off the DL on August 31st.

"We put him on the DL so we did not have the urge to push him," [Giants manager Bruce] Bochy said, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. "Or to have Willie go out there when he's not right. He wanted to try to get through it. Long term, it's the best thing for his career."

While Wilson is out, it appears that Jeremy Affeldt is most likely going to get the ball in the ninth.

On the season, Affeldt is 1-2 with three saves, 12 holds and 49 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings pitched. His ERA is 2.63 and WHIP is 1.15.