35-year old lefty swinging Hideki Matsui was signed to replace Vladimir Guerrero over the winter. Matsui will be a full-time DH for the Angels who need him to stay healthy. Matsui played in 142 games for the Yankees last season and he was 125 for 456 (.274 avg, .876 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 28 homers and 90 RBIs. The most important thing is to keep Matsui healthy because in his 5 years that he played in 140+ games he has averaged 92.2 runs scored, 24.6 homers and 104.6 RBIs. This guy is Mr. Clutch as he almost always seems to come through with runners on base.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: A

24-year old righty swinging Brandon Wood heads into spring training as the starting 3B for the Angels. He will have to play well this spring to keep the job heading into April. Wood played in 18 games for the Angels last season and he was 8 for 41 (.195 avg, .560 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Wood also whiffed 19 times for the Angels last season and that is way too many. Wood also played in 99 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 113 for 386 (.293 avg, .910 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 22 homers and 72 RBIs. Wood didn’t make any errors in his 9 games at 3B with the Angels and he is a natural shortstop so he should be able to handle the hot corner defensively.

29-year old switch hitting Maicer Izturis will be Wood’s main competition at 3B but the Angels probably prefer him to be the super utility man in 2010. He played in 5 games at 3B for the Angels last season and he didn’t make any errors while showing slightly below average range.

32-year old righty swinging Robb Quinlan will back up Wood at 3B and Morales at 1B in 2010. Quinlan played in 54 games for the Angels last season and he was 28 for 115 (.243 avg, .614 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers and 14 RBIs. The Angels think that Quinlan will bounce back as he has a career .281 batting average with a .734 OPS. Quinlan made 1 error in 9 games at 3B for the Angels last season while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: D+

26-year old switch hitting Erick Aybar took over as the full time shortstop for the Angels last season and he was outstanding. Aybar played in 137 games for the Angels last season and he was 157 for 504 (.312 avg, .776 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 5 homers, 58 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Aybar made 11 errors in 136 games at shortstop last season for the Angels while showing really good range. I look for Aybar to improve in 2010 knowing that Maicer Izturis is clearly behind him on the depth chart.

29-year old switch hitting Maicer Izturis will likely play all over the diamond for the Angels but I have a feeling that he will be playing a lot of 3B this season. Izturis played in 114 games for the Angels last season and he was 116 for 387 (.300 avg, .793 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 8 homers, 65 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Izturis is a natural shortstop so he would fill in for Aybar if he gets hurt in 2010. Izturis played in 28 games at SS last season for the Angels and he made 2 errors while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: B

The Angels have signed 30-year old righty reliever Bobby Korecky to a minor league deal. He pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP. Korecky has now pitched in 21 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-0 with a 6.85 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. Korecky has been effective in his minor league career and that’s why the Angels are giving him a shot this spring.

The Angels have re-signed 32-year old righty swinging 1B/3B Robb Quinlan to a minor league deal. He played in 54 games for the Angels last season and he was 28 for 115 (.243 avg, .614 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers and 14 RBIs. Quinlan has now played in 435 games in his 7 years with the Angels and he is 303 for 1,079 (.281 avg, .734 OPS) with 130 runs scored, 25 homers, 119 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. This was a good move for the Angels because Quinlan is a decent bench player.