The Angels have released 30-year old righty swinging 1B/3B Jorge Cantu, as he exercised his opt out clause in his contract. Cantu played in 21 games in AAA-ball for the Angels this year and he was 25 of 86 (.291 avg, .788 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers and 22 RBIs. Cantu has played in 847 games in 8 years in the majors and he is 847 for 3,128 (.271 avg, .755 OPS) with 367 runs scored, 104 homers, 476 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The Angels aren’t going to miss Cantu this year. I do think another team will sign him to a minor league deal soon as he was hitting the ball well in AAA.

The Angels have called up 20-year old righty swinging outfielder Mike Trout. He is likely going to be the starting CF for the Angels. Trout played in 20 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 31 of 77 (.403 avg, 1.091 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 13 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Trout struggled last season in his first shot at the show, when he played in 40 games for the Angels in which he was 27 of 123 (.220 avg, .672 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers, 16 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. His P.T. was sporadic last year, but the Angels are planning on playing him every day this time around to see if he can give the offense a boost. 25-year old righty swinging Peter Bourjos will likely be the #4 outfielder now that he won’t be starting in CF. He has played in 16 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 8 for 45 (.178 avg, .512 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. I think Bourjos will do a good job in his new role.

The Los Angeles Angels have released 38-year old lefty swinging DH/OF Bobby Abreu. Abreu played in 8 games for the Angels this year and he was 5 for 24 (.208 avg, .593 OPS) with 1 run scored, 0 homers and 5 RBIs. He played in 456 games in his four years with the Angels and he was 443 of 1,662 (.267 avg, .776 OPS) with 239 runs scored, 43 homers, 246 RBIs and 75 stolen bases. The Angels aren’t going to miss Abreu too much as they were having problems finding him ABs. He has also started to slide production wise. I have a feeling that some team is going to pick him up in 2012.

The Angels have signed 28-year old righty swinging catcher John Hester to a minor league deal. Hester played in 10 games in AAA-ball earlier this year for the Orioles and he was 9 for 34 (.265 avg, .813 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. He made his debut recently in Salt Lake City (AAA) for the Angels and he was 0 for 1 with a whiff. Hester last played in the majors back in 2010 with the Diamondbacks. He has played in 53 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 27 for 123 (.220 avg, .660 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 3 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

The Angels have designated 27-year old righty reliever Rich Thompson for assignment. Thompson pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Angels this year and he was 0-1 with a 15.43 ERA and a 2.57 WHIP. He pitched in 81 games (0 starts) in his six years with the Angels and he was 3-4 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Angels have called up 27 year old lefty starter/reliever Brad Mills to replace Thompson in the bullpen. Mills started 1 game in AAA-ball this year for the Angels and he was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Mills will be used in long relief by the Angels.

UPDATE: (4/21/2012) - The Angels have lost Rich Thompson on waivers to the division rival Oakland A’s.