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I don’t have Angels GM Tony Reagins on speed dial, he doesn’t consult me on what offers he has on the table. (Not yet, at least.) So I will preface what follows with the understanding that I don’t know for sure what the Angels would have had to surrender to acquire Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins.

I do, however, know what it took for the Tigers to get him (and Dontrelle Willis, just for funsies). Two monster prospects in outfielder Cameron Maybin and lefty Andrew Miller, a 28 year old catcher who hit .258 in 51 games last season (Mike Rabelo), and three minor league pitchers, none of whom are older than 24. No doubt, that’s a hefty package of young talent. But good as they are, Miller and Maybin weren’t counted on to play large roles in Detroit’s quest to get back to the World Series this year. Maybin, who hit .148 in 24 games, clearly needed more seasoning, while Miller (5-5, 5.69 in 13 starts) might not have cracked the Tigers’ rotation coming out of spring training.

A lot to give up? Sure. But with Cabrera and Willis- who doesn’t have to be a #1 for pitching blessed Detroit- the Tigers are absolutely loaded heading into ‘08. And with this deal, they’re participating in that most American of constructs: Buy now, pay later.

It’s something the Angels could, and should, have done, too.

Reports have varied as to what Florida wanted for the pleasure of making Miggy an Angel. Howie Kendrick for sure, Jeff Mathis (highly likely, considering the Marlins picked up a backstop in today’s deal), then some combination of pitchers Nick Adenhart and Ervin Santana. The LA Times reports that the Angels were willing to deal one, between Adenhart and Santana, but not both. I’ve heard or read other names as the fourth guy in the deal. Brandon Wood. Joe Saunders. Reggie Willits.

If it took Adenhart and Santana to get a deal done, I’d have pulled the trigger. If it took tossing Willits, a guy who seemingly doesn’t have a job anymore in Anaheim, I’d have made that happen. Unlike the Dodgers, who couldn’t meet Florida’s asking price without sacrificing too much talent already counted on to produce for the big club this spring, the Angels had the luxury of offering up a lot of guys they didn’t necessarily need in 2008, and perhaps even ‘09. Kendrick is a great player and will win a batting title someday, but he’d have been the only valuable piece off the Angels’ big league roster to head east in the deals bandied about over the last few weeks. Adenhart finished ‘07 at Double-A, and wouldn’t have been on the roster coming out of spring training. Santana showed progress in ‘06, but slipped badly in ‘07. With the Angels currently sporting a stacked starting staff, he might not have made the top five.

Mathis? Replaceable with Mike Napoli. Wood? Reagins said today on the radio today that all things being equal, he wasn’t likely to win a gig heading into the season, despite the trade of Orlando Cabrera.

All of these players could turn out to be top notch major league players. Odds say they won’t, but it’s possible. But in Cabrera (we’re talking Miguel again), the Angels could have had perhaps the best young player the National League had to offer. A guy that, assuming Arte Moreno was willing to pay in a couple years, that the Angels could build around for the next decade. Not a bad pickup for a team starving for consistent, crunch time offense like Bill Belichick is starving for friends. Are you telling me Ervin Santana, the guy who in 2007 saw opponents hit at a .294 clip and sported a grotesque 8.38 ERA away from Angel Stadium is such a slam dunk that he’s worth putting in the way of getting Miguel Cabrera?

I wrote last week that the Angels had a unique opportunity to make a big splash, even at a big cost. The deal I’d have accepted included Brandon Wood to go with Adenhart and Kendrick, if that’s what it took. Again, two guys who won’t be around in the fall plus another who will in exchange for a potential Hall of Fame bat. Robbing Peter to pay Paul? Perhaps. But Peter does pretty well in the interim.  Now Peter watches as Detroit vaults over Los Angeles in the race for the American League (at least on paper, which is where games are played in December). 

You thought Boston was their only Green Goblin?

If the reports are to be believed, the Angels might have had a deal that didn’t include Wood, if they’d have pulled the trigger. And maybe it was never that cut and dried for the Angels. Maybe Florida kept upping the ante. Certainly Detroit paid a high price to get Cabrera, with Willis tossed in as sweetener. Hopefully the guys L.A.A. kept will do the organization proud down the road.

I know Cabrera would have.

Brian Kamenetzky hosts the Lakers Blog and Blue Notes: A Dodgers Blog for the LA Times.com. He’s a contributing writer to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. Write him at bk@sportshubla.com.

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