Mark Mulder Officially Angels Signee

The rumors were true! The Angels have signed pitcher Mark Mulder to a minir league contract with an invitation to Spring Training - opening the door for him to make the big league club. The deal is full of incentives that could make it worth lots more than the Half-Million minimum annual wage that a base contract pays these days.

If Mulder makes thirty starts and his ERA is lower than league average he could make as much as $6 Million with the incentives peppered throughout the new deal.

If things are hopeful, Mulder let the media know that he would start the season in the minors but that the goal was to be a starting pitcher in the Angels rotation.

Although he retired with an injured shoulder it was recently revealed that his shoulder never hurt. Uncompromised and not truly injured, his delivery and arm angle were complicating the shoulder adding anything reliable to his mechanics. In October he had an epiphany and immediately started training with a radical (for him at least) new delivery. The results impressed scouts and he specifically chose the Angels because of the likelihood of making the opening day pitching staff.

Mulder is 36 years old and by my personal estimate, has a bigger IQ than approximately 80% of all current and former players.

The Angels rotation definites are Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson. After that Garrett Richards has a good shot. Then there are Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago with the latter having the advantage. Joe Blanton is still under contract but there are few imaginable circumstances where he gets a start for the Anaheim Nine this year.