Mike Lowell might make sense in Anaheim - MLB

Mike Lowell 2.jpg Sean McAdam, while noting that no conversations have occurred to this effect, observes that Mike Lowell might be a good fit with the Angels.

Makes sense: LAAofA just lost Kendry Morales for the year, they have a swirling vortex of suck at third base right now in the form of Brandon Wood and their DH — Hideki Matsui — has been less than effective. Lowell fits in all three of those slots.

McAdam quotes insiders who observe that the Angels tend to try to fill holes internally if at all possible. That’s great, but at some point you have too many holes. Brandon Wood stinks? Fine, that was always possible. Matsui? No worries, give Mike Napoli a day off behind the dish and hope that limited play causes Godzilla to spring back to life. But those two and no first baseman? Maybe too much to overcome.

It’s hard to see Anaheim wanting to give up too much for Lowell, but it’s not at all clear that they’d have to either. One gets the sense that the Boston brass is sensitive to the fact that Lowell is simply dangling right now. Yeah, it’s a business and all but you have to figure they want to do right by the guy and give him a chance to play.

The biggest barrier to this? Probably the fact that there’s a decent chance that both the Sox and the Angels have wild card aspirations, so why would one team want to help the other before it’s clear whether there’s going to be a race or not.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill for a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics, extending the special legislative session into the next week amid negotiations over whether to contribute $380 million in public funding to the project.

The measure can still be amended by lawmakers, and if it passes the Senate it would still need approval from the Assembly before going to the desk of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has expressed support for it. Both the state Senate and Assembly are adjourned until Monday.

In a hearing that began Wednesday and stretched into the early morning hours Thursday, lawmakers peppered tourism officials and a representative from a firm partnering with the ball club with questions about the feasibility and benefits of financing such a deal.

Public funds for the stadium would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.

The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

A’s representatives and some tourism officials say a deal would further grow Las Vegas’ developing sports scene and act as an economic engine, but a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers warn that the project would bring minimal benefits for the hefty public price tag.