With Rangers ace C.J. Wilson returning to the United States after an off-season trip to Japan, the courting of the free agent has begun.
According to a report from ESPN, the first team Wilson will meet with upon his return is the LA Angels, who have scheduled a presentation with the hard-throwing lefty for next Monday.
The Angels, despite having a stacked top of the rotation with Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana, have expressed a lot of interest in the Southern California native:
"I don't know that you can ever have enough pitching," [Angels GM Jerry] Dipoto said after the meeting with [Wilson's agent] Garber. "When you have an opportunity to sit down and talk with the likes of C.J. Wilson, you at least want to express that level of interest. Clearly he's been very, very good in recent years, and he's a guy we do have interest in."
However, any decision on Wilson's future is still far away, as seven different teams -- the Angels, Rangers, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals -- all met with Wilson's agent during the general manager's meetings in Milwaukee last week.
Both Garber and Wilson have indicated there will be a substantial "process" in determining the pitcher's new home, and with very few proven starting pitchers on the market, Wilson's leverage remains sky-high.