"We sat down to talk with Garret about what his expectations are and what our expectations are," Angels GM Tony Reagins said. "Once we both kind of identified our expectations, we just felt at this time this was the way to go."
The Angels will "continue the dialogue" with Anderson, Reagins said, holding open the possibility that he could be re-signed for a lower salary. But Angels manager Mike Scioscia said there was no way to tell at this point whether Anderson would figure into the Angels' 2009 plans.
"I think there obviously are a lot of possibilities right now about where our roster is going to be in the next month," Scioscia said. "It's impossible to say where a number of players are going to slot in. There are a lot of scenarios that are laid out. There are some high-profile guys we're going to have the opportunity to make decisions on.
"Garret is a guy who fits in some of those scenarios. But we don't know where those scenarios are going to lead right now."
Anderson was second on the team with 84 RBIs in 2008 and hit .293, the 14th consecutive season he has hit over .280. Only one other active player can match that streak (Manny Ramirez).
Anderson also holds the Angels' club records for games played (2,013), at-bats (7,989), extra-base hits (796), runs (1,024), hits (2,368), total bases (3,743) and RBIs (1,292). He is second to Tim Salmon in home runs as an Angel (272) and third in career average (.296).
Garret Anderson's 14-year career as an Angel might have come to an end with his groundout in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the team's American League Division Series loss to the Boston Red Sox.
The Angels elected to buy out the option year in Anderson's contract rather than pay him $14 million to play for them next season. Anderson, 36, can file for free agency this fall for the first time in his career after playing his entire major league career with the Angels.
"We sat down to talk with Garret about what his expectations are and what our expectations are," Angels GM Tony Reagins said. "Once we both kind of identified our expectations, we just felt at this time this was the way to go."
The Angels will "continue the dialogue" with Anderson, Reagins said, holding open the possibility that he could be re-signed for a lower salary. But Angels manager Mike Scioscia said there was no way to tell at this point whether Anderson would figure into the Angels' 2009 plans.
"I think there obviously are a lot of possibilities right now about where our roster is going to be in the next month," Scioscia said. "It's impossible to say where a number of players are going to slot in. There are a lot of scenarios that are laid out. There are some high-profile guys we're going to have the opportunity to make decisions on.
"Garret is a guy who fits in some of those scenarios. But we don't know where those scenarios are going to lead right now."
