Q&A; WITH TONY REAGINS:

Tony Reagins ran behind schedule Tuesday night and he had a good excuse.

Reagins, the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, arrived a half-hour late to The Cannery restaurant in Newport Beach.

The hostess told those waiting for the 41-year-old Reagins to arrive and speak at the Hot Stove League series that there was a death in the Angels family.

Preston Gomez, who spent more than a quarter of a century in various positions in the Angels organization, passed away Tuesday in Fullerton at age 85. Gomez died of complications from head injuries he sustained while being struck by a truck at a gas station parking lot last March.

Gomez served as special assistant to Reagins.

“The Angels family has lost one of its invaluable members,” said Reagins of Gomez, who began his career playing for the Washington Senators in 1944, later became the second Latin American-born manager in Major League Baseball when he was named the San Diego Padres’ first manager in 1969, and he also managed the Houston Astros (1974-75) and the Chicago Cubs (1980), and served as a scout and executive, spending 64 years in professional baseball.

“His influence and impact on so many throughout the industry is impossible to measure. Though he will be missed, Preston’s legacy will forever remain a part of this organization.”

This offseason, Reagins has dealt with some ups and downs after his first year as a general manager.

The Daily Pilot caught up with him Tuesday.

 

Question: Can you assess your first year as the general manager?

A: We had a positive year. Won 100 games, the first time in the history of the franchise. We didn’t get to where we wanted to be and that was to win a world championship. But there was a lot of positives out of last year and we hope to build on that.

Q: What did you learn during your first year on the job?

A: What’s really important is you can’t wear [your emotions], you can’t get too high, or you can’t get too low. The season is a long season and different times of the year can get frustrating, but you have to be even keel to maintain a level head, make sound decisions and use the resources that you have available to you.

Q: How would you grade your first year?

A: I’ll leave that for others to judge.

Q: You must pretty happy that the Angels were able to lock up Manager Mike Scioscia until 2015.

A: We had discussions in September in regards to an extension and ironed out all the details and got it done. It’s important. Mike was under contract this year and had an option for next year. We just wanted to show that the consistency of our message and the stability in our organization is going to be there with Mike.

Q: One of the big moves the Angels made on July 29 last season was getting Mark Teixeira from the Atlanta Braves. Obviously he contributed to the Angels easily winning the American League West Division and qualifying for the playoffs. How difficult was it not being able to resign Teixeira in the offseason?

A: It was a target that we had to set out to try and accomplish in the offseason. Sometimes deals don’t come together and that was one of them. His desires were elsewhere and you respect that. We made a strong run at it, but the dollars weren’t good enough. That will happen. We had to move on. We turned the page on that one and we think we have a pretty talented first baseman in Kendry Morales that will step up and do a quality job for us.

Q: How did you handle seeing the New York Yankees come in and offer Teixeira an eight-year, $180-million contract, $20 more million than the Angels offer?

A: Our desires were to have him with the Angels. We think he would’ve helped our club in a significant way. But if a team comes in and offers him significant dollars, then I think with Mark, he really wanted to be on the East Coast. Put those factors together, the dollars and the geographic location, it makes sense for him and his family.

Q: Looking at it now, knowing you guys weren’t able to sign Teixeira, do you regret giving up on a promising young first baseman in Casey Kotchman by trading him away along with a double-A pitcher to the Braves to get Teixeira?

A: No. Don’t look back. We just felt at that time that was the best decision for our club and would give us the best opportunity to win a world championship [for the second time since 2002].

Q: In the offseason, you guys resigned outfielder Juan Rivera to a three-year, $12.75-million contract and signed free-agent closer Brian Fuentes of the Colorado Rockies to a two-year, $17.5-million contact. What was the thought behind these two signings?

A: With Juan, we just felt the upside there, his youth, being 29 years old, and being healthy, and we thought if he’s healthy he can be productive for us. He showed in 2006 [.310 batting average, 23 home runs, 85 runs-batted in], given significant at-bats that he can produce and put up some power numbers and still play a decent outfield for us. We thought that was important, to lock him up for three years, and give him a comfort level that he’d be in the lineup every day.

With respect with Francisco [Rodriguez], obviously he had a record-breaking year [with 62 saves], [but] we tried on several occasions to extend him to contracts that were similar to what he signed for [with the New York Mets, a three-year, $37-million deal]. It didn’t work out. I think it was important for him to see what his value was out in the open market. He earned that right. You can’t knock him for wanting to see his value. But we had to make decisions that were in the best interests for the Angels.

Being able to acquire Brian Fuentes, we think is going to be significant for us. A left-hander at the end of games that can do a quality job. He pitched at Coors Field, so he can come into the American League, where hitters haven’t seen him much and that should be beneficial for us.

Q: Are the Angels done making moves this offseason?

A: If there’s opportunities that make sense, we’ll pursue them. We’re perfectly comfortable with going to spring training with the club that we have.

Q: Why zero interest in free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez?

A: It’s two fold. We have a good outfield mix [with Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Gary Matthews Jr., Reggie Willits and Rivera] and we want to give our younger players an opportunity to play. At some point, they have to step up when they get the opportunity. If you never give them the opportunity, they never can show what their potential could be.

With Juan and with Kendry, Juan being in left field and Kendry being at first place, and having an extra outfielder to DH, there’s not room for a Manny Ramirez.

Q: Which moves are you most proud of?

A: They really all look the same to me. At the end of the day, you’re just looking at making your club better. We’re judged on wins and losses and not individual moves. For me, they’re all significant, even the smaller deals.

Q: Some people have said you’re not the only one who makes the decisions, other people in the organization help you. How are you perceived in baseball?

A: I think you get respect over time. Being a first-year general manager, you don’t come into the situation with the respect because you haven’t been in the game and at this level for X amount of years. But any smart person, it’s the smart way to go, you have resources that are around you, I think it makes sense to use those resources. I have a good team around me. Mike has input and his input is no different than what it was under [former general manager] Bill [Stoneman]. With me being the general manager and being the first-time general manager, I think that gets overplayed.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].