A healthy Jeff Mathis could spell trouble for struggling DH Hideki Matsui, who signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract with the Angels last December.

Mathis, who has been sidelined since April 20 because of a broken bone in his right wrist, is hoping to begin his minor league rehab soon and once he’s ready to return to the club, Matsui’s spot in the lineup could be in danger. Mathis is the Halos’ best defensive catcher, but Mike Napoli has been the club’s hottest hitter this month and could move to the DH position that is currently being occupied by Matsui.

Even though Matsui is hitting just .229 with a .302 on-base percentage this year, his manager Mike Scioscia told the L.A. Times that he’s not giving up on the veteran hitter.

“His track record — and I mean recent track record, not seven years ago — is clear,” Scioscia said. “Maybe his timing is not right, maybe he hasn’t squared balls up on a consistent basis, but he’s shown that it’s in there; he was our best hitter the first three weeks of the season. We’re confident he’s going to be productive.”

Matsui said through an interpreter that he “feels good physically,” though one has to wonder whether his arthritic knees aren’t a factor in his struggles.

“The results just aren’t there,” Matsui said, “so I’m going to have to keep working until they are.”

The killer for the Angels is that Vladimir Guerrero, the man who hit in the DH position last year, is now hitting .339 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI for division rival Texas. The Halos thought they had sewn up their hole at DH last winter with the signing of Matsui, but in the early going it appears that allowing Vlad to escape to Texas was a poor decision.

It’s kind of amazing to think that the 2009 World Series MVP might be benched soon, but if Matsui doesn’t start hitting that scenario will surely become a reality.

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While nothing beats the opening weekend in football, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the start of a new baseball season. With a sense of a new beginning, the opening week of baseball brings hope and excitement to fans across the country.

Then you realize that you’re favorite team is the Pirates, Royals or Nationals and all that hope gets crushed. It’s an ugly realization, but it is what it is.

As baseball is set to kick off a new season, here are 10 things to keep an eye on this week.

1. Roy Halladay makes his Philles debut
Fans will have to wait until next weekend to see Halladay make his Philadelphia debut, but they probably won’t have to wait long to see him dominate in red and white. Halladay will start against the Nationals on Opening Day and then at Houston five days later, which means he gets tune ups against two of the weaker teams in the National League. He shouldn’t have any issues making the early-season transition to the NL – outside of hitting, of course. Unless he succumbs to the pressure of pitching in Philadelphia, Halladay will likely have plenty of success throughout the entire season.

2. Jason Heyward’s MLB debut
The top position player prospect in baseball will enter the 2010 season as the Braves’ starting right fielder. The former 2007 first round pick hit .323 with 17 homers and 63 RBI between three stops in the minor leagues last season and might be the difference between the Braves finishing in the middle of the pack in the National League, or securing a postseason berth. Heyward doesn’t have one breakout skill, but he’s a five-tool player who takes a patient approach to the plate and exhibits good bat speed. He’s also a solid defender, with above-average speed and can play multiple outfield positions. If Heyward turns out to be the real deal, then so too will the Braves.

3. Can Jon Rauch fill Joe Nathan’s shoes?
After Nathan decided to have Tommy John surgery and therefore miss the entire 2010 season, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that the club would employ a closer-by-committee situation with their bullpen. But Gardenhire quickly went back on that decision, instead choosing to go with Rauch as his full-time closer. The question now becomes: Will Rauch be the same reliable pitcher he was last year in Minnesota or the one that struggled in Arizona in the first half? Rauch isn’t the long-term solution, but he doesn’t have to be either. He just has to be dependable this season to help bridge the gap until Nathan returns to full health in 2011.

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The Angels traded outfielder Gay Matthews Jr. to the Mets in exchange for right-hander Brian Stokes. As part of the deal, the Angels will eat $21.5 million on the two years and $23.5 million that still remain on Matthew’s contract.

Since signing a five-year, $50 million offer with the Angels in 2006, he has hit .248 and had just 316 at-bats last season. With Carlos Beltran expected to be out until at least May following knee surgery, Matthews will add some insurance to the Mets’ outfield.

But general manager Omar Minaya following the trade, Matthews isn’t guaranteed playing time. Angel Pagan hit .306 with six home runs in 88 games last season and will have the opportunity to earn more playing time in spring training. If Matthews wants to play, he better hit in the spring.

Even though they acquired Stokes, this trade was largely about the Halos ridding themselves of Matthews, who turned out to be a massive free agent bust. Stokes, 30, isn’t expected to make much of an impact in L.A. this season after posting a 1.56 WHIP last season for the Mets.

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According to a report by the Toronto Sun, the Angels have offered starting pitcher Joe Saunders, shortstop Erick Aybar and outfielder Peter Bourjos to the Blue Jays for ace Roy Halladay.

For the second day in succession the Angels are the lead team in the chase for Halladay, a year away from free agency.

And unless someone steps up with a better offer could the Angels wind up with Halladay? Will Halladay report to a west coast team which has spring training in Arizona?

“Let me ask you this,” said one major league executive, “do you think that the Angels would be running through hoops, having one conversation after another with the Jays and not know whether Halladay would report to Los Angeles?”
Good point.

The Angels are also in on free agents John Lackey, Jason Bay and Matt Holliday.

For the past three seasons, the Angels have made the postseason and have yet to even sniff a World Series appearance (although last year they did push the Yankees to a Game 7 in the ALDS). Thus, it would make sense that they’re trying to load up in efforts to match the Yankees and contend for a title next season.

As the article points out, the question now becomes whether or not Halladay would want to join a club that holds their spring training in Arizona instead of Florida. It has become public knowledge that Halladay wants to go to a team that trains in Florida, because his home is in Tampa.

That said, if Halladay truly wants to play for a contender, this might be his best and most realistic shot.

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According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Angels are interested in Blue Jays’ ace Roy Halladay, but only if he’s interested in agreeing to a long-term deal with them.

The Yankees, Red Sox and perhaps Phillies are among other teams interested in what’s expected to be a select group in the bidding for the Blue Jays superstar.

Executives with multiple teams interested say they believe Halladay’s value is enhanced if he’s willing to sign on long term, and that Toronto’s take will be diminished greatly if Halladay prefers to wait to sign until he becomes a free agent after the year. But the Angles are at least one team that will walk away from talks without a long-term deal in hand.

Halladay has a full no-trade clause and is known to want to go to a perennial winner. He is also believed to strongly prefer a team that trains in Florida, as his winter home is just outside Tampa. Halladay rejected the Rangers last year but could be slightly more open to the Angels. Halladay’s agent, Greg Landry, has said they will consider opportunities on a “case-by-cases basis.”

According to Heyman, Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has said that he’s willing to consider trading Halladay within the division, which makes little sense. For a new GM to want to make a division opponent better sounds ridiculous, but if he receives a package that is too good to be true then he might have little choice.

If Anthopoulos is willing to deal within the division, the Yankees make sense. They obviously have the money to make Halladay happy long-term and the Bombers train in Tampa. But whether or not they have the package to entice Toronto is a whole other story.

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Along with the Yankees and several other teams, the Angels are interested in Tigers’ outfielder Curtis Granderson, whom could be available this winter for the right package of prospects.

From the Detroit Free Press:

According to the report, a Tigers executive said the team would rather move Jackson than Granderson. Another person told Foxsports.com that the Angels would be a premier trade partner because of Los Angeles’ depth in areas the Tigers need, namely catcher, shortstop and minimum-salary pitching.

In other rumor news, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that a person familiar with the situation said talks between the Tigers and the Mariners regarding Granderson and Jackson have cooled off.

The book on Granderson is that he’s a five-tool player, but he can’t hit left-handed pitching. Still, he would upgrade any outfield he winds up (if he’s traded) in, while also offering plenty of speed and a fair amount of pop as well.

If the Tigers do decide to part ways with him, Granderson will be one of the most sought after bats available this offseason. (Along with Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, of course.)

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