"Asked about his reaction to Albert Pujols signing with the Los Angeles Angels, Indians GM Chris Antonetti said, "I would have preferred that he stayed in the National League."

The Angels signed Pujols to a reported 10-year, $254 million deal early Thursday morning. Then they signed left-hander C.J. Wilson to a reported five-year, $77.5 million package. Those signings followed a week in which the Miami Marlins signed Heath Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle for a combined $191 million.

The Indians countered with five days of talk. Their only player move was designating prospect Hector Rondon for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Grady Sizemore. Rondon, recovering from right elbow surgery, cleared waivers Thursday and was outrighted to Class AAA Columbus.

Antonetti was not surprised at the amount of money that the Marlins and Angels spent. When asked about being able to compete with teams with that kind of payroll, Antonetti said, "It's our job to find a way to stay competitive, to figure out a way to win.

"It doesn't necessarily make it any easier, but that's part of the business. We have to challenge ourselves to make the best decisions we can and just focus on what we can do to improve our team and win as many games as we can."

Antonetti left the meetings feeling he was just a couple of text messages away from making a deal. "