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Angels Sign Donovan Walton To Minors Deal

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The Angels signed infielder Donovan Walton to a minor league contract last month, according to Walton’s MLB.com profile page.  Walton has been outrighted off 40-man rosters multiple times in his career, so he was eligible to elect minor league free agency and depart the Phillies organization once the season was over.

Walton has appeared in six of the last seven MLB seasons, though 49 of his 72 games in the Show came in 2021-22 with the Mariners and Giants.  After signing a minors deal with the Mets last offseason, Walton was traded to the Phillies in July, and continued to toil away on the farm until his contact was selected to Philadelphia’s active roster in September.  Walton made a pair of starts at second base while the Phils were dealing with a spate of infield injuries, but those two outings represented the entirety of Walton’s 2025 playing time in the majors.

The 31-year-old has hit just .172/.223/.298 over 214 career plate appearances in the bigs, but Walton’s ability to play both middle infield positions and also chip in at third base and in left field has helped him earn some looks at a bench player.  He has hit pretty well in Triple-A ball (.281/.365/.435 over 1479 PA), but expecting those numbers to translate into MLB success this late into Walton’s career might be a tall order.

Having a veteran utility player as a depth option on either the 26-man roster or at Triple-A makes sense for an Angels team that is thin in the infield.  While Vaughn Grissom was acquired in a trade from the Red Sox, the second and third base positions are still question marks in Los Angeles.  The Angels figure to bring in at least one player as an everyday option at either the keystone or the hot corner, leaving Walton and company to battle it out for part-time duty or a bench role.

Angels To Sign Tayler Saucedo

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The Angels are signing left-hander Tayler Saucedo, as Saucedo himself indicated recently on his personal Instagram account. The exact details of Saucedo’s contract aren’t yet known, but it’s likely to be a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training.

Saucedo, 32, made his big league debut as a member of the Blue Jays back in 2021 but got the majority of his work over the years with the Mariners after Seattle picked him up off waivers prior to the 2023 season. Saucedo proved to be a viable middle relief arm for the Mariners across two seasons, pitching to a 3.54 ERA in 86 1/3 innings of work with a 21.7% strikeout rate against a walk rate of 11.0%. That latter figure is elevated relative to Saucedo’s strikeout ability, but the lefty was able to make up for it by generating an excellent 55.0% ground ball rate. Saucedo’s 3.79 FIP and 4.05 SIERA were more pedestrian than elite, but there was still reason for optimism regarding the southpaw’s profile.

That’s because Saucedo’s combination of strikeouts and grounders was very encouraging. Among relievers with a ground ball rate of 55.0% or higher between 2023 and ’24, the lefty’s strikeout rate ranked tenth. That combination of strikeouts and grounders is hard to come by, and among those who fit that bill are high-end closers like Andres Munoz and Jhoan Duran. Saucedo was held back from reaching those elite levels primarily by a his penchant for allowing free passes. While ground ball pitchers like Camilo Doval and Aaron Bummer have managed to make walk rates in the 11-12% range work in high leverage situations, they do so with a much healthier helping of strikeouts than Saucedo can muster.

Despite his flaws, Saucedo entered 2025 figuring to be a key piece of the Seattle bullpen. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out as the lefty struggled in ten MLB appearances this year. His 7.43 ERA across 13 1/3 innings in the majors this season left him to spend most of the season at Triple-A Tacoma. After being optioned to the minors, he was sidelined for two months by a lat strain that sent his season further off the rails. The lefty looked good for Tacoma upon his return to action, with a 2.75 ERA overall across 22 appearances at the level to go with a 27.9% strikeout rate. That performance wasn’t enough to convince the Mariners to keep him in the fold, however, and he was non-tendered back in November as a result.

Now with the Angels, Saucedo figures to enter Spring Training with an opportunity to grab a spot in a mostly unsettled Angels bullpen. Robert Stephenson, Drew Pomeranz, and Kirby Yates figure to handle the late innings, while Ben Joyce will be a factor later in the year upon his return from last year’s shoulder surgery. If Saucedo finds a role in Anaheim, it figures to be in the middle innings. Besides Pomeranz, the only other lefty in the team’s current projected bullpen is Brock Burke. Burke turned in a dominant 2022 season as a member of the Rangers but has been less impressive in the years since; he posted 3.36 ERA with a 4.16 FIP in 69 appearances for the Angels last year. That’s solid enough production for a middle relief lefty, but there could still be room for Saucedo to join Burke (as well as righty Jordan Romano) in the middle innings.

Angels Interested In Nolan Arenado

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As the Cardinals continue to pursue trades of their veterans, the Angels have emerged as a potential destination for Nolan Arenado. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic connected the third baseman to the Halos last week, and colleagues Will Sammon and Katie Woo echoed the sentiment this week.

Two potential roadblocks existed for an Arenado deal, one for each side, though the Angels have cleared up their end. As Sammon and Woo point out, St. Louis’ attempts to move the aging slugger have been hindered by fellow third basemen Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suarez still being on the market. Arenado would be a backup option to teams that come up short in pursuing Bregman and Suarez.

The Angels’ third base situation was clouded by the status of Anthony Rendon. The oft-injured infielder still had a year remaining on the disastrous seven-year, $245MM contract he signed after the 2019 season. Los Angeles resolved that situation yesterday, agreeing to a restructured contract with Rendon. The $38MM left on his deal will be deferred over the next three to five seasons. Rendon will not be back with the team in 2026. Following the Rendon news, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register mentioned Arenado as a possible trade target for the Halos.

Arenado is a SoCal guy, but that might not be enough for him to waive his no-trade clause to join the Angels. The financial aspects of the deal would also need to be sorted out. St. Louis has been able to move two of its three large veteran contracts so far this offseason, but both deals required cash attached to the player. The Cardinals sent $20MM to Boston in the Sonny Gray deal. They tossed in $8MM to complete the Willson Contreras trade, which was also with the Red Sox.

Arenado still has $42MM remaining on his current deal. The original eight-year, $260MM extension he signed with the Rockies runs out after the 2026 campaign, but the Cardinals added on another year for $15MM after acquiring him. By eating money in the Gray and Contreras trades, St. Louis was able to net MLB-ready starting pitchers in Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins. The Angels’ system isn’t exactly overflowing with talented starters, but players like Mitch Farris, Jack Kochanowicz, and Caden Dana fit the Fitts/Dobbins mold as young arms with minimal MLB service time who could contribute to a 2026 rotation.

It’s easy to forget just how good Arenado was in his first two seasons in St. Louis. He hit 34 home runs in his debut with the club, then delivered a monster 2022 that put him in the mix for NL MVP. Arenado slashed .293/.358/.533 and led the NL with 7.9 WAR (per Baseball Reference) that year. Teammate Paul Goldschmidt took home MVP honors, but Arenado earned his fifth Silver Slugger award and his 10th straight Gold Glove award.

Arenado steadily declined over the next three seasons. He provided decent results in 2023, knocking 26 home runs and finishing with a 107 wRC+. His power continued to fade the following year, as he posted a meager .123 ISO and the first sub-.400 SLG campaign of his career. Arenado bottomed out in 2025, slashing .237/.289/.377 with just a dozen dingers. He also missed time with a shoulder injury. Arenado’s 84 wRC+ in 2025 was his worst mark since his rookie year in 2013 (excluding the shortened 2020 season).

Despite the falloff at the plate, Arenado remains an above-average fielder and a solid contact hitter. If the cost is cheap enough, he could help an Angels team with an unsettled situation at the hot corner. The Halos largely relied on Yoan Moncada and Luis Rengifo at third base last season. Both players are now free agents. The current in-house options are Christian Moore, Oswald Peraza, and Vaughn Grissom. The trio could all be candidates to play second base as well, with Kyren Paris also factoring in at that position. The Angels have been bottom 10 in OPS at third base in each of the past five seasons.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images

Angels, Anthony Rendon Restructure Contract; Rendon Will Not Return To Team

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The Angels and Anthony Rendon have agreed to a restructured version of his contract that will defer the $38MM he is still owed for the next three to five seasons, reports Sam Blum of The Athletic. Rendon will not return to the team. His tenure with the Angels is over.

Rendon is not officially “retiring,” Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register adds. He’ll still count against the team’s roster for the time being, although with the two sides agreeing to part ways, it stands to reason that the Angels could release him at any point. He’ll be paid regardless.

ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reported in late November that the two parties were working on a buyout of sorts regarding the final year and $38MM on the seven-year, $245MM contract Rendon signed following his monster 2019 season. It proved to be a catastrophic misstep for the Halos — one of the least-productive major signings in the sport’s history. Rendon played in only 257 games for Anaheim, slashing just .242/.348/.369 with 22 home runs in 1095 plate appearances. Of a possible 1032 games he could have played with the Angels, Rendon will wind up appearing in just under one-quarter of them.

It’s easy to forget, but Rendon’s Angels tenure started out quite well. He played in 52 of 60 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and slashed a robust .286/.418/.497 with nine homers, 11 doubles, a triple and more walks (16.4%) than strikeouts (13.4%). It was precisely the type of star-level output for which the Angels hoped when signing the 2019 postseason standout after a sensational run in Washington; from 2017-19, Rendon had slashed .310/.397/.556 with the Nationals.

Everything fell apart after that first season in Anaheim. Rendon’s 2021 season was cut short by hip surgery. His 2022 season ended early due to wrist surgery. He missed all of the 2025 season following a second hip surgery. Even in the 2023-24 seasons, when he avoided undergoing any kind of surgical procedure, Rendon was limited to just 90 games due to the combination of a fractured tibia (suffered when fouling a ball into his leg), a torn hamstring and an oblique strain.

As one would expect, as those injuries piled up, Rendon’s production wilted. Following his terrific 2020 campaign, he played in just 202 games with the Angels and hit .231/.329/.336 with poor defense. He was effectively a replacement-level player — and a frequently injured one at that. Rendon also sparked controversy off the field as well in 2023, when he was captured on video grabbing an A’s fan by the shirt after he’d been cussed at while leaving the field. Rendon swore at the fan and took a swipe at him after releasing his shirt. He was suspended for four games and fined by the league.

The Angels weren’t counting on any contributions from Rendon in 2026 anyhow, but the restructure and deferral of his weighty $38MM salary gives the team some extra spending power this winter. Details surrounding the nature of the deferrals and how much — if anything — they’ll pay Rendon in 2026 are unclear. Blum, however, suggests that the Angels could use the newfound financial freedom to pursue a higher-profile free agent this winter. That doesn’t necessarily have to be at third base, although in Alex Bregman and NPB star Kazuma Okamoto, there are a pair of notable options at the position.

Many of the top names on the free agent market remain unsigned to this point. In addition to Bregman and Okamoto, none of Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, Cody Bellinger, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez or Tatsuya Imai have signed yet. Imai’s 45-day posting window closes on Jan. 2. Okamoto’s posting window closes two days later.

Prior to the Rendon buyout/restructure, RosterResource projected the Angels’ payroll at about $172MM, which is roughly $34MM shy of their 2025 level. Depending on how the new arrangement has been structured, the Angels could be anywhere from $40-70MM shy of last year’s season-ending mark, which would give general manager Perry Minasian and his staff plenty of room to further augment the club.

Andrew Heaney Announces Retirement

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Andrew Heaney is retiring after 12 Major League seasons, as the 34-year-old southpaw announced via his social media feeds.  Heaney finishes his career with a 4.57 ERA over 1136 2/3 innings as a starter and occasional reliever with six different MLB teams, including seven seasons with the Angels.

“I will miss the game greatly, but all of my experiences and the lasting relationships have made me a better person,” Heaney wrote.  “The routine of showing up to the yard every day and working to improve each time out has been a driving force for me…I am now ready to return my focus and energy to being a husband, father, family man, and active member of my community.  I’m retiring from baseball, but I hope to give back more than I received.  Thank you to all of you for the love and support you have given me.  Y’all know who you are.”

Heaney spent his final season with the Pirates and Dodgers, posting a 5.52 ERA over 122 1/3 innings.  After inking a one-year, $5.25MM deal with Pittsburgh last February, Heaney’s struggles kept him from being dealt at the trade deadline, and the Bucs ended up demoting him to the bullpen and then releasing him entirely at the end of August.  The Dodgers brought Heaney back on a minor league deal for what was technically his third stint in the organization, and he appeared in a single big league game in late September but wasn’t included on any of Los Angeles’ postseason rosters.

Selected ninth overall by the Marlins in the 2012 draft, Heaney debuted in the Show in 2014 but was dealt after the season to the Dodgers as part of a major seven-player trade that brought Dee Strange-Gordon to Miami (and Enrique Hernandez and Austin Barnes to Chavez Ravine).  The Dodgers then flipped Heaney to the Angels that same day in another trade for Howie Kendrick, which has some historical import as the last time the two Los Angeles clubs engaged in a player-for-player swap.

A Tommy John surgery and some other injuries limited Heaney during his time in Anaheim, but he delivered a 4.51 ERA over 569 1/3 innings his long stretch in an Angels uniform.  The tenure ended when Heaney was dealt to the Yankees at the 2021 trade deadline, and that winter he returned to L.A. for a more proper stint with the Dodgers when he signed a one-year, $8.5MM free agent deal.  Injuries were again a factor for Heaney during this year, but he had a 3.10 ERA and a whopping 35.5% strikeout rate over his 72 2/3 frames.

The Oklahoma City native’s next contract brought him a bit closer to home, as Heaney inked a two-year, $25MM deal with the Rangers in the 2022-23 offseason.  The deal was a hit for both the pitcher and the team, as Heaney had a 4.22 ERA with Texas while staying generally healthy — his 160 innings in 2024 and 147 1/3 innings in 2023 were the second- and third-highest single-season innings totals of his career.  During the 2023 postseason, Heaney had a 4.09 ERA in 11 innings over five games as a starter and reliever, helping the Rangers win the World Series.

Home runs were a constant issue for Heaney throughout his career, and his 199 career homers allowed inflated his ERA and perhaps kept him from breaking through as a front-of-the-rotation arm.  Still, Heaney carved out a long and successful career for himself as a starter on the strength of his strikeout ability (23.8% career strikeout rate) and quality control (7% walk rate).  Despite his struggles in 2025, it seemed like Heaney still had more in the tank if he’d chosen to continue pitching, and perhaps could’ve reinvented himself as a full-time relief pitcher.

Instead, Heaney has decided to hang up his glove and will now move onto his post-playing endeavors.  We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Heaney all the best, and congratulate him on a fine career.

Angels, Padres Among Teams Interested In Kazuma Okamoto

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The Padres and Angels are among the teams to have shown interest in infielder Kazuma Okamoto, according to a report from Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Romero also mentions interest on the part of the Pirates, who have been frequently connected to Okamoto in recent weeks. The infielder is nearing the end of his 45-day posting window, which ends on January 4.

The 29-year-old Okamoto is coming off a season where he appeared in just 69 Central League games for NPB’s Yomiuri Giants. The infielder hit .327/.416/.598 in 293 trips to the plate for Yomiuri last year. That was good for an otherworldly 210 wRC+, as he slugged 15 homers with 21 doubles while posting identical 11.3% strikeout and walk rates. That scorching hot half-season isn’t reflective of Okamoto’s overall body of work, but his numbers are still impressive even over a larger sample. Since making his Central League debut back in 2018 at the age of 22, Okamoto has never hit fewer than 27 homers in a season. He’s walked at a 9.6% clip or better in every season of his career and has struck out more than 20% of the time just once, back in 2019 as a 23-year-old. Okamoto’s career .277/.361/.521 slash line in NPB play puts him in league with current MLB sluggers like Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki, although it should be noted that there have been concerns among scouts regarding Okamoto’s ability to hit high-end velocity.

A decent defensive third baseman with plenty of experience at first base as well, Okamoto could make sense as an addition at either infield corner depending on the needs of his acquiring club. If he were to sign with the Angels, Okamoto would surely handle the hot corner. Yoan Moncada is a free agent after handling third for Anaheim this past year, and Anthony Rendon figures to retire after an injury-riddled career with the Angels. That leaves playing time wide open at third base, and the Angels have been clear about their desire to bring help at the position into the fold this winter. While Okamoto (like any free agent coming over from NPB) comes with risk, it’s easy to see him offering an upgrade over internal options like Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom.

By contrast, it seems much more likely that Okamoto would handle first base for San Diego. Manny Machado is installed as the Padres’ third baseman for the time being, and the Hall of Famer has the better part of a decade remaining on his massive contract extension with the club. First base, however, is somewhat vacant after the departure of Luis Arraez in free agency earlier this winter. Gavin Sheets and Sung Mun Song appear poised to compete for playing time at the position, but both are left-handed and better suited for other positions than first. That could make Okamoto a very attractive addition, offering a steady right-handed bat at the position while still leaving room for Sheets and/or Song to get occasional reps there based on matchups.

MLBTR predicted a four-year, $64MM contract for Okamoto at the outset of the offseason. Whether either club would be willing to spend at that level to bring Okamoto into the fold remains to be seen. The Padres have spent significant money this offseason on Song and right-hander Michael King, but after doing so are pushing the boundaries of the team’s reported budget and seem more likely to try and offload salary elsewhere on the roster than bring it back into the fold. As for the Angels, it’s been a mostly quiet offseason in Anaheim without much substantial spending. That could certainly mean there’s room in the budget to add a bat like Okamoto, but it’s also fair to wonder if a team that has often been reluctant to spend significant dollars on position players in free agency in the years since Rendon’s disastrous contract would be willing to shell out a multi-year deal for a third baseman before the end of their previous third baseman’s contract is even official.

There are other suitors for Okamoto’s services to keep in mind, as well. The Pirates have been the team perhaps most frequently connected to Okamoto, and it wouldn’t be too much of a shock to see them bring the slugger in amid an unusually aggressive offseason given the significant hole the club faces at third base. He’s been connected to the Blue Jays and Red Sox as well this offseason, though both of those big market clubs seem to be focused on bigger fish like Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette at this point. Given the approaching end of Okamoto’s posting window, it’s increasingly likely the Okamoto will sign before either Bregman or Bichette sees their market resolve. That could make a deal with Boston or Toronto somewhat less likely, if those two clubs are hesitant to fill a roster spot that could otherwise be earmarked for a more impactful player.

Several Teams Interested In Yoán Moncada

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Infielder Yoán Moncada is currently a free agent after playing out a one year, $5MM deal with the Angels. He was an above-average hitter in 84 games in 2025 but missed time due to right thumb and right knee injuries. According to Francys Romero of Beisbol FR, several teams have expressed early interest in signing Moncada, including the Angels, Pirates, White Sox, and Blue Jays.

The 30-year-old originally signed with the Red Sox out of Cuba for a $31.5MM bonus in February 2015. He made his debut late in 2016 before being traded to the White Sox as their key return for Chris Sale. Moncada had a 105 wRC+ in 231 plate appearances in 2017 but fell below average in his first full season in 2018. He broke out in 2019 with a .315/.367/.548 batting line in 559 PA, along with 25 home runs. Granted, the ball was juiced that year, but Moncada’s output was still 39% better than average by wRC+. The White Sox were confident enough to give him a five-year, $70MM extension in March 2020, which covered the 2020-24 seasons and contained a club option for 2025.

Moncada slumped during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, posting a 94 wRC+ while seeing a drop in power and spending two weeks on the injured list. He rebounded in 2021 with a line of .263/.375/.412 and a 120 wRC+. The power wasn’t quite back to his 2019 levels, though he looked like a more mature hitter overall, dropping his strikeout rate to 25.5% while posting a career-best 13.6% walk rate.

Unfortunately, Moncada has struggled with injuries and inconsistency ever since. From 2022-24, he batted .236/.291/.387 with an 88 wRC+ while playing in just 206 out of 486 possible games. In 2024, he spent most of the season on the 60-day IL with a left abductor strain, making just 45 plate appearances with a 118 wRC+. After the season, the club declined their $25MM club option on Moncada in lieu of a $5MM buyout, making him a free agent.

This year with the Angels, he had a 117 wRC+ in 289 PA over 84 games. His strikeout rate of 26.0% was high, while his 11.1% walk rate was better than average. His .214 ISO was his highest since his 2019 breakout season, as was his .448 slugging percentage. Although he is nominally a switch-hitter, most of his damage came as a lefty facing right-handed pitching. He posted 125 wRC+ in 262 PA against righties, but just a 37 wRC+ in 27 PA against southpaws. Meanwhile, both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average saw Moncada as a liability at third base. His -13 OAA was worst in the league among third baseman with at least 300 defensive innings.

Altogether, Moncada showed above average offense but was weighed down by injuries and newfound defensive struggles. As a free agent, he is more or less in the same position as last offseason, with a one-year deal being his most likely outcome. The current market has Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suarez as the top options at third base. Kazuma Okamoto is still available, with his posting window closing on January 4. The next-best options after that are utility players, so teams needing an everyday third baseman could look to Moncada as a low-cost flier.

Among the clubs with reported interest, the Angels might be the best fit. Anthony Rendon is expected to retire after an injury-riddled tenure in Los Angeles. After Moncada, Luis Rengifo got the most time at the hot corner in 2025, though he is a now a free agent. The club acquired infielder Vaughn Grissom from the Red Sox earlier this month, and he has not played third base in his big-league career. Another one-year deal with Moncada would fill the third-base vacancy and set Grissom up to compete for second base time, where the incumbent Christian Moore was unimpressive offensively in 2025.

Looking at the Pirates, the team traded Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Reds in July and saw Isiah Kiner-Falefa claimed by the Blue Jays in August. Jared Triolo played 260 1/3 innings at the hot corner, but he is more of a multi-positional player and did not hit as well as Moncada. The club is interested in signing Okamoto, but Moncada could be a fallback option for them.

The White Sox recently signed Munetaka Murakami to play first base and have Miguel Vargas as the projected starter at third. Moncada would be an offensive upgrade over Vargas if the club limits his exposure to left-handed pitching. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are known to be interested in signing Bregman. Ernie Clement and Addison Barger are already on the roster if he signs elsewhere. Both are average hitters, while Clement is an excellent defender at third (11 DRS in 2025), so they are a more curious fit for Moncada.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Angels Sign Angel Perdomo, Huascar Ynoa To Minor League Deals

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The Angels have signed left-hander Angel Perdomo and righty Huascar Ynoa to minor league contracts, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Both are former big leaguers and both will presumably be in major league camp next spring.

Perdomo, 31, has pitched in parts of four big league seasons — including a brief 2025 appearance with the A’s. He’s totaled 52 major league frames and has an ugly 5.54 ERA in that time, though there are plenty of under-the-hood numbers to like. The towering 6’8″ southpaw sits 94.1 mph with his heater and gets great extension on the pitch due to his long levers. He’s punched out a massive 34.2% of his opponents in the majors but also struggles to command those lanky limbs, evidenced by a career 16% walk rate.

In parts of five Triple-A seasons, Perdomo has a 3.74 ERA, 35.7% strikeout rate and 15% walk rate. That ERA is slightly skewed from a rough showing this past season (5.52 ERA in 14 1/3 innings) as he returned from Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2024 season and a portion of the ’25 campaign. Perdomo is just shy of three years of major league service. If he’s called to the big leagues at any point and pitches like he did in 2023 before blowing out his elbow (29 innings, 3.72 ERA, 37.6 K%, 9.4 BB%), the Halos would be able to control him for another three seasons. He’s out of minor league options though, so if the Angels do add him to the major league roster, he’ll have to stick or else be designated for assignment.

Ynoa, 27, was a notable international signing by the Twins as a teenager out of his native Dominican Republic, way back in 2014. The Twins eventually traded him to Atlanta in exchange for lefty Jaime Garcia. Ynoa made his big league debut with the Braves in 2019 but posted uninspiring numbers in brief looks in both ’19 and ’20.

In 2021, Ynoa looked the part of a potential breakout arm. He logged a 2.90 ERA through his first 11 starts and 62 innings but stumbled through a poor finish that bloated his season-long earned run average to 4.05. It was a solid showing for a then-23-year-old righty all the same, but injuries halted his development. Ynoa pitched only 6 2/3 innings in the majors in 2022. He struggled to a 5.68 in 77 2/3 Triple-A frames as well before undergoing Tommy John surgery that wiped out his entire 2023 campaign.

Upon returning in 2024, Ynoa’s struggles continued. He posted an ERA north of 6.00 in limited action and became a minor league free agent at season’s end. He then inked a minor league deal to go back to the Twins but was cut loose after five very rough minor league relief outings. Ynoa closed out the season pitching in the Mexican League, and he’s had a decent run in the Dominican Winter League this offseason (2.16 ERA, 18-to-10 K/BB ratio in 16 2/3 relief innings). Like Perdomo, Ynoa is out of minor league options, so if he makes the roster he’d need to stick or else be exposed to waivers in order to be sent back down.

Angels Open To Giving Mike Trout Center Field Reps

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Last offseason, the Angels moved Mike Trout out of center field. They hoped that he’s stay healthier as an everyday right fielder after he’d been limited to 82 games or fewer in three of the previous four seasons. Things didn’t go as planned, as Trout suffered a bone bruise in his left knee that cost him almost all of May. He avoided the injured list the rest of the way but was a full-time designated hitter.

Trout didn’t log a single inning in center field. He made 22 starts in right, none after the end of April. Nevertheless, general manager Perry Minasian told reporters this week that the Halos could bounce Trout around the outfield next season. That might include some playing time back up the middle.

“I’m not ruling anything out,” the GM said (link via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). “We’ll see where the team looks like when we get to Spring Training and what’s in place and what gives us the best chance to win games. (He) might be playing center. One day might be playing left. One day might be DHing.”

As Minasian noted, a lot could depend on what the remainder of the offseason looks like. The Angels entered the winter with a logjam in the corners. That’s not so much the case after they traded Taylor Ward for Grayson Rodriguez. It’d still be ideal to have Trout playing regularly in the outfield again, especially if they want to give Jorge Soler a rebound opportunity.

Soler should be a DH but was forced to start 39 games in right field (with predictably poor results) by Trout’s injury. The Angels gave Jo Adell 724 innings in center field. He was arguably the worst defensive center fielder in MLB and found himself back in right field for the final two months of the season. The best defensive alignment has Trout in left, Adell in right, and Soler at DH.

That requires someone else to step up as the regular center fielder. Bryce Teodosio is an excellent defender, but he’s coming off a .203/.248/.304 showing in 50 games. Kyren Paris and Matthew Lugo picked up a handful of center field starts but didn’t hit well either. They presumably don’t want Trout playing there on an everyday basis.

The Angels are so aggressive with their prospect promotions that it’s probably not out of the question that 20-year-old Nelson Rada gets a chance to break camp. He’s a speedster and potential plus defender who split his age-19 season between Double-A and Triple-A. Rada stole 54 bases and reached base at fantastic .398 clip behind a 12.7% walk rate. He’s a gifted pure hitter but has essentially no power upside in his 5’9″ frame. He hit just two home runs this year and has six longballs in his professional career. Baseball America ranks him the #4 prospect and the top position player talent in a weak Halos’ farm system.

Even if Rada begins the season at Triple-A Salt Lake, it’s likely he’ll be in the majors at some point next season. That could give them enough confidence to patch things together at the position internally. “Do we have to go get a center fielder? Not necessarily,” Minasian said. “We have some players that we believe can fill the position and obviously, Teodosio can play defense at a very high level. It’s more player-specific. … I wouldn’t say it’s a must, but is it an area we’re looking at? Absolutely.”

As is often the case, the center field supply is limited. Harrison Bader is the only regular available in free agency, unless a team feels Cody Bellinger could move back to the position in an everyday capacity. Luis Robert Jr. is a long shot trade possibility. The Astros are shopping Jake Meyers but want MLB starting pitching, which the Angels don’t have in abundance. A role player like Nathan Lukes or Jacob Young come could available but may not move the needle enough for the Halos to prioritize them.

The Angels have various other needs to weigh against their center field situation. They should add a multi-positional infielder who can handle both second and third base. They need at least one starting pitcher and one or two high-leverage relievers, ideally ones who throw from the right side. Minasian confirmed this afternoon that they’re still in the bullpen market after signing Drew Pomeranz and Jordan Romano last night (via Bollinger). An outside addition could push Robert Stephenson and Ben Joyce to succeed Kenley Jansen in the ninth. “There’s no set closer right now. We’re still looking at the bullpen. It’s not an area where we’re done,” Minasian said.

Angels Sign Drew Pomeranz

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The Angels announced the signing of lefty reliever Drew Pomeranz to a one-year deal. It’s reportedly a $4MM guarantee for the CAA client. The Angels had five openings on the 40-man roster and are now up to 37 between this and their signing of right-hander Jordan Romano.

Pomeranz earned a big league deal after a comeback season with the Cubs. The 37-year-old southpaw had not appeared in an MLB game between 2022-24, as a brief stint on the Giants MLB roster in ’24 didn’t result in any game action. He began this past season on a minor league contract with the Mariners. Pomeranz posted big strikeout numbers against Triple-A opposition to convince the Cubs to add him to the MLB bullpen. He exercised an upward mobility clause in his contract to head to Chicago in mid-April.

It worked out quite nicely. Pomeranz tossed 49 2/3 innings of 2.17 ERA ball across 57 appearances. That included a remarkable stretch to begin the season, as he didn’t allow a single earned run in his first 26 outings. He hit a rough patch in July but rebounded with a 2.21 mark in 20 1/3 innings from the beginning of August through season’s end. Pomeranz fanned 28.1% of opposing hitters against a 7.4% walk percentage. While the Cubs didn’t use him in a ton of high-leverage situations, he recorded 14 holds while giving up the lead just twice.

Pomeranz leaned very heavily on his four-seam fastball. He threw the pitch three quarters of the time to right-handers and at an 84% clip against southpaws. It’s not going to blow hitters away on speed alone. His 92.7 MPH average velocity is middling. Pomeranz ranked near the top of the league in fastball spin, which allowed the pitch to play above its velocity at the top of the strike zone. That could put him in danger of home run issues, but it also led to a lot of harmless fly balls and a decent swinging strike rate. His only secondary pitch is an 83-84 MPH knuckle-curve that played more as a ground-ball offering.

The Angels need to do a lot of heavy lifting in the bullpen. Closer Kenley Jansen is headed to Detroit on an $11MM deal. They’re moving Reid Detmers back to the rotation, taking their top setup man out of the mix. Pomeranz pairs with Brock Burke to give rookie manager Kurt Suzuki a couple solid options from the left side. Burke has had neutral platoon numbers over the course of his career. Pomeranz doesn’t need to be in a specialist role but is probably the superior option against teams’ best left-handed bats. He held southpaws to a .176/.238/.203 line with a massive 35% strikeout rate in 80 plate appearances this year.

Their right-handed options are weaker even if they finally get a healthy season out of Robert Stephenson. They should continue to look for leverage arms from the right side. Their agreement with Pomeranz and $2MM rebound flier on Romano push their projected payroll to $172MM, according to RosterResource. They carried a $193MM payroll to begin the 2025 season. There’s a decent amount of space but a lot of work to be done. The Angels need another starter, at least one multi-positional infielder, and a center fielder. That’s on top of whatever moves are yet to come in the bullpen.

Pomeranz is the third free agent lefty reliever to come off the board today. Now former teammate Caleb Thielbar is headed back to the Cubs, while Caleb Ferguson agreed to terms with the Reds. Sean Newcomb, Danny Coulombe, Justin Wilson and Taylor Rogers are among those who remain unsigned.

Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News first reported that Pomeranz and the Angels had a one-year deal. Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register was first on the $4MM guarantee. Image courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images.

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