The Angels have agreed to a minor-league deal with outfielder Eric Young, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Likewise, the Halos struck a minors pact with infielder Jose Miguel Fernandez, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.
Young may be aging — he’ll turn 33 in May — but he has rarely been as useful as he was for the Angels in 2017. In 125 trips to the plate, the switch hitter compiled a .264/.336/.418 batting line with four home runs and a dozen steals. He also had a strong run during his time at Triple-A. As things stand, he’ll enter camp with a chance to earn his way onto the roster as a reserve.
Over parts of nine MLB campaigns, Young has compiled a lifetime .248/.316/.334 slash across 1,809 trips to the plate. His father, Eric Young Sr., made it through fifteen major league seasons before hanging up his spikes in 2006 — not long before his namesake debuted in 2009.
Meanwhile, Fernandez will come from the cross-town Dodgers, who released him after just one season in the organization. A star in his native Cuba, where he displayed unbelievable plate discipline, Fernandez had not played much competitive ball of late while trying to make his way stateside.
Fernandez ended up slashing a healthy .306/.366/.498 with 16 home runs and 24 walks against 33 strikeouts over 369 Double-A plate appearances. Evidently, though, the Dodgers did not see enough to warrant a longer look. While the Angels appear to have a fully loaded infield mix at present, Fernandez will presumably take up a spot on the depth chart.
and the boring joke of an offseason continues
Huh?
Tristin is talking about how boring this offseason is cuz no big names are signing yet.
It’s kept your attention…
Good signings. Nothing wrong with adding depth to the farm system.
As an Angel fan, WRONG!
why wrong? It is called adding to the depth! EYJ will be a great 4th OF that can play all 3 positions! JMF could squeeze onto the roster with a strong spring freeing up Cron, assuming JMF can play a little bit of 1b, for bullpen depth! GREAT Moves that only a true eye for talent can see! Thankfully you aren’t the GM!
It’s wrong because he does not know what he’s talking about. Even as a Yankee, this was a smart move. Both players can contribute on a major league level.
There’s nothing wrong with being an Angels fan
Except for when I show up at the game and I’m already super lit because beers cost $20 each and then I don’t care about the game, other than that yes nothing wrong with being an Angels fan
So why go to the game at all if you don’t care about it or your too inebriated to remember it? Hope you are not driving anyway!
Nice adds for depth!
Real good signings. Now they have good backups to the backups.
Sounds like Fernandez might end up being a steal. Great pick up and EYJ was decent during his 2 or 3 stints up on the major league roster. More sneaky good moves by Eppler and Co.
I love Jose Fernandez! RIP #JDF16
Great signings. But I think they should go for Alexi amarista. He can play cf, ss and 2nd.
i would agree if the angels hadn’t already acquired so much infield talent this offseason, with JMF Kinsler and Cozart.
i feel that theyll be fine with what they’ve already brought in, and amarista will likely want to be an infielder
I would imagine, too, that Amarista may not be willing to sign a minor league deal just yet. I don’t think Angels will add more position player to a major league deal unless something weird happens (and may not add pitching to any more major league deals either–Eppler was very good at stockpiling able but flawed pitchers to mostly minor league deals and that was very productive. on the whole). Good roster depth is always welcome, but no need for a major signing now.
More good moves. Simple, but helpful.
I know Fernandez is no Spring chicken, and it was only AA, but why did nobody sign him before now? Can’t be pricey, and those numbers in AA after not playing for awhile seems like a good indication of upside. Not everyone has a locked up infield.
Right, Fernandez put up those quality stats, while not having played professional ball in quite some time..So, it stands to reason, he could continue to improve as he gets back on track.
This is a good pickup by the Angels, and one that very well could turn out to pay dividends down the road. If the Angels happen to have an injury or two to one of their infielders, and Fernandez steps in admirably, OR if Fernandez performs really well at AAA, allowing the Angels to use him to acquire pen depth later on, etc.. Fernandez could turn out to be a “minor” signing that provides quite a bit of surplus value for the Angels…
Excellent job, these are the smaller types of moves that can potentially add some security to teams trying to compete…Love it for the Angels..Wish the Braves could have taken a shot/look at Fernandez for their 3B spot.
I like your insight man. The Braves have a good fan in you
Great sign two left bats in a heavy right handed lineup
The off-season trading rumors this year are just like Soap Operas. You miss a months worth of shows. You check back after that month, and everything is the same as it was the month before.
EY! I was hoping they would bring back mr. clutch.