The Angels have announced that they’ve signed infielder Matt Duffy to a one-year deal. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register relays that he’ll make a salary of $1.5MM and that Griffin Canning is going on the 60-day IL to open up a roster spot.
The 31-year-old Duffy has had a real up-and-down career thus far. After making his MLB debut and getting a cup of coffee with the Giants in 2014, he broke out in 2015 to the tune of a .295/.334/.428 slash line over 149 games, producing a 113 wRC+. That offensive output, combined with this excellent defense, produced 4.4 fWAR. 2016 was a step in the wrong direction, however, as his bat slipped below league average and the Giants sent him to the Rays as part of the Matt Moore trade.
2017, his pendulum swung back in the other direction, as he hit .294/.361/.366, for a wRC+ of 107 and 2.5 fWAR. In 2019, injuries sapped him of his playing time and production, as he only played 46 games and wasn’t very good when he was on the field. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he signed a couple of minor league deals but couldn’t crack the big leagues. In 2021, he parlayed a minor league deal with the Cubs into yet another bounceback effort, playing 97 games and hitting .287/.357/.381, for a wRC+ of 102 and 1.5 fWAR.
Defensively, Duffy spent most of his time at third base last year but also saw significant action at second, as well as cameos at shortstop, left field and first base. For the Angels, the hot corner is spoken for as long as Anthony Rendon is healthy. He was limited to just 58 games last year due to injuries but seems to be fully recovered for this season. For the middle infield reps, manager Joe Maddon recently said that Andrew Velazquez was the favorite to get the majority of playing time at shortstop, with Tyler Wade, Luis Rengifo and David Fletcher also in the mix. One of that group will also have to cover second base, with Duffy now competing against them all as well.
As for Canning, his 2021 season was cut short in August due to back issues that seem to still be lingering. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reported earlier today that Canning had a setback and wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day.
Mathew Duffy the 3rd is the fellow they’ll compliment Trout and Ohtani with. Great addition
Mario- Don’t quit your day job. You forget about Rendon.
Oh, you mean the guy who gets paid 30 million to hit .240 for you. Oh okay. Seems as if your gm should quit his job, and let me do it for him. 🙂 hard to be an Angels fan, I know ..
Rendon led the Angels in WAR in 2020.
It amazes me how you know he’s now a 240 hitter based on one season.
Nobody in baseball wants that contract unless you’re paying for half of it, if not 75% of it. He had a nice postseason then the Angels gave him a boatload of money. But of course, it’s the Angels. Who seem to have the “best players in the world”, yet haven’t seen playoff baseball going on a decade.
Mario – Why are you trolling on an Angels article?
It’s backloaded, so that’s not surprising.
Almost every backloaded contract is like that.
It’s the Angels fans who got defensive over the signing of Matt Duffy. Lol. Didn’t think I said anything all that offensive at all.
Mario- Next time don’t use a small sample size. He was injured last year.
You just wrote something stupid.
The Angels don’t need Duffy. Roster spots are limited and the Angels have three holes to fill, and Duffy doesn’t fill any of those holes.
Like you, the Platypus seems to think roster spots have no value.
Winslow Leach – how about next year you guys make the playoffs? I know it’s going on a decade, but more Mathew Duffy signings won’t help.. You don’t need to get defensive, maybe switch your team to one that actually wins.
3rd best record of the millennium … can’t win every year
Mario,Next year? You mean 2023? I think the Angels have a good chance this year.
And the figurehead GM who signed him is gone
@Winslow Leach Possibly.. Or it’ll be like previous scripts. Rest of the league having to hear about how great Trout and Ohtani are, while they’re 15 games under .500.
Stellar backpedaling, here.
Canning is either horrible on the mound or injured. He gets progressively worse every year. It is probably for the best that he is injured.
@sonorawind I’m a Blue Jays fan, our standards are different. Back to back champions in the 90’s. 92-93.. Some of the best young players in baseball, play north of the border, an elite front office, an ownership group who spoil gentleman like myself by getting elite players… Yeah.. that’s what you’re dealing with.
We wouldn’t allow Matt Duffy to hand out water bottles on my Jays, let alone pick up a baseball bat. We’re the Blue Jays.. Once again our standards aren’t the same. Clearly.
@Mario93 92-93 was like 30 years ago. Anything this century?
@MrAngelFan Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the most iconic postseason bat flip in baseball history by Jose Bautista.
I don’t remember. I only remember the Roughed Odor punch to the face.
Mario93-Enjoy Vlad Jr while you can. He will be with the Angels when he’s a FA.. He would be a Halo now. But Dipoto used all of our International $$$$
on that Cuban 2B Baldoquine.
BTW I’m loyal to my team. Been following since 73.
@Winslow Leach In all seriousness that’s admirable. Don’t hate the angels at all.. it’s that front office, or owner, whoever is in charge that I don’t like. I Wish your angels the best of luck this season, mean it.
Mario… errr I mean McFly. Had you been paying attention you would know that when the Angels acquired Rendon he was rated as literally the best 3B in MLB. Period. Better than Arenoado, Chapman, Machado. Then he had a hip injury and played through it until he could not. Watch and learn while he bounces back.
Zack Grienke signed today for 12 or 13MM. That would have been a great and thrifty adition.
I tend to agree with what Dan Szymborski wrote in his piece about the Angels on Fangraphs the other day – Grienke and the other then still remaining free agent pitchers like Michael Pineda are just mid-rotation guys at this point and would not move the needle for the Angels.
Not a flashy pickup, but solid nonetheless.
Agreed solid pick up!
To do what?
Cover all four infield spots and corner outfield? He’s a great insurance policy.
Good player if he can stay off the IL.
We have those players. How many do we need?
There are only so many roster spots and we already have a Tyler Wade. For the most part, that’s David Fletcher.
You may want to consider alternatives to Wade. I wish the kid the best. But he has looked completely overmatched at the plate for years.
Then why get Wade?
Either the Platypus made a terrible move then or a terrible move now.
The best we can hope for is he got it half right.
Halo – Could this mean that Fletcher moves to SS and this guy plays 2B?
Yeah I agree with you, this is an irrelevant signing that we didnt need.
Maybe as a placeholder?
I think that’s what Cash is using Locastro as. I guess I thought Wade was fungible. Ya know: if you can do better go ahead. But at least you’re covered in the event you can’t.
Beats the heck out of me what the Angels are doing. If they move Fletcher to SS, then we don’t have a shortstop or a second baseman.
Fletcher isn’t a shortstop;
Kellin- I rather have Fletcher play SS than the guys Maddon mentioned earlier this week that were in the running.
SS is one of those positions, like catcher, where the player doesn’t really have to hit even .250 if he fields his position well. I’m fine with AV there. But I agree. Keep Fletch at 2nd.
Can he pitch?
I’m done with this team!! Why!! Do we not have enough supply of mediocre infielders?
Bye Felicia
we love you griff
A better utility INF option than Gosselin or Mayfield. Now that he’s on the Angels he’ll hit .208 with a .560 OPS this year then have a great year in 2023 in typical fashion for an Angels signing
He can’t play short. 255 lifetime innings.
Can I please refer to Perry as the Platypus now?
And for those who do not know, there is a cartoon where there is a secret agent named Perry. He has two identities, Agent P, who is slick field operative, and Perry the Platypus who is a nothing.
everybody knows phineas and ferb you idiot
From post like yours, it’s obvious you know Phineas and Ferb more than you know baseball.
If I didn’t have a son who watched it, I would have had no idea what it was.
Well…I had no idea who it was.
Unless you are a little kid or had little kids, how would you know?
Yes, Perry the Platypus is how we refer to him on the best Angels site out there, crashing the pearly gates.
Angels have had plenty of problems with signings in recent years, especially on pitching, but scrap heap offensive acquisitions haven’t really been one of em. In recent memory, they got good production out of guys like Maybin, Brian Goodwin, and the best year of Tommy LaStella’s career. Even Mayfield was serviceable if unexciting last year.
All the utility infielders are ours!
Except Villar, who can actually hit.
Sarcasm aside, he’s a better bench piece than most. Cost is low.
Duffy can hit when healthy.
OK, get Anderson now. There is a huge difference between Canning waiting in the wings and being on the 60 DL. I’d like a better pitcher, but what can you do.
As far as Matt Duffy… who gives a flying leap.
Exactly.
With Barria out of options he was going to make the Opening Day squad. That should’ve pushed Canning and Detmers to AAA which would actually be a sign of developing some depth/upside.
Canning out changes that.
With Canning out, the need changes.
Anderson??? Who would he beat out ? Not a single pitcher. At least when Duffy is healthy we get a solid bat and a utility. Not the greatest but an absolute upgrade over anyone we have when healthy
I say sign T Story and call is a day. Picking should be good enough
I love Story’s glove. He’s about a .240/.310/.440 guy away from Coors so he’ll need to be paid like a good glove hitter of that quality.
As long as that can happen, I’d love it.
I’d love to sign story to a pillow contract. If he’s good, it’s good for him as well. If he’s not, I’m glad the Angels are not going to be stuck with that contract.
is the dumb gm going for the dumb belt?
Why is he dumb? You know what’s dumb– blaming the GM because Moreno isn’t willing to spend anymore money. What GM wouldn’t want to go out and sign everything they need? The owner is saying no.
didn’t i say before? cheap owner and dumb gm. the perfect combo!
They have the 8th highest payroll in the MLB and 4 guys making at least $20 million. I don’t think it’s a problem of being cheap, more than it being where the funds are going towards.
Moreno’s the one making these moves… right?
Do you imagine Moreno wringing his hands together saying, we must get Claudio and Guerra.
I imagine you do.
If you were GM and you could go after Robbie Ray, or Trevor Story, or even Grienke– wouldn’t you? The GM is acting the best he can within the limitations the owner has given him. Pretty basic logic. Perry has no choice. Neither did Eppler. Neither did DiPoto.
boycott the team till the management learns how to build a team for the postseason.
Good idea. When does your boycott start?
I’m not going to a game until they prove they’re serious. I think there are a lot of fans who feel the same way.
All you fake, whiny fans should boycott the team. I never seen such a group of crybabies. You guys are bad as Yankees fans. “Waah, Arte only spent $50M on pitching this offseason. We need to boycott”. You guys should put your soy milk down and go root for the Yankees. Trust me, you will fit right in. I don;t like a lot of moves, but I would never cry about for months.
“Waah, Arte so cheap”
Mike Trout $426 Million
Albert Pujols $250 Million
Josh Hamilton $125 Million
Justin Upton $105 Million
Gary Matthews $50 Million
CJ Wilson $80 Million
Vernon Wells $50 Milloin
Anthony Rendon $245 Million
Raisel Iglesias $58 Million
That is well over a billion dollars. You guys should pool together your stimulus checks and other money the state gives you and save up 2 billion dollars and buy the team from Arte. Hopefully then you will stop crying.
most of them are so dumb to sign other than trout, rendon, and iglesias. and then we need to see long term production of the latter two.
I;m not here to talk you off the ledge…..JUMP!!!!
Are you freakin kidding me? A Skankees fan saying us Angels fans are whiny! Ha ha! I live in NEPA, lots of Yankees fans always whiny about eveything and that’s a joke considering you got the team with everything. Highest payroll, most impressive history, most championships, and most media coverage. So really, when we ask the team to do more to acquire pitching, frankly I don’t see it as whiny. So really, save it. I don’t want to hear it.
@Redstictch108 Your reading comprehension is pretty bad. They don’t have schools where you live?
I am a Angel fan. An actual fan. Not like you guys. I go to the games. I have 50+ jerseys. I support the team and been with the team through many lean years. I have seen the Angels win their only championship when their payroll was in the middle of the pack. Disney says the lost $100M while owning the Angels. Arte has righted the ship in some ways. His team’s payroll is constantly in the Top 10 of baseball. I have no issues with complaining about the lack of spending on pitching. We all have. There are other things to talk about though. This off season he spent the most he has ever spent on pitching. I get it, not enough for you fair weather fans.
I am sick of the constant whining. I, like most fans of any team, is looking forward to the season. You think the Oriole fans are complaining that their owner only spent $50M on pitching this off season. Doubt it. I am tired of you Debbie Downer types. You guys aren’t actual fans and are embarrassment to those of us that actually are. That is why you should be rooting for a different team.. You can whine and be little B words in harmony
With the added pitching, , there being an extra playoff spot, and Trout and Rendon coming back, I am excited for the upcoming season. The team has 3 players that can put 150 WRC+, no other team has that. The starting rotation is more promising than it have been in at least 6 or 7 years. Same goes for the bullpen. If you look at movement in baseball, the East is pretty loaded. The Blue Jays are pretty loaded. With the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees that division is going to be.very competitive. The West should not be as competitive. The As have sold off everything. The Rangers added some offense. Did they add anyone better than Trout, Ohtani, or Rendon? No. Their pitching is pretty bad. Since you like to complain about pitching, maybe you should become a Rangers fan. It has yet to be seen if the Mariners are capable of scoring runs. The Astros may lose Correa, which will make them weaker as well. The Angels have a chance at the playoffs. That may all change in couple of months. Like most fans, I am optimistic. That all may change in a month, but that is the life of a fan. What the team needs is health. What the team doesn’t need are “fans” like you.
Do every ever dialog with someone? Is it typically hyperbolic?
I really didn’t get past the initial ad hominem attacks.
My dialog is never hyberbolic.
The Angels haven’t had a winning season since 2015. I get why you guys are always crying and so negative and cranky. It’s frustrating for me too, but I remain positive.
I am an optimist. This team has a lot of good things about it, yet all you guys do is focus on the bad in the most negative way. The Angels need a lot of things to go right, but if they do, they can make the playoffs.
Mr. Angel Fan, yes I misread your post. My apologies. I glazed over thinking you were some Yankees fan. I am as hard core a Halos fan as they come. It’s just frustrating the incompetence of the front office in the past decade with this team. I just had to vent. Oh and I am highly educated, so my reading is just fine. I just had a senior moment reading your post is all.
Looks like Moreno opened up the vault for this one.
Played ball with this guy back in High school. The DUFFMAN. Being an angels fan, this makes me happy!
This feels like a John McDonald signing…flashy glove, mediocre bat. Could save some runs in late innings.
I don’t see the McDonald comparison at all. McDonald was a career .596 OPS, Duffy is at .724. The only thing wrong with Duffy’s bat is lack of power, his on base skills are fine. McDonald had no offensive game at all.
Generally speaking, the comparison is a flashy glove and a not so good bat. I’m sure you can get lost in all kinds of minutia picking apart my simple comparison. Have at it.
Canning has had health issues for a while now. I wonder what the deal is.
He had a back issue last year. So did Sandoval. I didn’t hear anything bad about either.
Are we to assume Sandoval isn’t healthy? Normally when a player isn’t healthy you hear something about it.
Maybe the setback is minor. He’s on the minor league DL anyway, this just frees up a spot. Maybe this is nothing, it’s not like he was going to make the team.
60 day IL isn’t nothing, this could be the beginning of the end for him
It depends how far it’s backdated. I don’t think it’s 60 days from today.
What it means is there is still something wrong and we don’t know the severity. It could be a tweak or it could be major.
I’ve got nothing against Matt Duffy, I’m sure he’ll be a solid bench piece for the Angels. But it does seem like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. If the Angels don’t get an actual shortstop and some more bullpen help, I have a hard time seeing how they are going to be competitive this year.
If we need to use this guy, I would rather go with a prospect. A pointless signing in a disappointing offseason.
I predict communication breakdown or bad morale or epic dysfunction in that Angel’s Front Office. I don’t know how else to explain the complete lack of any sort of foresight in needing to assemble a competent pitching staff. They threw money at Thor on the first day of the off-season seemingly, and I guess assumed that was a mighty statement and then nap-time until Opening Day. I thought the Yankees and BoSox were having atrocious and directionless offseasons…but compared to this epic futility here, those two franchises look relatively coherent.
The pitching situation isn’t as dire as fans make out to be, check out the projections. It’s about maintaining a healthy staff, not a good start with Canning though, he was our 6 starter at best.
The Sox are still having an epic fail in the off season, for the second straight year. My Sox buddies think the Bloom is off the rose, after only a short time.
Welp Correa/Story officially off the books unless they dump several MIF players, it’s crowded in the MIF now
Duffy can play all four Infield positions and provides insurance if Rendon gets injured again (assuming Duffy himself is healthy). Not a bad bench piece
Roster spots are valuable. We have five of these guys.
If the Angels pick up somebody better, one of those guys gets designated for assignment, so the fact that they are all currently occupying roster spots doesn’t bother me. The fact that I don’t think the Angels are going to pick up somebody better to play shortstop is the problem.
Sad to hear Canning won’t be ready. He had a promising stretch as a rookie and in the shortened 2020. It’s like he fell off a cliff last summer. I hope everything is okay and he can work his way back to the rotation by the end of the year.
Socalball, Wade isn’t going, Duffy isn’t going.
Spend the money elsewhere. These contracts add up. And it’s not fair to these guys. The could have opened spring training with another team and had a chance to make a roster.
Can’t believe that 80% of the comments, at this point, are about Duffy. THE CANNING STORY IS WAY BIGGER! ANGELS NEEDING STARTING PITCHING!! Stop me, if you’ve heard this before…………….LIKE EVERY SEASON FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS!!!!!
sonorawind – The Angels need starting pitching. The Angels don’t need Canning. He has had plenty of time to turn the corner and he hasn’t. Canning is not the answer to our pitching woes.
Well, that’s true. I just havent been sold on him when he WASN’T injured. But there is time.
Canning had one promising season and couldn’t build on it. I think he has reached his peak, at least with the Angels.
sonorawind
Canning can be activated in two weeks, we just don’t know. He was going to start in the minors anyway, he could be ready by May. Again, we just don’t know.
However this move may mean they are going to move Fletcher to Short and Duffy to second. Angel fans should be very very afraid.
Prov, You and I disagree. Can a pitcher throw the ball in the strike zone and avoid contact? Can a pitcher throw the ball outside the strike zone and get batters to chase. Canning is elite at both. Very few pitchers miss who can do both as well as Canning.
It isn’t the first time we’ve disagreed Halo! Canning has pitched a total of 209.1 innings over three MLB seasons with the Angels. He has a career ERA of 4.73 with 2021 at 5.6. A career FIP of 4.69 and WHIP of 1.338. His numbers have gone in the wrong direction over his three MLB seasons. You’re right about his strike outs at 9.2 per 9 innings. But in general, he gives up runs…110 ER over 209.1 innings in the majors.
I think he’s not our answer in the rotation.
baseball-reference.com/players/c/cannigr01.shtml
Iloom at fangraphs when I want to look beyond the back of the baseball card.
Sort by z contact and chase rate. He part of a very talented group.
They don’t miss often
Canning is horrible. Dump time.
What the hell are they doing ??????
This team’s front office & owner have their heads soo far up their as* it’s quite remarkable. They are soo incompetent at either acquiring or signing any pitching. Any competent owner would have already won at least one championship or consistently made playoffs with the core of position players they have.
Ownership and front office have fallen asleep at the wheel. Wake up the lockout is over please find the keys to your offices!
When I first saw the headline, I thought okay pitcher from KC. But then read on—he’s an infielder. I never heard of him, so naturally, I am unimpressed with this signing. Angels need pitching and there is glut of unproven middle infielders already on the roster fighting for crumbs. They didn’t need this schmo. They need pitching.
Anyone else have a problem on the Anderson post about Tyler coming on board now? Angels can use all the reliable arms they can get.