Headlines

  • Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow
  • Astros To Promote Brice Matthews
  • Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers
  • Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help
  • Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays
  • Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Angels Decline Options On Aaron Loup, Eduardo Escobar

By Darragh McDonald and Anthony Franco | November 3, 2023 at 4:00pm CDT

The Angels announced that they have declined club options on left-hander Aaron Loup and infielder Eduardo Escobar. Both will now become free agents, with Loup receiving a $2.5MM buyout instead of a $7.5MM salary for 2024, while Escobar receives a buyout of $500K instead of a $9MM salary.

Neither move comes as a surprise. Loup posted a remarkable 0.95 ERA in 2021 and parlayed that into a two-year, $17MM deal going into 2022. His first year with the Halos was fine, resulting in a 3.84 ERA, but that figure jumped to 6.10 in 2023. There may have been some bad luck in his poor results this year, with a .373 batting average on balls in play and 63.6% strand rate, but his strikeout rate has also been declining. He fanned 26.1% of batters in that strong 2021 campaign but that rate dropped to 20% and then 19.5% in the two most recent seasons.  He also finished the 2023 campaign on the injured list with a left shoulder strain.

The Halos acquired Escobar in a midseason trade with the Mets. They hoped the veteran switch-hitter would stabilize an infield that had been wrecked by injury. It didn’t go as planned, with Escobar stumbling to a .219/.259/.303 slash in 189 plate appearances. Combined with a slow start in Queens, he managed just a .226/.269/.344 line over 100 games on the season.

Lefty relief and third base both stand as areas the Angels could try to address this offseason. They don’t have any left-handers who are guaranteed spots in the season-opening bullpen, with the likes of Kolton Ingram and Kenny Rosenberg projecting as their top options. Anthony Rendon is the ostensible starter at third base, although he’s coming off another disappointing year marred by injury.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Los Angeles Angels Transactions Aaron Loup Eduardo Escobar

White Sox To Decline Option On Liam Hendriks
Main
Matt Carpenter Exercises Player Option
View Comments (15)
Post a Comment

15 Comments

  1. HalosHeavenJJ

    2 years ago

    Zero percent surprised and 100% needed.

    10
    Reply
    • Monkey’s Uncle

      2 years ago

      So you’re saying that these moves didn’t exactly throw you for a Loup?

      15
      Reply
      • kingsfan1968

        2 years ago

        Feeling Loupy now!

        Reply
  2. User 2976510776

    2 years ago

    I don’t know the particulars of his contract but Why wasn’t Loup either traded at the deadline or simply released to waivers like all the others if they weren’t going to exercise the option? Seems like Minasian could have gotten something for him

    Reply
    • HalosHeavenJJ

      2 years ago

      Loup was pitching horribly prior to the deadline and was in mop up duty. He had absolutely no trade value, especially not at $7.5 million per year.

      However, the bullpen was ravaged by injury and we needed mop up innings. Loup did pitch better for a bit after the deadline but in no way well enough to entice somebody to claim him and his salary on waivers.

      He was simply sunk cost on a team going nowhere so he got to play out the string.

      6
      Reply
  3. kdub53

    2 years ago

    Thank God!!

    1
    Reply
  4. Halo11Fan

    2 years ago

    What? Totally unexpected.

    Reply
  5. solaris602

    2 years ago

    Will be strange not seeing Loup entering practically every game next year, or at least warming up to come in. Not since the Dodgers’ Omar Daal has a bullpen lefty gotten that kinda work game in, game out.

    Reply
    • sfes

      2 years ago

      “Everyday” Eddie Guardado has them both beat

      Reply
  6. prov356

    2 years ago

    This should be the start of getting rid of the dead weight. We hang onto guys way too long thinking their flash of greatness is their new normal when it was just a momentary flash. It’s time for Moreno to get serious about putting a team together that can get to the post season. It starts and ends with pithing.

    Reply
    • trout27

      2 years ago

      The biggest problem the Angels have is they keep signing pitchers who have already had their best years. Take Anderson (please) he was coming off his best season with th Dodgers, an absolute outlier compared to his numbers for his career. This was Minasian’s blunder. The Angels fail year after year to develop their own pitching.

      Reply
      • prov356

        2 years ago

        I disagree that Minasian is the problem. He doesn’t do anything in a vacuum without Moreno saying yes or no. The proof is the fact that our results are the same through several GMs. Moreno is the only constant for the past 20 years.

        3
        Reply
        • ‘61AngelFan

          2 years ago

          Right, Moreno has no interest in spending on scouting and player development. And he obviously won’t listen, but instead looks for the big splash. Where does that get us – Rendon the latest in a long line of over spending.
          No wonder Dombrowski had no interest.

          1
          Reply
      • Tim Stewart

        2 years ago

        I think Minasian has done a great job of improving the talent of the players on the team. drafted well and developed well . I don’t agree with all his moves (Nevin), but they really had ALOT of injuries. Only 2 players made it thru the whole season without getting injured. Even Anderson is a guy that can be counted on to give you innings and is usually healthy.

        Reply
  7. Redstitch108* 2

    2 years ago

    I cringed every time Loup was brought into a game. Adios fellas. You guys both need to retire.

    1
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Recent

    Lee Elia Passes Away

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Poll: Which Teams Should Make The Biggest Push For Jarren Duran?

    MLB Finalizes Home Run Derby Field

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Giants Outright Sergio Alcántara

    Joe Coleman Passes Away

    Dodgers Outright CJ Alexander

    Trade Deadline Outlook: New York Yankees

    Clarke Schmidt To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version