Outfielder Mickey Moniak won his arbitration hearing against the Angels, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He’ll be paid the $2MM sum at which he and his reps from Wasserman filed rather than the team’s $1.5MM submission.
It’s the first trip through arbitration for Moniak, the No. 1 pick from the 2016 draft. He’s coming off a down showing in 2024 that saw him slash just .219/.266/.380 across a career-high 418 plate appearances. He played all three outfield spots (albeit only seven innings in left field), hit 14 homers (plus 17 doubles and a pair of triples) and swiped eight bags in a dozen attempts.
Moniak had a big year in 2023 — his first full season with the Angels after coming to Anaheim in the Aug. 2022 trade that shipped Noah Syndergaard to the Phillies. He hit .280/.307/.495 (114 wRC+) with 14 long balls in 323 plate appearances for the ’23 Halos, although those results looked dubious and unsustainable at the time. Moniak’s production came in spite of a sky-high 35% strikeout rate and was aided by a similarly bloated .397 average on balls in play. He walked in only 2.8% of his plate appearances and posted the highest swing percentage of any player in MLB (min. 300 plate appearances) but the fifth-worst contact rate. Sure enough, his output at the plate came crashing down in 2024.
Even if that 2023 season was largely smoke and mirrors, the results are in the books, and they surely benefited Moniak in his arbitration case. As such, any future arbitration raises will be based on a larger starting point ($2MM) than would’ve been the case had he lost his hearing ($1.5MM). He’ll be arbitration-eligible twice more and is under club control with the Angels through the 2027 season. He’s ticketed for a bench role in 2025, backing up the outfield trio of Taylor Ward, Mike Trout and Jo Adell.
Moniak was one of three Angels players to exchange arbitration figures with the team earlier this month — and one of 17 total players to do so throughout MLB. The Halos have since avoided arbitration with southpaw Jose Quijada, agreeing to a one-year deal with a 2026 club option. Infielder Luis Rengifo, who filed at $5.95MM to the team’s $5.8MM counter, is the final Angels player whose arbitration case remains unresolved.
Congrats to Mickey in Disneyland
Enjoy your days in Anaheim.
Has all the makings of a trade to his hometown Padres.
Granted Mickey playing near Disneyland is pretty cool.
Would be cool for em to play for Pads, local kid like Musgrove coming home n they need LF. Angels could non-tender em now cause he won arbitration. Think Giants last yr had someone beat em in arbitration n then they “cut” em.
Niekro – I would expect Moniak to be non-tendered as 35% K-rate and 3% walk rate along with his other stats are not good.
Moniak is from Carlsbad. He and my son both attended LaCosta Canyon High School. As a first round, first pick his signing bonus was $6.1 million, and being on the 40-man for a number of years has pushed his earnings to over $10,000,000. For a 4th outfielder (non-starter), he has done well for himself, but I do not see him finding an MLB guaranteed contract much longer.
The LaCosta Canyon High School baseball diamond, where Moniak played, is 2 miles from where I have lived the last 15 years. After watching him against high school competition I can honestly say he was very good, but projecting him as a #1 in the first round is a total crapshoot.
The fact that Moniak has made the MLB, and that he has made a career for himself is good, but as a first round pick, you certainly expect a lot more than what he has produced!
What, no “defeats?”
Another loss for the Angels.
Yep, the Angels already have a loss before the season starts.
They paid thousands in legal fees to avoid paying $500k yet they end up having to pay it all anyway. Go Halos.
@Nuke His new salary will be the basis for his next arbitration. So the extra money compounds each subsequent arbitration.
I didn’t realize how dramatically he increased his strikeout and walk rates in 2024. It’s amazing what a 130 point drop in babip will do to your slash line!
The arbitrator can’t consider wild-blue flukes, I guess. But hey, Moniak got ridiculously lucky in 2023 and it paid off $500,000.
I get going to arbitration over $500K difference for Moniak, but for $150K difference with Rengifo? Just pay him what he’s asking and move on. Why risk hurt feelings over things said in the arbitration hearing when the difference between sides is a rounding error on a payroll closing in on $185M?
“But for $150K difference with Rengifo”…You clearly do not understand how rich people think, operate or how they got rich in the first place. Rengifo is not exactly Mike Trout, Juan Soto or Ronald Acuna you know.
Why inflate salaries? If teams did that every time “it’s just…” salaries would rise rapidly.
Yo seriously might as well trade him. If I were him or his agent I would not want to return after that type of disagreement
Tough noogies, he is in no position to demand a trade and he needs to perform or he will never get a big payday
Ac123
I would not want to return after that type of disagreement
============================
Kind of silly, imo. Doesn’t everyone in the world occasionally have disagreements over salary?
It’s a business and they use accountants and advanced math to tell them the risk and projected outcome of the hearing before it even happens. I would imagine if mickeys feelings are too hurt, he won’t have much more of a career.
I project if Mickeys feelings are NOT too hurt, he also won’t have much more of a career
A great example of why draft picks should not get insane amounts of money as a signing bonus
He clearly was not worth the many millions he got as a number one pick
Sure he is.
You must be his agent
@phillyphan81. Considering they got moniak for three years for syndergaard. It turned out alright. Thanks for o’hoppe, Klassen, and aldegheri.
Captainmike1
A great example of why draft picks should not get insane amounts of money as a signing bonus
=========================
Then you should suggest that to the GM of whatever team you follow. Never sign any of your first round picks.
Kid has speed and I like seeing him in the field. His slash line will be BABIP driven.
I think there’s a chance for the BABIP to be somewhere between the insanely high 23 level and lower 24 level. If so, he’s a decent 4th outfielder.
@halosheavenjj. We got him for syndergaard so I guess it evened out, didn’t we give up a 2nd round comp pick for him. The difference between marsh and o’hoppe made up for it.
Yes, the Angels lost their second round pick the year we signed Thor.
Don’t remind me – I HATED giving up O’Hoppe. Not that Marsh is bad and the positional needs at the time made sense, but Logan is a core player and someone to anchor a rebuild around for years to come.
He’s a great kid and it is hard not to root for him. But he k’s a ton and is allergic to walks; has limited power and hit tool and frankly never enjoyed any success all through the minors. So unless he becomes something that he really never was before…good luck.
Moniak is the definition of a streaky hitter. His OPS by month last year (league average was .703):
APR .420 (ugh)
MAY .478 (bad)
JUN .717 (nice)
JUL .651 (OK)
AUG 1.116 (wow!)
SEP .439 (ugh)
And as you pointed out, it’s 100% BABIP related. which is also correlated to his Hard Hit %. Up and down, all year.
Somewhere in there is a talented player, but time is running out for him to find the consistency to stay in the big leagues.
Chances are that his next round of arbitration sees him on the non-tender bubble anyway…
…says a Phils fan that never understood the pick in the first place. Why choose a HS kid with a high floor / low ceiling with the first pick in the draft? It was a weak draft but that was a ridiculous choice.
First loss of 2025 for the Angels,
Do not worry since there’s many more losses to come.
Zero chance the Angels could buy their way out of this hole in one year.
However, there is an intriguing collection of arms emerging and tons of payroll space becoming available over the next two years.
This was the year to let the kids continue to develop and wait for contracts to expire, not to add.
@halos. Don’t feed the trolls.
@rexhulder
It looks like low IQ has resurrected his account under a new name.
Same ‘ol let’s see who is willing to argue with this moronic statement. The resort to name calling. It is odd how people amuse themselves.
I think Arte spends in another two years. 11 players making a total of $105 million fall off the books over the next two season, including the Rendon albatross after 2026.
We likely have in house replacements on the pitching side but the position player side is a different animal.
So in two years we should have a largely homegrown pitching staff and tons of money to spend.
“Palletable”. Followed by woke, safe space and preferred pronouns. There is a Macarthur Fellowship in the wings…
@angelsfan1972. I never talked to him, but apparently I have talked to his twenty accounts. Just hope it’s a someone still in middle school.
@rexhudler middle schooler????
That would explain a lot of things. ha ha ha
Sadly I doubt it though.
Or is he cooking the books so the franchise looks like it’s making enough money
==========
I hope you don’t think a prospective buyer just takes his word for the financial data. Multi-billion $$$ acquisitions involve accountants, and a lot more.
Kikuchi is a decent starter, and he went for about the going rate for the market, compared to others you can’t say that was a drastic overpay by the Angels.
Ok ok I understand your frustration but Soler (he is a strange fit I know) is definitely a solid bat, and Kikuchi is definitely a get.
Soler falls into the 2 year window as well. Only Trout and Kikuchi are on guaranteed contracts past 2026 and Kikuchi only goes one year beyond that.
Arte is trying to be decent while rebuilding. Not the way I’d do it, but I get it.
Kikuchi isn’t decent?
They’ve been losing all offseason.
I like that number 2 draft pick for the Halos. They get one of these 2 studs…
1. Ethan Holliday, SS/3B, Stillwater HS, Okla.
2. Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M
Or snag the best college arm in the draft. Tyler Bremner and Jaime Arnold currently lead that conversation.
The pick at 46 is critical this year, too. Ideally a third baseman. I like the kid from Tennessee and am partial to the Fresno State Bulldogs
I hope they get the absolute best PLAYER out of college.
And yes 46 really is important as well.
Considering how rarely top of the rotation arms hit free agency these days, I think my ideal draft would be top college arm at 2 then a third baseman at 46.
My way too early dream mock draft would be Bremner or Arnold at 2 and Oregon State third baseman Trent Caraway at 46.
NCAA starts two weeks from today!
Because of the Angels draft position i will be paying a lot more attention to the top tier college players this year.
I understand what you are saying in regard to them going for a more discount/ signable player, but I doubt they’d pass on Jace LaViolette if he is there at #2
I fear the Angels will butcher this pick and draft someone not named Holliday or LaViolette that will sign sign for a smaller bonus.
Considering the Angels development record a high school kid, even one as talented as Holliday, would make me uneasy with the second overall pick.
I also won’t be shocked if they take the 5th or 8th rated guy and sign him at a discount. But they better hit big on the 46th pick if they do that.
“I also won’t be shocked if they take the 5th or 8th rated guy and sign him at a discount.”
This is exactly my fear. And yes, the Angels don’t have a good track record of developing HS players. So, I’m hoping that Holliday goes #1 and LaViolette goes #2.
The Angels are in a unique position where they can actually draft a potential star player who can anchor their young core of O’Hoppe, Neto, Moore, and Schanuel.
I’m skeptical of the Angels taking an arm over a near sure bet like LaViolette when you see what they’ve done with Detmers and Bachman.
Mickey Moniak sounds like a name that you’d only find in a 1980’s baseball movie.
Mickey Morandini’s muse.
The 90s “family” baseball movies had some wonderful names
Carney Lansford played a character in the movie “Angels in the Outfield” named Kit “Hit or Die” Kesey
Thought he was traded for Marsh (not Syndergaard)…
two separate trades around the same time?
he was for Thor.
Marsh was traded for O’Hoppe
I consider it one big trade that had Thor and Marsh for O’Hoppe and Moniak.
It’s now obvious Arte Moreno and Perry Minasian have lied to us claiming they weren’t done spending and adding free agents.The Angels have been connected and attached to almost every free agent on the market haven’t signed a Single one. all signing with other ball clubs I know the Angels MO they’re waiting for the end of spring training where other teams start cutting and trimming their roster. This is where the Angels come in and fill their roster which they have done in the past as an Angels fan I am so frustrated with ownership, especially at the top Arte Moreno is the cancer killing the Angels franchise I do Believe in Perry Minasian who is trying to rebuild the team with a young core of players with his number 1 draft picks choices
Classic Angels…. Haggling over 195k with Rengifo.
Thye should just cut him. 2 mil for that…please
This contract is not guaranteed now until opening day. That might be advantageous to the Angels.
Pretty remarkable turn of events for Moniak, Moniak. Recall when she was just a steel town girl on a Saturday night
It was completely idiotic that a 99 loss team played 36 y/o Pillar instead of letting Adele and Moniak play everyday and just develop. Moniak has upside and potential if he can just play everyday.
That was the Angels being the Angels. Also add in the ABs given to Sano and Hicks. The Angels seem to think that anyone under 30 is still a prospect.
Probably worth noting by MLB-R that Moniak had a terrific Aug-Sept stretch.
And on a team with 3 righty starters, one very injury-prone, Moniak is a semi-important player.
I’d be shocked if he’s tendered next year.
When it’s all said and done Arte Moreno will be remembered for letting Shohei Ohtani walk away with no compensation at the time the Angels sure could have used prospects in return with the depleted farm club who wants to win now, but no longer putting money where his mouth is
Jack Flaherty is returning to Tigers reports that the right-hander has signed a two-year deal with the Tigers worth $35MM
You mean the Angels couldn’t afford Jack Flaherty two years 35 million unbelievable Arte Moreno has no intentions of winning I can’t believe it maybe Arte Moreno will get deported
If only we could trade Arte for a couple of prospects.