The Angels have sent first baseman/outfielder Niko Kavadas outright to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.
Kavadas, 26, was acquired from the Red Sox as part of the July 2024 trade which sent Luis García to Boston. The Halos added Kavadas to their 40-man roster a few weeks later. He has largely been on optional assignment since then. His major league work consists of just 40 games with 129 plate appearances. He has produced a rough .168/.271/.292 line in that small sample.
His minor league work has generally been that of a three-true-outcomes guy, as he usually hits lots of home runs and draws lots of walks while also striking out a bunch. That has continued to be the case in 2025, though the overall production has taken a step backwards. He has 23 Triple-A homers this year while walking at a 14.7% clip and striking out 30.8% of the time. In the hitter-friendly context of the Pacific Coast League, his .231/.363/.449 line translates to a wRC+ of 100. Last year, he slashed .264/.399/.521 in Triple-A for a 138 wRC+.
He’s not a burner on the basepaths nor is he an especially strong defender, so that lesser offensive production is notable and likely helped him get through waivers unclaimed. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of big league service time, he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency. That allows the Halos to keep him as non-roster depth. He won’t be eligible for seven-year minor league free agency at season’s end either, since he was drafted in 2021 and has therefore only played parts of five minor league campaigns.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Halos should have just let him go. Never going to be an impact player and has below average bench skills.
I wanted Boston to give him a shot when Casas got injured last year but apparently they knew. He might be best as a Savannah Banana or a good softball league. Hope though he proves me wrong.
He’s got a little bit of talent. No reason to let him go for nothing.
Why? So, they can be even thinner at 1B?
question for you guys, mlbtr: does the league count the cancelled 2020 minor league season as one year towards milb players’ seven before reaching fa?
I believe so. The last four rounds of minor league free agency seemed to count 2020. This will be the last round of minor league free agency affected by the pandemic. Remember, it’s six full years of seniority, so this fall it will be players drafted in 2019. Players drafted in 2020’s six full seasons will be 2021-2026.