The Angels announced that infielder Jeimer Candelario has been designated for assignment. The move creates roster space for fellow infielder Vaughn Grissom, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.
Candelario signed a minor league contract with Los Angeles during the offseason, and earned himself a spot on the Opening Day roster due to a few factors. The veteran’s big Spring Training numbers helped him stand out from some other infield candidates like Christian Moore and Kyren Paris, and Grissom was also lost to a wrist sprain. Unfortunately, Candelario couldn’t keep his Cactus League performance going into the regular season, as he hit only .111/.200/.222 over 20 plate appearances.
The cold start continues the downward slide that began after Candelario signed a three-year, $45MM free agent deal with the Reds prior to the 2024 season. Candelario hit only .225/.279/.429 over 463 PA in the first season of his contract, and Cincinnati released him last June after he batted .113/.198/.213 in his first 91 PA of the 2025 campaign. Injuries such as knee tendinitis and a lumbar spine strain certainly contributed to that falloff over the last two seasons, but Candelario was thought to be healthy heading into 2026.
The Yankees signed Candelario after his release from the Reds but didn’t use him at the MLB level, and his struggles didn’t stop the Angels from taking a flier on the 32-year-old this past winter. Another team may feel Candelario still has something in the tank, and he would cost only a prorated Major League minimum salary for any time spent on a team’s active roster, as the Reds are still responsible for the $15MM still owed on his contract.
Even if another club has interest in Candelario, however, they might not be willing to devote a 40-man roster spot to him, so it seems likely that the infielder will clear waivers. He has enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment and then elect free agency, so Candelario can test the market again for another minor league contract.
Grissom is now set to make his Angels debut, and get his first big league action of any kind since the 2024 season. Grissom has yet to live up to the promise of his impressive 2022 rookie season with the Braves, as he struggled in 2023 and then was a bust with the Red Sox after being dealt for Chris Sale during the 2023-24 offseason. While Sale resurrected his career in Atlanta, Grissom didn’t hit in Boston, battled injuries, and soon found himself supplanted by several other up-and-coming infield prospects.
Wow, remember when he was a top prospect? Me neither
That ship has Saled.
Was that at Soup Plantation it saled?
Been a big leaguer for 10 years, career WAR is 9.2, earned over $50M. How long did you play and how much have you earned? And what is your WAR?
Vaughn Grissom > Jared Kellenic
Loved your time with the Nats, Jeimer!
850mil
My WAR is 75
Three 7 year Max contracts
3402 consecutive games played and in 21 years I only struck out 15 times.
Maxing out on a created player on MLB the show is fun. 😂
Jeimer put up a .900 OPS in Iowa, flirted with the Top 100, blocked by Bryzzo, traded to Detroit. Avila traded his own son to get him!
Jeimer will get paid a lot of money to be unemployed. Krall was really impressed with that good half season to waste all that money that could have helped the sorry corner outfield situation the last two years.
This really should be the end of the line for Candelario. Not sure how much is left in the tank, but it doesn’t matter when the guy seems unmotivated and just going through the motions of existing in the big leagues.
Yankee-bound again? Maybe walking papers for McMahon. 🙏
Uhhh no.
Was glad when the Tigers moved on from him. He always looked older than his official age. I don’t feel bad for him; he’s had a decent, lucrative career.
Candelario hit the ball well this spring. Grissom did not and that was before the injury.
But Grissom has defensive value and upside.
The lowly Angels are sitting at the second Wildcard spot in the AL. The dumdums must think they did something so well! And some fools would think the team will stay there.
Ahhh but you’re smarter than everyone else. I get it
Certainly not. But I would never state that the fans would not necessarily consider winning as a priority.
Thankfully I am not that dumb.