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Angels Sign Max Stassi To Extension

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The Angels announced this evening they’ve signed catcher Max Stassi to a three-year, $17.5MM extension. The veteran backstop will earn $3MM in 2022, and $7MM apiece in 2023-24. The deal also contains a $7.5MM club option for the 2025 campaign that comes with a $500K buyout. Stassi is a Wasserman client.

The deal buys out up to three free agent years, as Stassi had been set to hit the open market after this season. He and the team had already agreed to a $3MM salary for the upcoming season. That figure remains in place, with the club tacking on $14.5MM in new money to keep him under club control through 2025.

Stassi has appeared in each of the last nine big league seasons, but he didn’t play in more than 15 games in any of the first five years. The righty-hitting backstop had never even tallied 300 plate appearances in a season until last year, as he’d spent his early days as a depth catcher with the division-rival Astros.

The Angels picked up Stassi in a seemingly minor deadline deal with Houston in 2019. He didn’t do much in 20 games with the Halos down the stretch that season, but he’s enjoyed a late-career breakout over the past two years. Stassi mashed at a .278/.352/.533 clip during the shortened 2020 schedule, rapping nine extra-base hits in 105 plate appearances. There’s little doubt the limited sample inflated his numbers that year, but Stassi continued to perform well over his largest body of work last season.

In 2021, Stassi appeared in 87 games and picked up 319 trips to the plate. He hit .241/.326/.426 with 13 homers, showing solid power and drawing a fair number of walks. Stassi struck out in an alarming 31.7% of his plate appearances, but the combination of pop and patience were more than adequate for a catcher. By measure of wRC+, Stassi’s production lined up exactly with that of a league average hitter. League average offense isn’t easy to find at the most demanding position at the diamond, with catchers overall posting a .229/.305/.391 mark last season.

Stassi pretty clearly wielded an above-average bat for a backstop, and he also rated well in the eyes of Statcast’s pitch framing metrics. Baseball Savant pegged him as six runs above average as a framer last season, his fourth straight year garnering positive marks in that regard. He didn’t do well to control the running game, throwing out only 15.4% of attempted base-stealers (against a 24.3% league average). Stassi had fared a bit better in that regard in years past, however, and the Angels are clearly comfortable in both his receiving ability and ability to handle a pitching staff over the coming seasons.

Because he didn’t establish himself as a regular until nearly a decade into his big league career, Stassi wasn’t going to hit free agency until after his age-31 season. That always figured to cap his long-term market upside, but the two years and $14.5MM in guarantees for his first couple free agent seasons is in line with the recent going rate for capable but not elite #1 catchers. The Braves signed Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year, $16MM extension last August; the Cubs added Yan Gomes for two years and $13MM just before the lockout.

d’Arnaud and Gomes were the top options in a free agent catching class that was short on #1 options this winter. Next year’s crop looks stronger, with Mike Zunino, Willson Contreras, Gary Sánchez and Omar Narváez among a handful of players set to hit the market. Rather than stick in that fairly deep class, Stassi will stick around in Orange County for at least the next couple years.

The Angels re-signed Kurt Suzuki this winter, and he’ll serve as Stassi’s back-up for the upcoming campaign. The extension won’t affect the Angels’ books for the upcoming season, given that it doesn’t change his price tag from the previously agreed upon $3MM arbitration settlement. Los Angeles is still set to open this season with a franchise-record payroll in the $188MM range. The extension brings their 2023 estimated player commitments up to around $119MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Latest On Angels’ Pursuit Of Right-Handed Hitters, Payroll, Starter Search

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The Angels were exploring the market for prominent right-handed hitters, checking in with such notable names as Trey Mancini, J.D. Davis, and Luke Voit, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).  However, that search may now be limited if not over, as after signing Ryan Tepera, the Angels appear only willing to significantly stretch their payroll for a starting pitcher, rather than a position player.

With Tepera signed for two years and $14MM, Roster Resource projects the Angels for a payroll of roughly $188.3MM, and a luxury tax number of just under $204MM.  The latter figure is well under the $230MM luxury tax threshold, and while the Angels have been willing to spend in general under Arte Moreno, it is clear Moreno considers the CBT threshold to be something of a barrier, as the Halos have only paid the tax once during Moreno’s ownership (in 2004, his second year owning the franchise).

In terms of pure dollars, the Angels had roughly $179MM on the books in 2020 before accounting for the prorated salaries of the shortened season, and then around $182MM in payroll last season.  So while the current $188.3MM payroll represents some increase, surely some Angels fans won’t be pleased at the idea that this Los Angeles-based team is hesitating about further spending, particularly since the Halos are coming off six losing seasons, and seven seasons without a playoff appearance.

If the club is only willing to spend in one area, focusing on pitching rather than hitting does make sense from a roster-building perspective.  In a response to the club’s long-standing pitching woes, the Angels added Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen to the rotation mix this year, though both of those hurlers come with some injury concerns.  Plus, the Angels have an even greater need for pitching than most other clubs since L.A. is deploying a six-man rotation — Syndergaard, Lorenzen, Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, Jose Suarez, and Jaime Barria, and look to be the top six choices, with top prospect Reid Detmers in the wings.

The three names cited by Rosenthal also represent somewhat curious fits for the Angels, considering that Ohtani will get most of the DH at-bats and Jared Walsh is penciled into regular first base duty.  Voit is a pure first baseman but presumably no longer an option anyway since the Yankees already dealt him to the Padres.  Mancini has some outfield experience but is perhaps best suited at first base.  The same could be said of Davis, as while he has spent the majority of his big league career as a third baseman and left fielder, his defensive struggles at both positions could ultimately lead him to a future path as a first baseman/DH type.

Walsh is somewhat in the same boat, as he can play a corner outfield spot in a pinch, but isn’t known for his outfield glove.  Walsh also struggles against left-handed pitching, so the Angels are looking for a righty bat who can spell Walsh when a southpaw is on the mound.  The Los Angeles outfield picture consists of the returning Mike Trout (who could be moving out of center field), highly-touted young prospects Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh, bench option Taylor Ward, and veteran Justin Upton, who has himself been getting some reps as a first baseman.  It could be that in lieu of landing a new right-handed bat to share time with Walsh at first base, the Halos might now be prepping Upton for the role if he can adjust to the new position.

Though recent reports suggested that the Mets were looking to keep Davis, rumors have swirled for months about his trade availability, particularly as New York has added several other position players this winter.  Davis missed over half of the 2021 season due to injuries, but he has hit a very solid .288/.373/.472 over 893 PA in three seasons with the Mets.  Davis will earn $2.76MM this season, and while his addition wouldn’t necessarily be a big financial hit for the Angels, he would likely come at a notable trade cost since Davis is controlled through the 2024 season.

Mancini will be a free agent next winter, and thus would be cheaper on the trade front.  Money-wise, Mancini and the Orioles could be going towards an arbitration hearing, as Mancini filed for an $8MM salary in 2022 while the O’s offered $7.375MM.  As the Orioles continue to rebuild, they haven’t shown any inclination towards retaining their veterans, Mancini included — The Athletic’s Dan Connolly reports that the O’s haven’t talked to Mancini about a contract extension.  After sitting out of the 2020 season to battle cancer, Mancini made a triumphant return to the field last year, winning AL Comeback Player Of The Year honors while hitting .255/.326/.432 with 21 home runs over 616 PA for Baltimore.

MLB, MLBPA Reach Tentative Agreement To Reimplement Ghost Runner In 2022

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Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached a tentative agreement to bring the extra-innings ghost runner back for the 2022 season, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Additionally, they have agreed to expand active rosters from 26 to 28 players this season until May 1. The league’s 30 owners need to vote next week to officially ratify the conditions, but Sherman writes that only a simple majority is needed and the provisions aren’t expected to have any issue passing.

Neither development is especially surprising, as reports emerged a couple weeks ago that both were under consideration. The lockout lingered into the second week of March, compressing the Spring Training schedule by two weeks even with the start of the regular season pushed back eight days. The concern is that the shortened ramp-up period might not afford enough time for players to get ready to shoulder a typical regular season workload. By adding a couple players in the early going and limiting the potential for marathon games, the league and union will give managers some extra flexibility in keeping playing time in check.

Sherman adds there won’t be any restrictions on the number of pitchers teams can carry in April. MLB is instituting its 13-pitcher limit this year. That rule change was originally slated to go into effect in 2020, but MLB scrapped it in each of the past two seasons due to concerns about overworking arms while teams were facing the possibility of COVID-19 outbreaks on their rosters. That’ll eventually be a challenge for clubs, but they’ll have some extra leeway on the mound for the first couple weeks of the season.

The return of the extra-innings runner figures to be the more notable development for fans. It was first implemented in 2020 as part of the pandemic protocols. There’s little doubt the rule has indeed served its purpose of preventing marathon games. There has only been one MLB game that exceeded thirteen innings in either of the past two seasons; there were 23 such games in 2019 alone. Nevertheless, the rule has predictably proven divisive among fans, many of whom perceive the placement of a free runner on second base to start extras as gimmicky.

Sherman writes that the ghost-runner rule has only been approved for 2022, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the league and union revisit it again down the line. The other big on-field pandemic rules change — the seven-inning doubleheader — will not return this year.

One rule that will be in effect permanently is a modification to the designated hitter, albeit one that only seems likely to affect one player. If a team uses the same player as both that day’s starting pitcher and as their DH, he can remain in the game as a hitter even after being removed from the mound. That’s obviously a provision designed to allow the Angels to keep Shohei Ohtani in the lineup deep into games he starts.

Red Sox Claim Kyle Tyler, Designate Hudson Potts

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The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Kyle Tyler off waivers from the Angels and, in a corresponding move, designated outfielder infielder Hudson Potts for assignment.

Tyler, 25, was the Halos’ 20th-round draft selection back in 2018 and made his big league debut in 2021 when he tossed 12 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The Oklahoma product held opponents to four runs (2.92 ERA) on eight hits and six walks with six strikeouts. Tyler’s strikeout/walk rates in the big leagues obviously weren’t much to write home about, and he sat at just 91.1 mph with his fastball during that limited time.

That said, Tyler also enjoyed a solid season in the minors, logging a 3.66 ERA with a 25.3% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate in 86 frames between Double-A and Triple-A — mostly working as a starting pitcher. The right-hander has all three minor league option years remaining, so he gives the Sox some additional pitching depth at a time when big names like Chris Sale and James Paxton are on the injured list.

Potts, 23, is a former first-round pick and well-regarded prospect whose development simply hasn’t progressed as hoped. Selected by the Padres with the No. 24 overall pick in 2016 and traded to Boston in 2020’s Mitch Moreland swap, Potts spent the 2021 season with Boston’s Double-A affiliate. It was his second stint at the Double-A level, but Potts still managed only a .217/.264/.399 batting line with a sky-high 32.8% strikeout rate.

Potts has previously drawn praise for his substantial raw power, but he hasn’t made contact enough to take advantage of that pop since a solid 2018 showing in A-ball. The Red Sox will have a week to trade Potts or place him on outright waivers, at which point any of the other 29 clubs could place a claim.

Cardinals Claim Packy Naughton

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The Cardinals announced Monday that they’ve claimed left-hander Packy Naughton off waivers from the Angels. The Cards had one open spot on the 40-man roster, which is now full.

A ninth-round pick by the Reds back in 2017, Naughton was traded to the Halos in the Aug. 2020 trade that shipped outfielder Brian Goodwin to Cincinnati. Naughton made his big league debut in Anaheim last season and wound up pitching 22 2/3 innings with an unsightly 6.35 ERA and more walks (14) than strikeouts (12).

That said, the 25-year-old has a solid minor league track record, having compiled 431 2/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball with a 21.2% strikeout rate, a 5.7% walk rate and 42.1% grounder rate. Naughton ranked in the middle tiers of both the Angels and Reds farm systems over the years, per Baseball America, who noted that despite lacking a power arsenal Naughton possessed the durability and feel for pitching to profile as a back-end starter.

Indeed, made 28 starts in both 2018 and in 2019, pitching to solid ERAs (4.03 in Class-A and 3.32 between Class-A Advanced and Double-A) with low walk rates and below-average strikeout numbers. For a Cardinals team that’s largely built around an elite defense, he’s a sensible depth pickup. That depth is all the more crucial right now with ace Jack Flaherty and fellow righty Alex Reyes both expected to begin the season on the injured list. Naughton isn’t any kind of favorite to open the year in the Cardinals’ rotation, but he’s a 25-year-old with a pair of option years remaining, so he gives the Cards some nice flexibility.

Justin Upton Working Out At First Base

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  • Justin Upton briefly started some prep work as a first baseman last season before a lumbar strain ended his season in September, but the veteran outfielder has again donned a first baseman’s glove in Angels camp this spring, The Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher writes.  Upton has never played at first base during his entire pro career, though the lower-impact position would theoretically help the 34-year-old to stay healthy, and his right-handed bat would provide a nice complement to left-handed hitting starting first baseman Jared Walsh.  After three straight injury-plagued and subpar seasons, Upton is entering the final year of his five-year, $106MM deal with the Angels.

Angels To Sign Ryan Tepera

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March 19: The Angels have officially announced Tepera’s signing. As a result of the signing, however, Kyle Tyler has been designated for assignment. Tyler, 25, tossed 12 1/3 innings for the Angels in 2021 over five games with a 2.92 ERA. The former 20th-round draft pick logged a 3.66 ERA over 86 innings in Triple-A, mostly pitching out of the rotation.

March 17: The Angels continue to bolster the relief unit, agreeing to terms with Ryan Tepera on a two-year, $14MM deal. It’s the second notable free agent pickup of the day for the Halos, who agreed to terms with Archie Bradley this morning. Tepera is a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management.

Tepera was one of the top relievers remaining on the market. He’d been a capable but mostly nondescript middle innings option for a few seasons in Toronto, but the right-hander has taken his game to new heights since signing with the Cubs in advance of the 2020 season. Tepera worked 20 2/3 innings over 21 appearances during the shortened campaign, posting a 3.92 ERA. That run prevention was mostly in line with his career track record, but he saw a massive uptick in swinging strikes and punchouts.

The Sam Houston State product struck out 34.8% of batters faced in 2020, nearly ten points higher than his previous career-best mark. Among the 141 relievers with 20+ frames that season, Tepera ranked 15th in strikeout percentage, but he was even more effective on a pitch-by-pitch basis. He generated whiffs on an incredible 19.5% of his offerings, a mark that trailed only those of Devin Williams, Tanner Rainey and Edwin Díaz among that same group. Tepera’s results were overshadowed a bit by the accidental MVP vote he received at the end of the year, but he legitimately had an excellent showing for Chicago.

That improvement came in a small sample, however, and it didn’t seem teams around the league completely bought into his new form. Tepera’s fastball continued to sit in its customary 93 MPH range, and while he did lean more liberally on his excellent cutter-slider, the market didn’t reflect that he’d made significant strides. Tepera re-signed with the Cubs on a one-year, $800K guarantee in February.

He mostly doubled down on his new form over a larger body of work last year. Tepera made 43 appearances and worked 43 1/3 innings of 2.91 ERA ball with the Cubs, striking out 30.3% of opponents while cutting his walk rate from 13.5% to 7.3%. As part of their trade deadline teardown, the North Siders flipped him to their crosstown rivals for prospect Bailey Horn, and Tepera continued to excel. He pitched to a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings with the White Sox, fanning 32% of batters faced with a 9.3% walk rate. His 16.3% swinging strike rate was again amongst the league’s best, checking in ninth out of 138 relievers to work 50+ innings.

At 34 years old, Tepera was always a long shot to land a deal that exceeded two years. Yet his back-to-back seasons of strong performance earned him a multi-year pact at a $7MM annual rate. If evenly distributed over the two seasons, that’ll push the Angels’ projected payroll to around $186MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That nudges ahead of last year’s $181MM franchise-record Opening Day expenditure. Their luxury tax ledger will jump to around $202MM — still well shy of this year’s $230MM base threshold.

Los Angeles has invested heavily in the bullpen this winter. They re-signed closer Raisel Iglesias to a four-year contract and have added each of Bradley, Tepera and southpaw Aaron Loup via free agency. They’ll join in-house options like Mike Mayers and Austin Warren as late-game possibilities for manager Joe Maddon.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic was first to report the Angels and Tepera were working on a deal. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported an agreement had been reached. MLBTR’s Steve Adams was first to report it was a two-year, $14MM pact.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Angels Designate Packy Naughton For Assignment

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The Angels announced Friday that they have designated left-hander Packy Naughton for assignment in order to create a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Archie Bradley. The Halos also confirmed the terms of Bradley’s one-year, $3.75MM contract.

Originally drafted by the Reds, Naughton came over to the Angels just before the 2020 trade deadline, as part of the Brian Goodwin trade. Last year, he was able to make his MLB debut with the Halos, making five starts and appearing in seven total games, throwing 22 2/3 innings with a 6.35 ERA, 11.1% strikeout rate and 13% walk rate. He fared a bit better in the minors, however, throwing 60 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. His 4.90 ERA in the minors last year came with a 20.7% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate.

Despite those shaky numbers on the season, southpaws are always in high demand. Naughton is also still just 25, turning 26 next month, with a couple of option years remaining. A team with a particular need for left-handed depth could grab Naughton and send him to Triple-A, adding some depth while allowing him to continue getting some work in.

Angels Sign César Valdez To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have announced their signing of right-handed pitcher César Valdez to a minor league contract. The deal includes an invitation to Major League Spring Training camp.

Valdez heads to camp looking to land a job with a growingly deep Angels bullpen. This comes on the heels of back-to-back seasons in Baltimore, where he served as a force in 14 plus innings during the 2020 season. That year’s sharp 1.26 ERA came with an unsustainable zero home runs allowed however, and the right-hander’s ERA ballooned up to 5.87 in 46 innings (39 appearances) last season after serving up eight home runs. Valdez’s home run prevention abilities always figured to take a step back, particularly when he’s equipped with a fastball that averages just 85mph.

Valdez, who turns 37-years-old today, was designated for assignment by the Orioles at the end of last season and ultimately elected free agency. It makes sense that LA is taking a flier on the well-traveled Valdez, however. Despite last season’s rough bottom-line numbers, Valdez’s changeup ranked as one of the best in the game. Throwing his signature changeup 75% of the time, Valdez was a pro at getting opposing batters to swing at pitches outside of the zone, ranking in the 99th percentile of the league. Further, an uncharacteristically high .380 batting average on balls in play is likely to blame for some of the pitcher’s struggles. A 3.73 SIERA is the simplest metric to suggest that Valdez has plenty left in the tank.

The Angels are surely hoping for better batted ball luck this season, as Valdez can provide some extra innings in a bullpen that’s tasked with backing up one of the more fragile rotations in the league. Injury concerns and the delicate handling of reigning-MVP Shohei Ohtani should allow Valdez to soak up plenty of innings if he’s able to make the team’s Opening Day roster. Incredibly, Valdez has just north of two years of service time, meaning he can be controlled by the Angels for about as long as they’d like if they wind up catching lightning in a bottle with today’s pact.

Angels To Sign Archie Bradley

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12:21pm: Bradley and the Angels have agreed to a deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. He’ll earn $3.75MM on a one-year contract, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

9:38am: The Angels are close to finalizing an agreement with free-agent reliever Archie Bradley, tweets Sam Blum of The Athletic. The right-hander is headed to Arizona (where the Halos have their Spring Training facility) at the moment, Blum adds. Bradley is a client of BBI Sports Group.

Archie Bradley | Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Drafted by the D-backs with the No. 7 overall pick back in 2011, the now-29-year-old Bradley struggled as a starter early in his career with Arizona before seeing his career take off in 2017 when he moved to the bullpen. Bradley logged a minuscule 1.73 ERA through 73 frames that season and has since been entrenched as a quality reliever with the D-backs, Reds and — last season — the Phillies.

The 2021 season was Bradley’s first in Philadelphia. After being acquired by the Reds at the 2020 trade deadline and pitching well in his brief stint there, Bradley was non-tendered in a surprising cost-cutting move by Cincinnati. He inked a one-year, $6MM with the Phillies that exceeded the salary he’d been projected to receive in arbitration with the Reds. Bradley had a solid season in Philly, notching a 3.71 ERA over the life of 51 innings, but the year wasn’t without its red flags.

Bradley missed time with a pair of oblique strains last season, and when he was healthy, he posted his lowest strikeout rate (17.9%), lowest average fastball velocity (94.2 mph) and second-highest walk rate (9.8%) since moving to the bullpen back in 2017. It was still an effective year overall, of course, and the pair of injuries quite likely had an adverse impact on him. With the Phillies, Bradley also threw his sinker at a career-high 18.2% (double the rate of the 2020 season), which resulted in a 55.7% ground-ball rate — his best since moving from the rotation to the bullpen. In that sense, it seems there was a conscious decision to trade some whiffs for some grounders (a curious approach considering Philadelphia’s woeful infield defense last year).

If Bradley resumes throwing his four-seamer more heavily in 2022, there’s good reason to expect that his strikeout rate might creep back up a bit. And if he continues to favor his sinker more than in seasons past, he’ll at least be moving to a club that boasts a better defensive group around the infield. Each of Anthony Rendon, David Fletcher and the newly signed Matt Duffy are known for quality glovework.

Bradley has experience closing games, but the move to Anaheim will reunite him with former Reds teammate Raisel Iglesias, who he’ll surely precede as a setup man. Iglesias and Bradley were both cut loose by Cincinnati following that 2020 season — Iglesias in a salary dump trade, Bradley via the aforementioned non-tender — and will now again work together to hold late-inning leads. The Halos re-signed Iglesias to a four-year, $58MM contract earlier this winter after the Cuban-born righty enjoyed a career year in 2021. That duo, along with righty Mike Mayers and lefty Aaron Loup (signed to a two-year, $17MM deal this winter) will be counted among the primary late-inning options for skipper Joe Maddon.

Bradley’s deal boost the Angels’ actual payroll up to a projected $179.5MM — only narrowly shy of last year’s $182MM record Opening Day payroll. The Halos’ luxury-tax payroll (which is based upon the combined annual value of their contractual obligations) now jumps north of $195MM — well shy of the new $230MM luxury tax threshold.

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