Angels, Scott Kingery Avoid Arbitration
Nov. 15: Kingery will earn $770K this season, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register — just $10K north of the league minimum.
Nov. 14: The Angels reached agreement with Scott Kingery on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network (X link). Salary terms have not been reported. Kingery is under arbitration control through the 2027 season.
Kingery just landed with the Halos a few weeks ago. Los Angeles acquired the infielder from the Phillies in a small trade. They added him to their 40-man roster to keep him from hitting minor league free agency. Kingery has more than three years of service time from his stint with the Phils, so he immediately became eligible for arbitration when the Angels put him on the roster. MLBTR did not project a salary for Kingery because he was not on a 40-man at the time of our arbitration projections (courtesy of Matt Swartz). It’d be a surprise if he’s in for a salary much above the league minimum.
In any case, the Arizona product has a clear path back to the majors. Kingery, who signed a $24MM extension before making his debut in 2018, has played in all of one big league game in the last three years. That came as a defensive substitute in 2022. He hasn’t reached 40 games in an MLB season since 2019. Kingery didn’t make much of an impact in Philadelphia, running a .229/.280/.387 line in more than 1100 plate appearances.
The Phillies kept him in Triple-A after outrighting him off the roster. Kingery didn’t have the ability to test minor league free agency without forfeiting the remainder of his extension, which expired last winter. He has essentially spent the last three seasons in the upper minors, turning in roughly league average results. The former second-rounder hit .268/.316/.488 with 25 homers and stolen bases apiece in a hitter-friendly setting this year.
While he came up as a second base prospect, Kingery spent most of this past season at shortstop. He can cover both middle infield spots and move around the outfield. The Angels could be without Zach Neto to begin the season after his recent shoulder procedure. The Halos just signed Kevin Newman as their expected fill-in at shortstop. Kingery can bounce around the diamond in a bench role.
Angels Sign Kevin Newman
The Angels announced the signing of free agent infielder Kevin Newman on a one-year deal with a club option for 2026. The Halos designated catcher Matt Thaiss for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot. Newman, a Jonathan Weiss client, is reportedly guaranteed $2.75MM. That takes the form of a $2.5MM salary for next season and a $250K buyout on a $2.5MM club option for 2026. The Angels recently announced that shortstop Zach Neto could miss the start of the 2025 season following shoulder surgery.
Newman, 31, had a nice year in a utility role with the Diamondbacks in 2024. The former Pirates first-rounder hit .278/.311/.375 (89 wRC+) with plus defense at both middle infield spots. He also logged brief time at third base and in the outfield corners. He doesn’t provide any power (three homers, .097 ISO) or draw many walks (4.8%), but Newman also showed pesky contact skills, fanning in only 15.4% of his plate appearances. He’s a roughly average runner but has savvy enough instincts to have gone 30-for-35 in stolen base attempts over the past four seasons (85.7% success). Newman swiped eight bags in each of the past three seasons and peaked at a career-best 16 steals when he was given more playing time with the Pirates in 2019.
Even in the event that Neto is ready for Opening Day, Newman makes some sense as a pure bench option for an Angels club that’s lacking any sort of proven contributor. Former top prospect Scott Kingery is currently in line to hold a bench role. The only other infield options on the 40-man roster are Eric Wagaman, who debuted as a 27-year-old rookie in September, and former second-round pick Kyren Paris, who struggled immensely at Double-A, Triple-A and in the majors last season. Newman will add some necessary depth and raise the team’s floor with his track record of excellent glovework.
Newman can also provide the Halos with some depth in the event that oft-injured veteran Anthony Rendon again requires an absence of length. Newman has been better suited at the middle infield spots than at third base, but the Halos could shift Luis Rengifo to the hot corner if Rendon misses time and plug Newman in at second in his place.
While Newman doesn’t have a strong track record at the plate, he’s settled into a fairly specific range in terms of offensive output over the past three seasons. His 2024 output is a good approximation of what to expect. Dating back to 2022, he’s a .270/.313/.371 hitter in 873 plate appearances. It’s about 14% worse than average, by measure of wRC+, but when coupled with plus defense and above-average baserunning skills it’s enough to make Newman a useful role player who can help any club that’s short on infield depth — a description that currently fits the Angels to a tee.
Will Sammon and Sam Blum of the Athletic first reported the Angels and Newman were nearing a deal. Jon Heyman of the New York Post confirmed there was an agreement in place. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported the salary breakdown.
Angels Designate Matt Thaiss For Assignment
The Angels have designated catcher Matt Thaiss for assignment, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times on X. That’s the corresponding move for the club signing infielder Kevin Newman, as was reported earlier.
Thaiss, 30 in May, now seems likely to depart the Angels for the first time in his professional career. He was their first round pick in 2016, getting selected 16th overall. Though he was a catcher in college, the Angels valued him more for his offensive abilities and immediately moved him to a corner infield role upon drafting him. He continued to show good talent with a bat in his hands as he worked his way towards the majors, hitting .279/.363/.445 for a 117 wRC+ across multiple minor league levels from 2016 to 2019.
But that production didn’t translate to the major leagues when he was promoted. He hit .202 /.291/.405 in 2019 and 2020, his first 189 plate appearances in the big leagues. The Halos had a fairly crowded group of guys battling for playing time at the infield corners and designated hitter back then, including Shohei Ohtani, Jared Walsh, Anthony Rendon and Albert Pujols, so they decided in 2021 to move Thaiss back behind the plate.
His major league offense still hasn’t developed as hoped. He’s now up to 771 career plate appearances with a .208/.313/.342 line, 29.3% strikeout rate and 83 wRC+. That’s actually not bad by backup catcher standards. Catchers overall tend to be roughly 10% below average at the plate, including a league-wide 91 wRC+ for backstops in 2024. But his defense hasn’t been especially well regarded, perhaps unsurprising for a guy who was away from the position for a few years.
On top of that lackluster performance, Thaiss has exhausted his option years, meaning he could no longer be easily sent to the minors. The Angels have seen Logan O’Hoppe emerge as their primary catcher and they just brought in Travis d’Arnaud to serve as a veteran complement for the next two years. Given all those factors, Thaiss was squeezed off the roster and perhaps to another club for the first time in his career.
DFA limbo can last up to a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, meaning the Angels will have five days to see if there’s any trade interest from other teams. His major league track record is obviously not too impressive but it’s possible there will be interest regardless. Catching help is almost always in demand and it’s also possible some team thinks they can help Thaiss unlock something at the plate if they have him give up on the catching thing altogether. His 12.6% walk rate to this point in his career is quite strong, but he has struck out a lot and hasn’t done much damage when he does put the bat on the ball.
Thaiss just crossed three years of service time in 2024, meaning he’s eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $1.3MM salary next year, not much above the $760K league minimum. If any club acquires him via trade or a waiver claim, he can theoretically be retained through 2027 via arbitration, though that coming to fruition would be contingent on him taking a step forward in terms of his performance.
Teams like the Rays, Blue Jays, Padres, Rockies, Marlins, Cubs, Reds, Braves and others could be on the lookout for catching help this offseason. If any of them view Thaiss as a viable option, they’ll be calling the Angels in the coming days. Or as mentioned, perhaps some club is intrigued enough by the walks or the minor league track record to view Thaiss as a potential late-blooming hitter.
Angels Release Ryan Miller
November 13: Miller has been released by the Angels, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.
November 7: The Angels designated righty reliever Ryan Miller for assignment, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. That’s the associated 40-man roster move for the Kyle Hendricks signing.
Miller, 28, earned his first major league call in August. He made 13 appearances late in the year. Miller gave up seven runs (six earned) while striking out 11 and issuing eight walks across 13 innings. The Clemson product showed a fairly typical sinker-slider combination, averaging just under 94 MPH on the fastball. While he didn’t miss many bats in his brief MLB look, he’s coming off a nice year in Triple-A. Miller tossed 62 1/3 innings of 2.45 ERA ball in Salt Lake. He struck out around a quarter of opponents while keeping his walks to a tidy 5.6% clip.
The Halos acquired Miller last offseason, grabbing him from the Red Sox in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. They have five days to explore trade possibilities but are likelier to try to run him through outright waivers.
MLBTR Podcast: Roki Sasaki, Cole’s Non-Opt-Out, And Cardinals Rumors
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- Roki Sasaki to be posted for MLB clubs (1:45)
- Gerrit Cole‘s weird non-opt-out situation with the Yankees (17:50)
- The Cardinals might trade Nolan Arenado but might keep Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray (24:20)
- The Braves and Angels swap Jorge Soler and Griffin Canning (33:05)
- The Dodgers are moving Mookie Betts back to the infield (41:50)
Check out our past episodes!
- Breaking Down The Top 50 Free Agents List – listen here
- The Mets’ Spending Power, Juan Soto Suitors, And The Rangers’ Payroll Limits – listen here
- The World Series, The White Sox Reportedly For Sale, And Tropicana Field – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Angels Sign Travis d’Arnaud To Two-Year Deal
The Angels announced that they have signed catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year deal. That pact reportedly comes with a $12MM guarantee for the Wasserman client. Right-hander Guillo Zuñiga has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. The Halos have also hired Sal Fasano, who was with Atlanta as catching coach until being fired last month, as an assistant pitching coach.
d’Arnaud, 36 in February, has been with Atlanta for the past few years. However, that club declined an $8MM club option to keep him around for the 2025, sending him to the open market last week. The veteran has quickly landed on his feet with a new deal at a slightly lower average annual value but with an additional guaranteed season.
His time with Atlanta has consisted of a series of deals, all with an AAV of $8MM. He signed a two-year, $16MM deal going into 2020, followed by a two-year, $16MM extension signed late in 2021. Midway through 2023, he and the club agreed to a one-year, $8MM extension for 2024 with an $8MM club option for 2025.
During that stretch, he has missed some time due to injury and his offense has been up-and-down, but it’s generally amounted to solid production. He got into 384 games over his five years with the club, hitting 60 home runs and slashing .251/.312/.443 for a 106 wRC+. His defense was generally well regarded, allowing him to produce 9.3 wins above replacement over that time, in the eyes of FanGraphs.
Despite his competent performance, Atlanta decided to move on. Perhaps that was due to budgetary constraints or the emergence of prospect Drake Baldwin, who is knocking on the door. Either way, that club’s catching tandem is shifting. It has been d’Arnaud and Sean Murphy in recent years but Murphy will need a new partner, whether that’s Baldwin or someone else.
The Angels will be hoping that Atlanta’s loss will be their gain. They already have a strong catcher in Logan O’Hoppe, who doesn’t turn 25 years old until February and can be controlled through the 2028 season, but d’Arnaud can act in a veteran/backup role.
The only other backstop on the Angels’ 40-man roster is Matt Thaiss, who is out of options. General manager Perry Minasian said today that they are still figuring out plans with Thaiss, per Sam Blum of The Athletic on X. Perhaps Thaiss will move to another position but the club could also carry three catchers or make Thaiss available in trades. He is eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a salary of $1.3MM. The non-tender deadline is November 22, so perhaps some more clarity on his status will emerge between now and then.
It’s possible that Minasian has been waiting for his opportunity to reconnect with d’Arnaud, as he has quickly gotten a deal done shortly after the veteran became available. Minasian worked as a scout for the Blue Jays from 2009 to 2017. It was during that time that d’Arnaud, still a prospect, was traded to the Jays as part of the December 2009 Roy Halladay blockbuster. He would later be traded to the Mets as part of the December 2012 deal that brought R.A. Dickey to Toronto.
Atlanta’s current general manager Alex Anthopoulos was the GM for the Jays for both of those trades and also seemingly made it a priority to reunite with d’Arnaud a few years back. The overlapping careers of Minasian and Anthopoulos have apparently led to good relations extending into the present, as the two clubs have been frequent trade partners of late. Since Minasian was hired in November of 2020, the two clubs have connected on the August 2022 Raisel Iglesias deal, the December 2023 David Fletcher trade, the Jorge Soler deal from a few weeks ago and some other minor swaps. Angels’ manager Ron Washington was also on Atlanta’s coaching staff before joining the Halos.
Today’s news isn’t a trade but it adds to the track record of interchange between the clubs, with the Angels acquiring both d’Arnaud and Fasano after they had been let go from Atlanta. Fasano started his coaching career in 2009 in the minor league system of the Jays when both Minasian and Anthopoulos were there. In the fall of 2017, around the same time Anthopoulos was hired by Atlanta, Fasano got a job as a catching coach with that organization. He held that job until he was dismissed a few weeks ago, though he and d’Arnaud will be reuniting with Minasian in Anaheim.
The move brings the Angels’ projected payroll to $174MM, per RosterResource. That’s above the $170MM they had to start 2024, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Owner Arte Moreno has said that the payroll will go up next year, though it’s unclear exactly how high they plan to go. For clubs that missed out on d’Arnaud, the free agent market still features Danny Jansen, Kyle Higashioka, Carson Kelly and others.
Zuñiga, 26, was acquired from the Cardinals in February. He has 19 2/3 innings of major league experience with a 5.03 earned run average. In the minors, he has posted some decent strikeout numbers but walks have occasionally been an issue. He has thrown 113 2/3 innings in the minors over the past three years with a 5.62 ERA, 23.9% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last a week, as the Angels figure out whether to trade him or put him on waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so a trade would need to come together in the next five days. His fastball averaged 96.9 miles per hour in the big leagues this year and he still has an option season remaining, which could perhaps intrigue other clubs around the league.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first relayed the $12MM guarantee for d’Arnaud (X link). Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register first noted the Zuñiga DFA (X link). Sam Blum of The Athletic relayed the Fasano hire (X link).
Angels Reach New Broadcast Deal With Diamond Sports Group
November 11: The Angels’ deal with Diamond is a three-year contract, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
November 9: The Angels reached a local broadcasting/streaming contract with Diamond Sports Group yesterday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The team will remain on the FanDuel Sports Network, the same organization that previously operated under the Bally Sports name. The Angels have not made an official announcement.
Terms of the deal remain unreported. For fans, the biggest development is the introduction of the streaming agreement. Fans in the Anaheim area can access Halos games on the FanDuel Sports app even if they don’t have a television provider that carries the network. The Cardinals reached a similar arrangement, which should dramatically reduce the number of blackouts, with Diamond earlier this week.
Diamond abandoned 11 of its 12 existing TV deals last month. They’ve renegotiated new terms with the Marlins, Cardinals and Angels. Diamond plans to honor its initial arrangement with the Braves. It’ll carry at least four teams next season. The Twins, Guardians and Brewers have announced that they’ll allow MLB to handle in-market broadcasts. The Rangers are still exploring options but do not intend to renegotiate with Diamond.
The Reds are taking that path as well. The Cincinnati franchise revealed in court on Friday that it was unable to come to terms with Diamond (link via Evan Drellich of the Athletic). The Reds gave up their stake in what had been a joint venture with Diamond covering FanDuel Sports Network Ohio. They’ll look for other arrangements. The Rays, Royals and Tigers remain in limbo and could still hammer out new contracts.
That all presupposes that Diamond continues to exist. The corporation still needs approval from the bankruptcy court to embark on a reorganization plan at all. The confirmation hearing is set for next Thursday and Friday. MLB and the Braves leveled formal objections yesterday, expressing their belief that Diamond has “a substantial likelihood” of going under again if the court approves reorganization. In the event the court overrules those objections, the Angels will be back on FanDuel Sports Network for at least another season.
Zach Neto Could Miss Start Of 2025 Season After Undergoing Shoulder Surgery
Angels shortstop Zach Neto underwent shoulder surgery and could miss the start of the 2025 season. General manager Perry Minasian informed reporters such as Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com (X link) and Sam Blum of The Athletic (X link), though didn’t specify the exact nature of the injury or procedure.
Per Minasian, Zeto sustained the injury playing in Chicago during the club’s final week of the season. While playing the White Sox on September 26, Zeto was on first base and tried to take second on a ball in the dirt (video link from MLB.com). After sliding headfirst into the bag and getting thrown out, he was clutching at his right shoulder and clearly in pain. The Angels then hosted the Rangers for the final three games of the season but Neto didn’t play in those.
Over a month has now passed since that injury. Per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (X link), Neto tried rehabbing but still had some lingering issues, so it seems he had to go under the knife.
Though the exact details of the situation haven’t been relayed, the timetable is not good news for the Angels. Neto has less than two years in the big leagues but has taken over the club’s shortstop job and performed well. He just wrapped up a 2024 season in which he hit 23 home runs and slashed .249/.318/.443 for a wRC+ of 114 wRC+. The reviews of his defense were mixed but he stole 30 bases on the year. Putting his total performance together, FanGraphs graded him as worth 3.5 wins above replacement on the year, tops on the team.
The club just wrapped up their worst season in franchise history, going 63-99. Despite that, owner Arte Moreno said last month that they planned to increase payroll and try to compete in 2025. They have already acquired slugger Jorge Soler from Atlanta and signed pitcher Kyle Hendricks as they attempt to upgrade the roster.
Turning a 99-loss team into a contender was always going to be a challenge, especially for a franchise that has continually fallen short of expectations. In recent years, they have had two-way star Shohei Ohtani and something near peak Mike Trout on the same roster but couldn’t even get their win-loss record over .500. Now they’ve lost Ohtani while Trout has become increasingly absent due to injuries as he pushes towards his mid 30s.
Cobbling together a winner in 2025 will now only become more difficult as their top contributor from 2024 will be missing time. Since Neto will presumably be back at some point, they probably won’t go after a big free agent like Willy Adames to fill the spot for a temporary absence. Perhaps they will keep an eye out for multi-positional players that could fill the void and then move to another spot once Neto is healthy.
It’s also possible that they’ve already been on this path. Super utility player Scott Kingery was sent from the Phillies to the Angels last week, with the Halos adding him to their roster shortly thereafter to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. Kingery played mostly shortstop in Triple-A this year, also spending some time at second base and center field. He hit 25 home runs and stole 25 bases, slashing .268/.316/.488. He has a line of just .229/.280/.387 in his major league career but would be a fine utility guy if he performed the way he did in the minors in 2024.
Luis Rengifo is also on the roster and can play all over the diamond, though he’s not really considered a strong defender anywhere and is probably better suited for a less-demanding spot like second base. Kyren Paris is on the 40-man but has just 105 major league plate appearances with a rough line of .110/.214/.165 in those. Perhaps the club will keep an eye out for other depth options in free agency, the trade market, or on the waiver wire.
How the roster shakes out will be determined in the months to come. For today, it’s a setback for the Halos. They have a roster with plenty of question marks but shortstop wasn’t one of them before this news.
Angels Sign Kyle Hendricks
The Angels announced the signing of veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks to a one-year deal. The Wassrman client reportedly receives a $2.5MM base salary.
Hendricks, 35 in December, will be suiting up for a team other than the Cubs for the first time if the deal gets finalized. Though he was drafted by the Rangers in 2011, he was traded to the Cubs prior to his major league debut, as part of the July 2012 trade that sent Ryan Dempster to Texas.
He was able to get to the big leagues by 2014 and quickly established himself as a solid rotation piece. He didn’t have overpowering stuff but showed a knack for limiting damage, earning the nickname “The Professor”. He made 13 starts and logged 81 1/3 innings in his debut, allowing just 2.46 earned runs per nine innings despite a low strikeout rate of 14.6%.
From there, he found a few more punchouts but his success was generally built around weak contact. From 2014 to 2020, he tossed over a thousand innings for the Cubs with a 3.12 ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 47.5% ground ball rate. He was a pillar of the Cubs in that time, helping them become a perennial contender and break their World Series curse in 2016.
The last few years have been a bit more rocky, however. In 2021, his strikeout rate dipped to 16.7% and his ERA climbed to 4.77. In 2022, a capsular tear in his right shoulder limited him to 16 starts with a 4.80 ERA. He didn’t require surgery but was out of action until May of 2023.
He managed something of a rebound when he got back on the hill. Last year, he posted a 3.74 ERA over 24 starts after recovering from that shoulder injury. His 16.1% strikeout rate was still low but he only walked 4.7% of batters faced and prevented batters from producing big exit velocity.
The Cubs were encouraged enough to trigger a $16.5MM club option to bring him back for 2024, part of the extension the two sides agreed to ahead of the 2019 season. But that’s a move they likely regret, as Hendricks couldn’t keep his bounceback going in 2024. He struggled out of the gate and got bumped to the bullpen. Though he eventually retook a rotation role, he finished the year with a 5.92 ERA.
There might be a bit of bad luck in there, as Hendricks was only able to strand 64.2% of baserunners this year, well below the 72.1% league average. His 4.98 FIP and 4.83 SIERA on the season suggest he deserved better than his ERA would suggest, but still aren’t outstanding numbers.
Putting those recent ups and downs together, Hendricks has a 4.80 ERA since the start of 2021. His 43.3% ground ball rate in that time is around league average and his 6% walk rate quite strong, but his 16.5% strikeout rate well below par.
Perhaps the Angels see a way to get him back on track or simply want some affordable veteran innings on what may have been a hometown discount. Veteran innings eaters can often secure deals close to eight figures, even without strong overall results. 43-year-old Rich Hill got $8MM from the Pirates going into 2023 on the heels of a season in which he posted a 4.27 ERA. Jon Lester got $5MM from the Nationals for his age-37 after posting a 5.16 ERA. Corey Kluber got $10MM from the Red Sox after putting up a 4.34 ERA in his age-36 season.
Hendricks is younger than those guys but signing for less, very early in the offseason of his very first trip to free agency. Since he grew up in Orange County, perhaps he wanted to be close to home and quickly got a deal done with the Halos, though that’s totally speculative.
Signing Hendricks would fit with the club’s longstanding aversion to spending on the rotation. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the most they’ve spent on a starting pitcher in the past decade was three years and $39MM for Tyler Anderson. Apart from that and a two-year arbitration deal for Shohei Ohtani, they haven’t given any starting pitcher a multi-year deal in that time frame.
That tendency along with struggles to develop pitching internally have led to ongoing starting pitching deficiencies in Anaheim. The club has a 4.54 rotation ERA over the past decade, 24th in baseball for that stretch, mostly ahead of clubs that underwent yearslong rebuilds. 2024 was no exception as the Angels starters had a collective 4.97 ERA this year, which was better than only the Marlins and Rockies. One of their more talented starters is going to be on the shelf for a while, as Patrick Sandoval had UCL surgery in June.
Going into 2025, the rotation mix has plenty of uncertainty. Anderson, José Soriano, Jack Kochanowicz, Reid Detmers, Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri and Chase Silseth are some of the options, though there are question marks with each. Anderson had a 3.81 ERA but outperformed his peripherals and had a 5.43 ERA the year before. Soriano seemingly had a breakout campaign this year but didn’t pitch much in the 2020-2023 period thanks to two Tommy John surgeries. Detmers has shown promise at times but had a 6.70 ERA in the majors this year and wasn’t much better in Triple-A. Silseth spent most of 2024 battling an elbow injury. Kochanowicz only has 11 MLB starts while Dana and Aldegheri each have just three.
For a club that hopes to compete in 2025, adding to that rotation is a sensible path. There are more exciting options than Hendricks out there but his track record of reliability is quite strong. His modest earning power lined up with the club’s track record when it comes to not spending much on the rotation, so the stars have aligned to have Hendricks be close to home this year. For the Cubs, they no longer have any connection to their curse-breaking team on the roster, as Hendricks was the final holdout from that club.
Bruce Levine of 670 The Score (X link) first relayed that the two sides were nearing a one-year deal. Jon Heyman of The New York Post (X link) pegged the value around $3MM. Joel Sherman of The New York Post (X link) first reported the $2.5MM number.
Angels Select Scott Kingery, Release Kenny Rosenberg
The Angels added recently acquired infielder Scott Kingery to their 40-man roster. The Halos released left-hander Kenny Rosenberg in a corresponding move.
Los Angeles acquired Kingery from Philadelphia over the weekend. They would not have done so if they weren’t planning to add him to the roster, as the infielder would otherwise have reached minor league free agency today. The 30-year-old former top prospect has only appeared in one big league game since 2021. He’s coming off a decent showing with Philadelphia’s top affiliate in Lehigh Valley, hitting .268/.318/.488 with 25 homers and stolen bases apiece.
Rosenberg, a 29-year-old swingman, has pitched in 17 MLB contests across the last three years. He owns a 4.66 earned run average. The Cal State Northridge product had a decent year with Triple-A Salt Lake, working to a 4.21 ERA through 115 1/3 innings in the Pacific Coast League. He punched out 21.5% of opponents against a tidy 7.8% walk percentage.