Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Angels Rumors

Players Who Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins

By | at

28 out of the 30 clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, with the Padres and Braves the only exceptions. That means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move these days.

Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, as the 60-day injured list comes back when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, having gone away shortly after the conclusion of the World Series. This year, the Dodgers and Padres will have an earlier reporting date, due to their earlier Opening Day. Most clubs will begin their 2024 campaign on March 28, but those two clubs are playing a pair of games in Seoul on March 20 and 21. The official 60-day IL dates, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post, are February 8 for the Dodgers, February 11 for the Padres and February 14 for every other club. It’s fairly moot for the Padres since they only have 36 players on their 40-man roster right now, but the Dodgers could be moving guys to the IL as soon as today.

It’s worth pointing out that the “60 days” don’t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later. Transferring a player to the 60-day IL also requires a corresponding move, so a club can’t just make the move in isolation.

There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, as well as guys like Michael Lorenzen, Adam Duvall, Brandon Belt and many more. A player like Brandon Woodruff, who is expected to miss significant time and will need an IL spot himself, might be better able to secure a deal once IL spots open up. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together in the next week or so. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment.

Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon, sorted by division.

NL West

Diamondbacks: Drey Jameson

Jameson underwent Tommy John surgery in September of last year. He will almost certainly spend the entire 2024 season on the IL.

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Nick Frasso

Kershaw is not officially signed yet, with his physical reportedly taking place today. It doesn’t seem as though it’s a coincidence that today is the first day the club can move players to the IL. He is recovering from shoulder surgery and not expected back until late in the summer. Gonsolin underwent Tommy John surgery in August and may miss the entire campaign. May had surgery in July to repair his flexor tendon as well as a Tommy John revision. He is expected to return at some point midseason. Frasso underwent labrum surgery in November and may miss the entire season.

Giants: Robbie Ray, Alex Cobb

The Giants acquired Ray from the Mariners in a trade last month, knowing full well that he underwent Tommy John surgery and flexor tendon repair in May of last year. He recently said that a return around the All-Star break would be a best-case scenario. Cobb underwent hip surgery in October and isn’t expected back until May at the earliest. His is a more of a borderline case since placing him on the IL would prevent him from returning until late May.

Padres: Tucupita Marcano

Marcano underwent ACL surgery in August of last year while with the Pirates. The Padres claimed him off waivers from the Bucs in November. Recovering from an ACL surgery usually takes about a year or so, meaning Marcano is likely to miss a decent chunk of the upcoming campaign. But as mentioned earlier, the Friars only have 36 players on their 40-man right now, meaning there’s no rush to get Marcano to the IL and open up a roster spot.

Rockies: Germán Márquez, Antonio Senzatela, Lucas Gilbreath

All three of these pitchers underwent Tommy John surgery last year. Gilbreath may be the closest to returning, as he went under the knife back in March. Márquez and Senzatela underwent their surgeries in May and July, respectively. General manager Bill Schmidt said recently that the club is hopeful Márquez can be back after the All-Star break but is anticipating Senzatela to miss the whole campaign.

NL Central

Brewers: None.

Cardinals: None.

Cubs: None.

Pirates: JT Brubaker, Mike Burrows, Johan Oviedo, Endy Rodríguez,

Brubaker and Burrows both underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. It’s possible they could be ready to go early in the upcoming season, as some pitchers return around a year after going under the knife. But most pitchers take 14 months or longer so their respective rehabs may push deeper into the upcoming season. Oviedo also underwent TJS but his was in November, meaning he’ll certainly miss the entire 2024 season. The same goes for Rodríguez, who underwent UCL/flexor tendon surgery in December.

Reds: None.

NL East

Braves: Ian Anderson, Penn Murfee, Ángel Perdomo

Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. He was on optional assignment at the time and spent the whole year on the minor league injured list. He could be placed on the major league IL this year if the club needs a roster spot, but they only have 37 guys on the 40-man as of today. Murfee underwent UCL surgery while with the Mariners in June of last year. The Braves signed him to a split deal even though he isn’t likely to be a factor until midseason. Perdomo also got a split deal despite undergoing Tommy John surgery in October of last year, meaning he will miss all of 2024. Since Murfee and Perdomo signed split deals, the club might try to pass them through waivers at some point rather than transferring them to the IL.

Marlins: Sandy Alcántara

Alcántara underwent Tommy John surgery in October and will have to miss the entire 2024 season.

Mets: Ronny Mauricio, David Peterson

Mauricio just suffered a torn ACL in December and will almost certainly miss the entire 2024 season. Peterson underwent hip surgery in November with a recovery timeline of six to seven months, meaning he won’t be able to return until May or June.

Nationals: Stephen Strasburg, Cade Cavalli, Zach Brzykcy

By all accounts, Strasburg will never be able to return to the mound due to nerve damage stemming from his battle with thoracic outlet syndrome. He and the Nats had a deal for him to retire but it reportedly fell apart due to some sort of squabble about his contract. His deal runs through 2026 and he may spend the next three years on the IL unless those retirement talks can be revamped. Cavalli had Tommy John surgery in March of last year, so he could return relatively early in the upcoming campaign. The Nats will probably only move him to the 60-day IL if they don’t think he can return before June. Brzykcy underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year but was added to the club’s roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

Phillies: None.

AL West

Angels: José Quijada

Quijada underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and will miss some portion of the 2024 season. He’ll likely wind up on the 60-day IL unless the club expects him back within about a year of going under the knife.

Astros: Kendall Graveman, Luis García, Lance McCullers Jr.

Graveman recently underwent shoulder surgery and is expected to miss the entire 2024 season. García underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and will have to at least miss some of the upcoming campaign. Whether he goes on the 60-day IL or not will depend upon how his rehab is progressing. McCullers underwent flexor tendon surgery in June and isn’t expected back until late in the summer.

Athletics: Ken Waldichuk

In December, it was reported that Waldichuk is rehabbing from a flexor strain and UCL sprain. He and the club opted for a non-surgical approach involving a Tenex procedure and PRP injection. As of reporting from this weekend, he still hasn’t begun throwing. His situation will likely be monitored in the spring to see how his rehab proceeds.

Mariners: None.

Rangers: Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Tyler Mahle, Carson Coleman

deGrom underwent Tommy John surgery in June of last year and is targeting a return this August. Mahle underwent the same procedure in May and the Rangers signed him to a two-year deal, knowing he likely won’t be able to return until midseason in 2024. Scherzer underwent back surgery in December and won’t be able to return until June or July. Coleman was a Rule 5 selection of the Rangers, taken from the Yankees. He had Tommy John in April of last year and will likely still be rehabbing for the early parts of the upcoming campaign.

AL Central

Guardians: Daniel Espino

Espino underwent shoulder surgery in May of last year with an estimated recovery timeline of 12 to 14 months. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

Royals: Kris Bubic, Kyle Wright, Josh Taylor

Bubic underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year and will have to miss at least some of the 2024 season. Whether he winds up on the 60-day IL or not will depend if the club thinks he can return before June. Wright underwent shoulder surgery while with Atlanta last year and will miss all of 2024. The Royals acquired him in a trade, hoping for a return to health in 2025 and beyond. Taylor was already on the IL due to a shoulder impingement in June of last year when he required surgery on a herniated disc in his lower back. His current status isn’t publicly known.

Tigers: None.

Twins: Josh Staumont

Staumont underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in July of last year while with the Royals. He was non-tendered by the Royals and then signed by the Twins. His recovery timeline is unclear at the moment.

White Sox: Matt Foster, Davis Martin

Both of these pitchers underwent Tommy John surgery last year, Foster in April and Martin in May. They could perhaps return early in the season if their rehabs go especially well, but they also might need to continue rehabbing until midseason.

AL East

Blue Jays: None.

Orioles: Félix Bautista

Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery in October of last year and will miss the entire 2024 season.

Rays: Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan, Taylor Walls

Springs underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. He could be a factor in the early months of the season if his rehab is going well, as some pitchers can return after about a year, but he also may need a bit more time. McClanahan underwent the same procedure but in August and will likely miss the entirety of the upcoming season. Rasmussen was dealing with a flexor strain last year and underwent an internal brace procedure in July, which will keep him out until midseason. Walls underwent hip surgery in October and is more up in the air as there’s a chance he’s ready as soon as Opening Day, depending on how his rehab goes.

Red Sox: None.

Yankees: Jasson Domínguez

Domínguez underwent Tommy John surgery in September of last year. The return for hitters is generally shorter than pitchers, but the Yanks estimated his return timeline as 9-10 months, which will still keep him on the shelf until midseason.

Orioles Claim Livan Soto From Angels

By | at

The Orioles announced that they have claimed Livan Soto off waivers from the Angels. The Halos designated the infielder for assignment on the weekend. The O’s had a vacancy on their 40-man roster but it is now full after this move. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase reported the claim prior to the club announcement.

Soto, 24 in June, is generally considered a strong defender and solid contact hitter, but with little power to speak of. He made his major league debut in 2022 and hit a tremendous .400/.414/.582 in his first 59 plate appearances, though that was largely the product of an unsustainable .500 batting average on balls in play. He only received 12 big league plate appearances last year and hit .222/.417/.222 in those.

That’s a small sample of work and tough to draw conclusions from. Over the past three years, he has made 1,470 trips to the plate in the minor leagues. He drew walks in 12% of those but only hit 22 home runs, leading to a combined slash line of .247/.341/.356 and 87 wRC+.

As mentioned, he’s considered a strong defender, having spent significant time at the three infield spots to the left of first base. The O’s are looking for a left-handed hitting infielder to factor in at second base, per general manager Mike Elias, to pair with the right-handed hitting Jordan Westburg. To that end, they have acquired Nick Maton in a cash deal yesterday. Soto also hits from the left side and will likely factor into the competition for that part-time role.

Maton is out of options, which could give him a leg up in that competition but also could lead to him getting squeezed off the roster at some point. Soto has a couple of option years remaining and could be kept in the minors as depth until he’s needed in the big leagues. He’s still quite young and perhaps the O’s could find a way to coax some more power out of him going forward.

Angels Interested In Gio Urshela

By | at

The Yankees and Mets have shown interest in free agent infielder Gio Urshela, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, though the Angels and Marlins “have made better offers” to this point. The New York clubs were connected to Urshela at the end of last year, while the Marlins were connected to him yesterday. This is the first time that the Angels, for whom Urshela played in 2023, have been reported to be interested in a reunion.

The Halos acquired Urshela from the Twins in November of 2022, with Urshela one year away from free agency, sending prospect Alejandro Hidalgo the other way. Urshela had hit .290/.336/.463 over the previous four seasons between the Twins and Yankees, leading to a wRC+ of 119. That bat was enticing, as was his defense. With Anthony Rendon’s mounting injury history, Urshela gave the club some insurance at third base, while the club also hoped he could fill in at other positions as well.

Unfortunately, the acquisition didn’t work out too well for the Angels. Urshela bounced around to all four infield positions but got into just 62 games on the year before suffering a pelvic fracture in June. He didn’t require surgery but it ended his season nonetheless. Before that injury, he hit just two home runs and his slash line was down to .299/.329/.374, translating to a 92 wRC+.

Despite that disappointing campaign, the reported interest suggests that the club has some confidence in Urshela bouncing back to health and improving his performance. Once again, there may not be a simple everyday job available to him, but putting him back into a multi-positional role would make sense.

The Halos are set to have youngsters Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel at shortstop and first base, respectively. Schanuel held his own in his brief major league debut but is still a risk with just 51 professional games under his belt, having just been drafted last summer. Neto also debuted last year and performed well defensively, but with subpar offense. Third base remains an annual question, with Rendon having suffered through another injury-marred season in 2023.

Brandon Drury and Luis Rengifo are on hand to cover second base and one of these other positions, but bolstering the group overall by bringing Urshela back would improve the overall outlook. The Angels have often been hobbled by injuries or underperformance exposing a lack of depth in recent years. Urshela’s presence would give them some cover for another Rendon injury or any sophomore slump from Neto or Schanuel, or another unforeseen development.

The Halos should have plenty of spending room, looking at their budget at Roster Resource. They are currently slated for a budget of $173MM and a competitive balance tax figure of $188MM. Last year, their payroll finished at $215MM and their CBT just under the $233MM line. Those figures were set to be even higher before they fell out of contention and started taking cost-cutting measures as the season was winding down.

Assuming they are willing to get back near those levels again in 2024, there’s lots of things they could do. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Urshela for a two-year deal worth $20MM. He may not be able to get that high since it has turned out to be a fairly tepid market for position players and he is still lingering on the market in February. But with Spring Training starting shortly and clubs reportedly having offers out to the infielder, he may be coming off the board soon.

Angels Acquire Guillermo Zuñiga, Designate Austin Warren

By | at

The Angels announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired right-hander Guillermo Zuñiga from the Cardinals, who’d previously designated him for assignment. Anaheim sent cash to St. Louis in the deal. To clear a spot on their own 40-man roster, the Halos designated righty Austin Warren for assignment.

Zuñiga, 25, made his big league debut with the Cards in 2023, tossing two innings and allowing a run on two hits and no walks with four strikeouts. That’s the only MLB experience of his career to date. After becoming a minor league free agent following the ’22 season, he inked a surprising Major League deal with the Cards but ultimately spent the bulk of his season in Triple-A Memphis, where he posted an unsightly 7.63 ERA in 30 2/3 innings.

The results might not be pretty, but Zuñiga features a triple-digit heater and misses bats at a high level. Like so many pitchers who can approximate the eye-popping 99.4 mph average on Zuñiga’s fastball, however, he’s battled his share of command issues throughout his minor league tenure. Zuñiga walked 13.7% of his opponents in Triple-A last year and has issued a free pass to 10.6% of his minor league opponents.

Zuñiga still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so the Angels will be able to move him freely between Anaheim and their Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake this season and next — if he sticks on the team’s 40-man roster. Barring another DFA, he’ll head to big league camp with the Angels and vie for a spot in a massively overhauled bullpen that has added veterans Robert Stephenson, Matt Moore, Luis Garcia, Adam Cimber and Jose Cisnero on free agent deals this offseason.

As for the 28-year-old Warren, he’s spent time in the Angels’ bullpen in each of the past three seasons, compiling a total of 38 innings with a solid 3.55 earned run average. Most of his success came as a rookie in 2021, however, when he tossed 20 1/3 innings of 1.77 ERA ball. Since then, Warren has been tagged for 11 runs in 17 2/3 innings with just a 14.5% strikeout rate against a strong 6.6% walk rate.

Warren’s struggles began in 2022 and culminated with a stint on the injured list in 2023. By early May, the team revealed that he’d been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his pitching elbow and would require Tommy John surgery. As such, Warren is slated to miss the early portion of the 2024 campaign and may well have been ticketed for the 60-day injured list, were it not for today’s DFA.

The Angels will have a week to trade Warren or attempt to pass him through waivers. Any team looking to acquire him would have to do so knowing that Warren will likely be shelved into the summer at the earliest.

Taylor Ward Wins Arbitration Hearing Against Angels

By and | at

Outfielder Taylor Ward has won his arbitration hearing against the Angels and will earn the $4.8MM salary figure he submitted for the 2024 season rather than the team’s $4.3MM figure, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Ward is represented by Wasserman.

Ward, now 30, was a first-round pick of the Angels back in 2015 but it took him a while to establish himself at the big league level. By the end of the 2020 season, he had appeared in 94 games scattered across three different campaigns, hitting .214/.283/.351 in that time. In 2021, he showed some positive momentum, hitting eight home runs in 65 games at the big league level and slashing .250/.332/.438 for a wRC+ of 110.

That earned him some regular run in 2022 and he initially made the most of it, seeming like one of the best hitters on the planet for a time. Through May 20, he had hit nine home runs in 131 plate appearances and was slashing .370/.481/.713 for a wRC+ of 235. But it was at that time that he suffered a “stinger” in a wall collision and his performance dipped, though he still finished the season at .281/.360/.473 line for a wRC+ of 137.

Last year, he was performing at a solid level, though beneath his breakout 2022 season. He was hitting .253/.335/.421 for a wRC+ of 107 when, in late July, he was hit in the face by a pitch from Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays. Ward suffered facial fractures and required a trip to the injured list, from which he was not able to return, undergoing surgery while away.

He first qualified for arbitration after 2022 as a Super Two player. He and the Halos avoided arb by agreeing to a $2.75MM salary for the 2023 season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Ward for a bump to $4.5MM in 2024. The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement prior to the filing deadline and ended up submitting numbers pretty close to that projection, just a few hundred thousand on either side. But the arbiters aren’t allow to pick a middle ground and decided to go with the number from Ward’s camp, giving him the slightly higher raise.

Ward will be eligible for two more passes through the arb system before he’s slated for free agency after 2026. The Angels had two arb cases this year but it was reported last week that they defeated left-hander José Suarez. With Ward’s case now complete, their arb class is fully settled.

Tigers Claim Kolton Ingram From Angels, DFA Nick Maton

By | at

The Tigers claimed left-handed pitcher Kolton Ingram off waivers from the Angels, according to announcements from both teams. As a corresponding move, Detroit designated utility infielder Nick Maton for assignment. In additional Tigers news, the team announced that right-handed pitcher Devin Sweet has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Toledo.

Ingram was initially selected by the Tigers in the 37th round of the 2019 draft. However, his time with the organization was short-lived. The southpaw was released in July 2020, having made just 15 appearances in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. He signed a new deal with the Angels ahead of the 2021 season and eventually worked his way up to the majors in 2023, pitching 5 1/3 innings across three separate stints with the big league club. Although his MLB numbers were disappointing (8.44 ERA, 5.21 SIERA), his performance between Double- and Triple-A was far more impressive. In 61 innings, he pitched to a 2.95 ERA with a 30.2% strikeout rate and a .189 batting average against. He figures to compete with fellow lefty Joey Wentz, as well as righties Miguel Díaz, Beau Brieske, and Brendan White for a spot at the back end of Detroit’s bullpen. The fact that Ingram has option years remaining could work against him; both Díaz and Wentz are out of options.

Maton came to the Motor City as part of the trade package the Tigers acquired from the Phillies in exchange for Gregory Soto. In his lone season with Detroit, Maton appeared in 93 games, primarily at third base but also at second and shortstop. While his versatility was helpful for manager A. J. Hinch, the 26-year-old struggled to contribute at the plate. In 293 plate appearances, he slashed .173/.288/.305, good for a paltry .593 OPS and 67 wRC+. By FanGraphs’ calculation of Wins Above Replacement, only six AL players were less valuable to their clubs in 2023.

Despite his struggles, not all is lost for Maton. In fact, there are several reasons to believe he is due for some positive regression. Both his 13.0% walk rate and 24.9% strikeout rate last season were significantly better than his career totals to date. He also increased his barrel rate from 6.7% to 8.4%. What’s more, his .206 BABIP was unusually low, and he can expect that number to rise in future seasons. Finally, his poor performance at third base, a position he had limited experience playing before this season, dragged down his defensive metrics, and therefore, his overall WAR. For a team in need of a lefty-batting second baseman who can fill in at shortstop, third base, and the corner spots in a pinch, Maton could be worth a shot.

Sweet, a right-handed reliever, made his MLB debut last summer for the Mariners. He was designated for assignment a few weeks later, after which he landed with the Athletics for the final month of the season. Overall, he made seven appearances at the MLB level, where he gave up 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings, and 36 appearances in the minors, where he posted a much prettier 2.25 ERA. The Giants claimed him off of waivers from the A’s in December, and the Tigers subsequently claimed him off of waivers from the Giants a month later. He was designated for assignment again last week to make room for top prospect Colt Keith on the 40-man roster after Keith signed a six-year extension. After bouncing around between four different organizations over the past year, Sweet has finally cleared waivers and will remain in the Tigers organization as additional pitching depth.

Angels Sign Jose Cisnero

By | at

The Angels have signed right-hander Jose Cisnero to a one-year deal, per a club announcement. To make room for Cisnero on the 40-man roster, the club has designated Livan Soto for assignment. MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reports that the deal guarantees the veteran righty $1.75MM.

Cisnero, 35 in April, made his big league debut with the Astros back in 2013. Over two seasons in Houston, the righty struggled to a 4.66 ERA across 48 1/3 innings of work before elbow issues brought his 2014 campaign (and his Astros tenure) to an end. After a brief 5 1/3 inning stay in the Reds’ minor league system, Cisnero stepped away from affiliated ball for several years, pitching in independent leagues across North and South America until he signed on with the Tigers during the 2018-19 offseason.

Upon joining Detroit’s roster in June on 2019, Cisnero found his home for the next half decade. In 35 1/3 innings of work during his return to the majors that year, the right-hander posted a solid 4.33 ERA (111 ERA+) with a 4.66 FIP. Those respectable numbers earned Cisnero a shot at a larger role headed into the 2020 season, and he made the most of it during the shortened campaign as he posted a sterling 3.03 ERA and 2.65 FIP in 29 appearances. The righty continued to put up strong numbers while covering the middle innings for the Tigers over the next couple of years, and entered the 2023 season with a 3.26 ERA and 3.89 FIP across 151 2/3 innings of work during his time in Detroit.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse last season. The veteran righty saw his ERA balloon to 5.31 despite posting a 26.2% strikeout rate and a 9.4% walk rate, both of which were career bests outside of the shortened 2020 campaign. Some of that drop in quality of performance can be explained by Cisnero’s inflated .338 BABIP and a 68.4% strand rate that came in somewhat below his usual norms. With that being said, the biggest red flag in Cisnero’s profile last year was clearly his issues with the long ball. Cisnero allowed ten homers in his 59 1/3 innings of work last year as a whopping 15.6% of his fly balls left the yard for home runs.

Despite those blemishes, taking a flier on Cisnero is a sensible move for the Angels. At a guarantee of just $1.75MM, Cisnero joins the likes of Adam Cimber and Luis Garcia as veterans looking to rebound after a difficult 2023 season who can cover the middle innings for a bullpen that has already added the likes of Robert Stephenson and Matt Moore to handle late-inning duties. On the other hand, the addition of Cisnero sees the Halos double down on their strategy of focusing their offseason additions primarily on the club’s bullpen. While the club’s relief corps posted a lackluster 4.88 ERA last season, it’s fair to wonder why the club has yet to make significant moves targeted at improving the club’s lineup and rotation mix following the departure of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, instead making complementary additions in those areas such as Aaron Hicks and Zach Plesac.

The addition of Cisnero may spell the end of Soto’s time in the Angels organization. The 23-year-old infielder made his MLB debut with the club back in 2022 and impressed over the course of a brief, 18-game cup of coffee. In 59 plate appearances that year, Soto slashed a strong .400/.414/.582 with seven extra base hits in just 55 at-bats. Unfortunately, Soto’s strong performance in his first taste of the big leagues didn’t carry over to the 2023 season. The youngster hit a mediocre .237/.342/.358 in 110 games split between the Double- and Triple-A levels last year, and his four games in the majors last year saw him go just two-for-nine with zero extra base hits, though he continued to flash solid on-base ability by drawing three walks during that time. Going forward, the Angels will have seven days to trade Soto or attempt to pass him through waivers. If Soto clears waivers, the Angels will have the opportunity to retain him as non-roster depth headed into the 2024 campaign.

Angels Win Arbitration Case Against José Suarez

By | at

The Angels have won their arbitration case against left-hander José Suarez, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The team filed at $925K with the lefty’s camp at $1.35MM, but he will make the lesser figure this year.

Suarez, 26, qualified for arbitration for the first time this offseason. He seemed to be establishing himself as a viable rotation piece over 2021 and 2022. He appeared in 45 games for the Angels in that time, 34 of them starts, logging 207 1/3 innings while allowing 3.86 earned runs per nine. His 21.5% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate were all reasonably close to league averages.

But 2023 was undeniably a struggle. He allowed 26 earned runs in 24 1/3 innings to start the season, then landed on the injured list in early May due to a left shoulder strain. He didn’t return until mid-September and made five shorter appearances down the stretch. He had a 4.82 ERA in that brief return but his season-long ERA still finished at 8.29 thanks to his early struggles.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a salary of $1.1MM for 2024. That ended up being roughly the midpoint between the two filings figures, but arbiters have to pick one number or the other and can’t pick midpoints.

Since they opted for the team’s figure, it will result in some small short-term savings for the Halos while reducing the earning power for the southpaw. He is still slated for two more passes through the arbitration system and those future raises will be starting from a lower starting point. He will try to put the injury-marred season behind him and get back on track in 2024.

The Angels’ rotation mix should feature arms like Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning, Patrick Sandoval and Tyler Anderson, while Suarez will be battling for a back-end job with the like of Chase Silseth, Zach Plesac, Sam Bachman and others. Suarez is out of options so he’ll need to either earn a rotation job or be bumped to the bullpen, unless the Angels are willing to remove him from the 40-man roster altogether.

The club still has one more hearing to go, with outfielder Taylor Ward having filed at $4.8MM while the Angels filed at $4.3MM.

Angels Sign Caleb Hamilton To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Angels have signed catcher Caleb Hamilton to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.

It’s a bit of an early birthday present for Hamilton, who will turn 29 on Monday. The backstop has 26 games of major league experience, 22 with the 2022 Twins and four more with the Red Sox last year. His 29 plate appearances resulted in five walks but also 19 strikeouts.

That’s a tiny sample and difficult to draw conclusions from, but it’s not terribly dissimilar from his minor league work. His 480 Triple-A plate appearances have featured 148 strikeouts, a 30.8% rate. But he’s also drawn 64 walks at that level, a 13.3% clip. He also hit 17 home runs in that time, leading to an uneven slash line of .199/.308/.369. Defensively, Baseball Prospectus has generally given him solid grades for his framing and blocking, both in the majors and minors.

He was outrighted by the Red Sox in July and was able to elect free agency at the end of the season. He’ll now join the Angels and jump onto their depth chart. The Halos only have two backstops on their 40-man roster at the moment in Logan O’Hoppe and Matt Thaiss. Francisco Mejía and Chad Wallach have signed minor league deals to give them some non-roster depth, with Hamilton now joining them.

Hamilton can also play a little bit the infield corners, which could appeal to the Angels. They have Nolan Schanuel set to be their first baseman even though he was just drafted last summer. At third, Anthony Rendon is going into his age-34 season and hasn’t played 60 games in a season since 2019. Players like Brandon Drury and Luis Rengifo give them some cover but there’s no harm in a little extra depth. If Hamilton is added to the roster at any point, he has a couple of options remaining.

Joe Smith Announces Retirement

By | at

Veteran reliever Joe Smith announced his retirement on Wednesday, calling it a career after spending parts of 15 seasons in the Major Leagues. Via his representatives at Excel Sports Management, Smith issued a lengthy statement thanking the Mets, Guardians, Angels, Cubs, Blue Jays, Astros, Mariners and Twins organizations in addition to his coaches, teammates, trainers and family for supporting him throughout his career.

Selected by the Mets in the third round of the 2006 draft, the now-39-year-old Smith was in the majors less than one year later and practically never looked back. That’s in large part thanks to the fact that Smith established himself as a quality big league reliever right out of the gate, pitching 44 1/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball with a 22% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate as a rookie.

That set off a remarkable run of 13 straight seasons with an ERA of 3.83 or better for Smith — including five years with a sub-3.00 mark and two with a sub-2.00. While the sidearming Smith was rarely thrust into the ninth-inning spotlight (30 career saves), he’s one of the most consistent and prolific setup men in the game’s history. Since holds began being tracked, Smith’s 228 rank him in the top five all-time. His blend of durability and consistently strong performance kept him in leverage spots for more than a decade.

Smith wasn’t on the 2016 Cubs’ World Series roster after missing most of the final month of the season due to injury, but he did take home a ring that year and pitched in parts of five other postseasons (including in 2019, when he pitched in the World Series as the Astros finished runner-up to the Nationals). As was the case during his regular-season performances, he remained quite strong in October. In 14 career playoff innings, Smith yielded only four earned runs on eight hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts (2.57 ERA).

All told, Smith will walk away from the game with 762 1/3 innings of 3.14 ERA ball under his belt. In his career, he pitched for eight MLB clubs, notching a 55-34 record with 30 saves, 228 holds, a 21.1% strikeout rate and an 8.1% walk rate. Smith didn’t post an ERA over 4.00 until his age-37 season in 2021, and in 15 MLB seasons he never had a single year where he ERA climbed to 5.00 or higher. He picked up more than 13 years of Major League service time and earned more than $51MM in salary over the course of a quietly excellent career. Best wishes to Smith and his family in whatever lies in store for his post-playing days.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top