Angels Articles

November 21, 2024 - Written by Noah Pohle

Offseason Frenzy Begins

Each year, following the conclusion of the World Series, a flurry of activity starts. Teams around the league are permitted to begin making trades, roster moves are pushed by certain deadlines, and within five days, free agents begin to sign. It can be easy to get a little confused with all the mayhem going on around us, so, let us take a minute together to reflect upon the events of the offseason so far.

Angels Trim Roster

First and foremost, the Angels had a slew of players that needed to be activated from the 60-Day injured list. To trim the roster down, depth infielders Michael Stefanic, Charles Leblanc, and Jack Lopez were DFA’d, as well as pitchers Carson Fulmer, Andrew Wantz, and Jose Marte. Each of these guys passed through waivers unclaimed. Fulmer played the largest role of the bunch for the Angels last year, accumulating 81 punchouts in 86 2⁄3 innings with a 4.15 ERA in both a starter’s and relief role. Each of the other five did not play all that much of a role in 2024; Marte, Leblanc, and Lopez were only selected after injuries themselves.

Angels Make First Trade: Soler for Canning

The Angels then made the first trade of the offseason, as Perry Minasian and his old coworker Alex Anthopolous lined up on a deal the morning following the conclusion of the World Series. The Angels agreed to take on the 2 years, $26 million remaining on Jorge Soler’s contract in exchange for Griffin Canning, a likely non-tender candidate at a projected $5 million in arbitration. Soler has been a streaky power bat that has always gotten hot enough at the right time to keep his season-by-season numbers fairly consistent. He has easy 20-homer pop and should be counted on for something resembling a .240/.330/.450 slash, which the Angels could sorely use. Manager Ron Washington and GM Perry Minasian were in Atlanta for Soler’s World Series-MVP-winning 2021 season, during which Soler caught fire after a midseason trade. Canning, on the other hand, made 31 starts last year to the tune of a 5.19 ERA. The former second-round pick has shown potential in the past, but with his worst peripheral and bottom-line numbers coming in his final arbitration season, the Angels probably would not have favored a raise for Canning anyways. Getting a middle-half of the order bat for a back-end starter with one year of control is a pretty nice exchange of assets and something of a tone-setting move for the rest of the Angels’ offseason.

More Roster Shuffling: New Additions and Departures

Some additional 40-Man tinkering happened later in the week, with Roansy Contreras being claimed away on waivers by the Rangers and Kenny Rosenberg being released, to make way for a waiver claim of Ryan Noda and the selection of Scott Kingery. Contreras was brought in to the Angels organization in May and showed some versatility for a pitcher, starting three games and saving two. However, he was out of options, pitched to a 6.59 ERA in 2023, and only a 4.33 after being claimed in 2024 with below average strikeout and walk ratios. Contreras was waived so that we could place a claim on Ryan Noda, a former Rule 5 draft pick from the Dodgers who debuted in Oakland. The first baseman has two option years remaining and was 22% better than the league by measure of wRC+, and has been dabbling in the corner outfield more and more recently. He actually profiles very similarly to Angels prospect Niko Kavadas, as left-handed swinging power bats who will both take a walk and punch out their fair share of times. Noda has an edge in plate discipline skills, but is two years older, while their power numbers are relatively similar.

Scott Kingery was a former top prospect, ranking 35th around the league prior to 2018 according to MLB.com, the same offseason he signed a six-year, $24 million dollar contract before his major league debut with the Phillies. He played in over 100 games in 2018 and ‘19, before injuries and an upturn in the Phillies’ performance pushed him off the roster by 2021. He served in a depth role and collected his guaranteed money playing in AAA for the Phillies, showing the ability to play shortstop and center field well, as well as positions lower on the defensive spectrum. He profiles as a solid runner and average hitter, and possesses all three option years. He would’ve been eligible for minor league free agency had his contract not been selected, and that meant Kenny Rosenberg’s spot on the 40-Man roster would be relinquished. He has been a minor league free agent signing in multiple seasons prior, and as a veteran who would be able to elect the right to open market, the Angels have done him the courtesy of an early release.

Angels Get Ahead in Free Agency with Early Signings

The Angels under Perry Minasian are one of very few teams to have a track record of signing free agents before Thanksgiving; Noah Syndergaard, Aaron Loup, and Tyler Anderson’s deals are three of just 34 Major League contracts signed during the period after the World Series and before the holidays begin. This year was no different for the front office, as we set our targets early and came away with some small additions right at the outset of free agency.

First, Kyle Hendricks was brought in as some sort of a staff piece for just $2.5 million; he both relieved and started for the Cubs last season, albeit with worse results than Griffin Canning. My belief is that the Angels are thinking about Hendrick’s ability to use his below-average velocity and pinpoint command to find success for so many years, and are looking at their own young, ground ball-inducing pitchers and hoping something from Hendricks rubs off on Jose Soriano, Jack Kochanowicz, and Angels top prospect Caden Dana. It is interesting, though, to have both Hendricks and Tyler Anderson in a rotation together, as they are both soft-tossers who can thrive when they limit hard contact but are also somewhat prone to punishment.

Next, after seeing the Braves decline an $8 million team option on Travis d’Arnaud, Perry decided to bring in his old backup catcher for $12 million over two years. Able to provide league-average offense as well as solid defense, d’Arnaud raises the floor for the lineup, but also the pitching staff with his veteran presence. Logan O’Hoppe should remain the everyday catcher, but despite hitting right-handed, he has actually been better against righty pitchers in his career. d’Arnaud has hit lefties better than righties, so the two make for a natural platoon even though they both hit right-handed.

Most recently, the Angels agreed to terms with middle infielder Kevin Newman. Another former top prospect, Newman has settled in as a solid glove-first backup, most recently working for the Diamondbacks as they put up the top offense in the league in 2024. While Newman was below average over the season, a 95 wRC+ against lefties and an 85 wRC+ against righties should make him a fine bench signing for either one year at $2.75 million, or two years at $5 million. Corresponding moves had to be made for each of these signings, and depth pitchers Ryan Miller, Guillo Zuniga, and catcher Matt Thaiss were DFA’d. While none of these three should be expected to provide major upgrades, they will provide for more stability and a bit of a veteran, winning presence in the locker room as we hope for steps forward from our young core.

Payroll and Plans: Angels Set for More Moves

After all of these moves, the payroll sits somewhere between $170 million and $180 million, or just above where it was last year. Perry Minasian has been adamant, though, that he and Arte Moreno are willing to spend more money in 2025 than in 2024. Already targeting depth, the Angels should be expected to continue to do so throughout the offseason, but the remaining larger-scale moves yet to take place will truly determine where the Angels are viewed going into next season. The bench can be considered all but filled out, perhaps one more infielder could be added to the roster; but the magnitude of any forthcoming pitching additions should be viewed with extra importance. Ideally, in order to be in the conversation of near-contention, one to two more good starters and two good relievers would be brought in, but any trades could always change the calculus, and who knows where Arte Moreno truly intends for the payroll to end up? Either way, the Angels have been busy this offseason around the fringes, and one or two more big moves would go a long way towards this team looking like a formidable unit for the first time since Shohei Ohtani left.

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