Angels Articles

Jan 15, 2025 - Written by Alex Sukyas

Going into January, all the eyes are on the big name free agents consisting of former Mets 1B Pete Alonso, former Astros 3B Alex Bregman, and former Orioles RF Anthony Santander. There's also smaller moves making big splashes in the baseball world, such as Dodgers INF Gavin Lux being traded out of LA to Cincinnati, or Former Astros RHP Justin Verlander signing with the San Francisco Giants. But what about the free agents with less talk about them? What about trade candidates? As it stands, the Angels have reportedly taken big interest in various small free agents, as well as trades being speculated for the Angels. So who are the players the Angels should be or are in the mix for?

Now why would Profar want to come to Anaheim? Profar has already played under current Angels manager Ron Washington, during his time in Texas. Washington was manager at the time and was responsible for his development in early years of his MLB career, so this could be used as a reason for him to sign in Anaheim. On top of this, Profar won't have to worry about moving too far as he is simply going from San Diego to Anaheim.

Kyle Finnegan

The Angels need bullpen help, and pitching help as a whole with a team ERA of 4.56. While there are great options for relievers such as left-hander Tanner Scott, those guys are going to be asking for big contracts, which the Angels can only give to a limited extent and would better be used for a bat. Then there's Kyle Finnegan. Finnegan never received a qualifying offer so the Angels won’t lose anything if they are to sign him. Finnegan is also projected to receive a contract of $8M a year, the amount of years is unknown, making him a cheap and reliable option. But what makes him so reliable for the Angels to go out and get him? Now Finnegan is coming off a solid 2024 All Star season with the Nats. He had 3.68 ERA in 63.2 IP. When it comes to Finnegan’s abilities, he’s struck out 23.5% of batters he’s faced and walked 9.5% of them. He would fit perfectly in a setup role as Angels Closer Ben Joyce continues to grow.

Nick Pivetta

RHP Nick Pivetta is projected to be a great target of a SP with him projected to be earning around $60M total in his next contract. While his ERA is a rather unimpressive 4.76, his other stats do make up for it. To start, Pivetta has a career 26% K%, which is 3.3% higher than the average MLB pitcher, along with this, Pivetta’s SO9 is 2.3 Ks higher than the MLB average of 7.7, with his sitting at 10 SO9 (career). This high strikeout count will also help the Angels, with the team average being 7.87 SO9. So taking these stats into consideration, the Angels could really use him, in which he would likely take the SP2 or SP3 spot, behind Angels LHPs Yusei Kikuchi and Tyler Anderson.

While Pivetta is a solid pitcher, his signing would have an immediate effect on the Angels, with his qualifying offer. If the Angels were to sign Pivetta, it would cost them a draft pick in the upcoming summer draft as well as 500k in International Bonus Pool money. Anyways, where do the Angels stand on his sweepstakes? Well, there hasn't been too much news on the Angels being in on him. It was reported in mid-January that the Angels were linked to the righty by Sports Illustrated. He was linked to the Angels along with the news that the Angels were linked to OF Anthony Santander, in which the Angels are still reportedly in on the outfielder. Since then, the Blue Jays have emerged as the leading suitor for the Canadian born right-hander, but the Angels are still in the mix.

Final Notes

Between the three free agents in this article, all three are a fit in their own way. But all three of their potential signings depend on what happens around the league. With Profar, his signing really relies on where OF Anthony Santander goes. Finnegan, its just on what teams need bullpen help the most after Tanner Scott signs. And with Pivetta, if the Toronto Blue Jays, who are a finalist for Japanese phenom, Roki Sasaki, sign him, they won't feel a need and the Angels could sign him. Overall, the best fit for the Angels in my opinion is Kyle Finnegan, as I see him being the most impactful in the team’s most needed position.

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