The Angels are keeping their closer in the fold, announcing the re-signing of Raisel Iglesias on a four-year, $58MM deal. The Magnus Sports client will make $10MM in 2022, followed by successive $16MM salaries from 2023-25.
Iglesias is the top free agent reliever on this winter’s market, a fact reflected in the reported four-year guarantee. Only one reliever (Liam Hendriks and Drew Pomeranz, respectively) has landed a four-year pact in each of the past two offseasons.
Iglesias earns his place among that group after posting one of the stronger seasons by any late-game option around the league. The Angels acquired the right-hander from the Reds last offseason in a move that required little more than assuming his $9.125MM salary for 2021. That proved to be an absolute bargain, as Iglesias acclimated well to his new home in Orange County. Assigned the Angels’ ninth-inning role, he tossed 70 innings of 2.57 ERA ball, successfully locking down 34 of 39 save attempts.
That marked Iglesias’ fifth season (out of six since he transitioned to the bullpen in 2016) of sub-3.00 ERA work. The Cuba native has rather quietly been one of the sport’s most consistent, reliable relief arms. That’s in spite of the fact that Iglesias has spent the majority of his career in Cincinnati, which sports one of the game’s most hitter-friendly ballparks.
Impressive as Iglesias’ run prevention numbers are, his underlying metrics may be even better. The right-hander has punched out a strong 29.7% of batters faced over the course of his career, and he’s coming off a personal-best 37.7% strikeout rate. That’s the eighth-highest mark of the 138 relievers with 50+ innings pitched, while his massive 20.6% swinging strike rate trailed only Josh Hader among that same group.
While many relievers can struggle to harness high-octane stuff, Iglesias has had no such problems. His walk rates in each of the past three seasons have been far lower than average, and this past season’s 4.4% figure was among the ten lowest among relievers. Iglesias’ 33.3 percentage point gap between his strikeout and walk rates ranked third, as did his 2.06 SIERA.
The only real drawback in Iglesias’ game has been the longball. He’s generally a fly-ball pitcher, and that’s led to some issues keeping the ball in the yard. Iglesias has allowed homers at a higher than average clip in three of the past four years, including a 1.41 HR/9 mark in 2021. That’s a small red flag, but Iglesias is so effective at preventing baserunners that he often mitigates the damage done via the home run. Opponents reached base at just a .243 clip in 2021.
Iglesias’ reported contract terms land right in line with expectations. Entering the offseason, MLBTR forecasted a four-year, $56MM guarantee that Iglesias moderately tops. That came after he rejected Los Angeles’ $18.4MM qualifying offer, a decision that proved wise given the solid multi-year contract he managed. The Angels won’t directly forfeit a draft choice for re-signing their own free agent, although they are passing on the right to collect the compensation pick they’d have received had Iglesias signed elsewhere.
That’s a worthwhile trade-off for the win-now Angels, who’ll hope for continued excellence from Iglesias at the back end of the bullpen. He becomes the second and more expensive multi-year relief investment of the offseason for Los Angeles, who also signed southpaw Aaron Loup to a two-year deal. They’ll try to anchor a bullpen that was below-average in 2021, even including Iglesias’ stellar numbers.
The deal’s financial breakdown has yet to be reported, but it becomes another significant deal on the Angels’ books. Iglesias’ $10MM salary brings the club’s estimated 2022 commitments around $172MM, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. The deal’s $14.5MM luxury tax hit (which is based on average annual value as opposed to actual payment schedule) puts the Angels’ projected CBT number above $185MM.
The luxury tax thresholds in the next collective bargaining agreement have yet to be determined, but the Angels haven’t exceeded the threshold in more than a decade. They’ve never opened a season with a player payroll higher than last year’s $181MM mark, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Whether owner Arte Moreno is willing to push beyond that in 2022 remains to be seen, but there figures to be plenty of urgency to put a strong supporting cast around the Angels’ star core. Los Angeles could also have to deal with a tougher division than they have in years past, as the Rangers and Mariners have been among the most active teams this offseason.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic was first to report the Angels were nearing agreement with Iglesias on a four-year deal. Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to report the deal had been agreed upon. Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported the $58MM guarantee. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was first with the financial breakdown.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
This is what we need.
Stroman has got to be next.
Even then that would put us in a good position if we trade for Castillo. Slide barria or Suarez to bullpen we would have decent options out the pen.
Arte is attempting a month-to-month deal for Stroman. Hates those long-term contracts for starters.
“Marcus, after evaluating your last start in Toronto, we have decided to re-up your contract for the upcoming 3 game set against Seattle.”
Candy, that made me laugh for real.
yeah, i get that there weren’t that many things to troll today. hope you tell your mama that you troll.
Vizionaire, I wasn’t trolling. Just having fun.
yeah, i was just having fun, too.
Suarez is starting. Maddon says he’s earned it and I agree.
The way I see it, the rotation will be Syndergaard, Ohtani, Sandoval, Lorenzen and Suarez. There is room to add one more starter.
I believe Canning will start out where he ended up this year, which is in the minor leagues.
Detmers showed great stuff, but also showed he wasn’t ready. I think he needs more time at the minor league level as well.
Barria should be shifted to the long relief role and spot starter. He will be a starter if Lorenzen doesn’t pan out as a starter.
So you are going to tell Canning and Detmers and Barria they have to take a back seat to a guy who has stated 5 games in 6 years?
Those three deserve a shot at that sixth spot. Barria is out of options and has to make the team.
It makes absolutely no sense for the Angels to bring in Lorenzen and not have him compete with those three pitchers. It makes much more sense to have the best pitcher win the job in Spring.
Since Lorenzen wants to start, It makes no sense for Lorenzen to sign a one year contract with a team in November, where he has to compete for the final slot against those three guys.
If the Angels were going to sign another good starter, they would not have signed Lorenzen.
Players are people, they are not baseball cards.
Halo – What are your thoughts on Canning? I think he has been giving plenty of opportunities to emerge as a reliable starter and instead seems to have regressed. I think he should start at AAA.
It’s probable that Lorenzen wasn’t guaranteed a starting role, but a chance to earn one. He knows he has to prove himself and we are giving him a chance to. So I’m not as concerned about the acquisition. He has way more upside than Claudio did.
I can’t disagree. Canning has good stuff and is still very young. My issue with him is his elbow issues are something he even stated, he’ll just have to live with. I honestly think they should use Canning as trade bait. If they don’t sign or trade for another starter, I would think Lorenzen would at least be given an opportunity to start in Spring training
If the Angels add another starter, there are many, many better opportunities to start than with the Angels.
If I want to start, I’m not signing with a team that has five guaranteed starters.
If you tell me Canning Is healthy, I like him a lot more than Lorenzen.
I like Canning, Detmers and Barria all better than Lorenzen.
If Lorenzen was told he was going to be the Swing Man, fine. But if so, he gave up on his wish to start very very early. Which leads me to believe he wasn’t told that.
If I’m Lorenzen. I’m not going to sign with a team where I’m a long shot to start.
@Halos11Fan What you missing is that all those guys, Canning, Detmers and Barria were all given the opportunity to start last year and they all failed miserably. You can throw Janson Junk into that group as well.
You are right, it isn’t Lorenzen’s job and is probably more of an open spot at the moment. I am just more optimistic about Lorenzen than the others. Sometimes the unknown is better than the known which is known to be bad. Canning seems to get worse each year. Detmers has great stuff but doesn’t know how to pitch yet. Barria is reminiscent of Suarez in that he doesn’t have good stuff, but he doesn’t know how to pitch as well as Suarez. After looking into Lorenzen’s peripherals, I just have more optimism than the others, which just fail to be consistent.
And all of those guys have a better chance than Lorenzen. If Lorenzen competes against them, he’ll lose.
No team disrespects their top prospects that quickly. As for Barria, he’s done it twice.
Detmers is 21. He is not bad. In fact, his stuff is amazing. He is just very young. Barria is 24. He had a 3.91 ERA in his 11 starts. That is far from failing miserably. Canning is 25 and was injured again. His problem is not stuff or age, its injuries. ALL are better options than Lorenzen who really did fail miserably last season putting up a 5.59 ERA in his 7th season in the majors.
Lorenzen won’t necessarily lose. Detmers or Canning haven’t proven they are capable of getting it done. Lorenzen has, even though as a reliever. Barria has had some mediocre success, but also has been awful some seasons.
If you look at batting average against and exit velocity against they favor Lorenzen. Lorenzen is leaving one of the best hitter friendly parks for his hometown. The change of scenery may do him some good. Lorenzen at least has a chance to be better than those 3. Detmers will be a good starter one day, but he just isn’t ready yet.
If Lorenzen doesn’t pan out as a starter, he will still be a welcome bullpen piece.
This should now put them at or over last year’s $182 mil payroll. Now what?
don’t worry. in new cba, upper threshold has to go up.
Yes I agree.
The dodgers will benefit greatly from it
Upper threshold might go up but the angels spending has still been fairly consistent. It’s about budget, not the threshold (although the angels being in on scherzer tells me arte might be opening the checkbook)
He might be, but then the Lorenzen signing doesn’t make any sense.
I think Lorenzon is going to be a swing man.
you or me or anyone here don’t know what is amount to break even. he has to spend to have chance to go deem in the playoffs not to see either trout or ohtani or both asking for trade.
Dude, they are going way over last year– they have no choice. Dodgers were over 300. The Mets are at $268– they will be over $300MM. The Angels need to spend to compete. Castillo would only be $12MM, and Stroman will be 5 years at 21-23MM– 105. to 115. And they still need another position player like Chris Taylor– could be another 15. Plus the rest of the pen.
Then the Lorenzen signing doesn’t make sense. The Angels have starters that have a much better chance than Lorenzen to be successful. They are going to be on the outside looking in.
They should have spent that money on a better RP, not a pitcher who came here to be given a chance to start.
Halos fans stop trying to understand/ our off-seaso moves. This is by far the best move we’ve made in decades
Lorenzen signing is great..Look at the stuff. Angels are looking to acquire high quality arms and this guy throws 98 consistently with a + slider & +change up .
Lorenzen also has a career 710 OPS & .233 BA. If he starts getting into Ohtanis routine with him and push each other that makes them both better with daily competition.
I love the Lorenzen signing. Could be diamond in the rough type guy.
Lorenzen has almost 500 IP in the majors with a solid ERA+ of 107. Check.
His FB averages 97 MPH. Check.
He misses bats, as his Z-Contact % has consistently been better than league average. Check.
He had an injury filled 2021, which provided a great “buy low” opportunity., allowing for other possible FA’s. Check.
Angel fans crack me up. “We need pitching!” “But not THAT guy!”
He has started 5 games in 6 years. He has started 26 games, his ERA is 4.95. He’s coming off a two year bad streak.
They needed a starter a lot better than him. And 8 million buys you an RP that is much more likely to be better than him.
Trolls that come on this board crack me up.
Lorenzen has averaged 95.5 mph on his FB, not 98. He throws that cutter as often as he throws the 4 seam FB and that is only 92 mph. He also throws a sinker at 96.
@johnnyangel I am with you. I can understand the doubter. He hasn’t pitched effectively as a starter and his numbers last year were awful. When you look beyond his glamour numbers, those numbers definitely tell you a different story. Not a lot of people look at or understanding those numbers, so you have to understand the doubt. His numbers were not as good last year, but it seems he wanted another chance at being a starter. He at least has a chance to be an effective starter.
@i like al conin — They’re at $185 million. And new CBA means luxury tax goes up. Probably to $215 million, something like that. That would actually have them at a $30 million dollar cushion right now after their moves so far.
Me likey.
I think the Angels are finished with the rotation, They are really going to give a slot to Lorenzen.
I hope they add one more RP who is expected to be good.
I forsee him being added to bullpen and be part-time opener.
what if they sign another upper echelon rotation piece? do we have anyone else to pitch in late innings? what about sam bachman?
Might have 1 trade in them for a SP. A lot out there especially with the Marlins, A’s, Reds. Trade market is slow and appears waiting for the new CBA.
If they’re finished why are they saying they’re not? If they are truly finished with the rotation then they are finished before the season even begins. Our current rotation is worse than last year– we lost Cobb who was the second best pitcher. This rotation does not compete with Seattle, Oakland, or Houston as constituted. To think a kid like Detmers can be counted on is a huge mistake. We lost Cobb and gained what? Syndergaard is a wild card coming off TJ. and Lorenzen may or may not be a starter coming off injury. Those are great adds if they had other innings eaters. We need two starters, not one.
Of course they are not finished. They only have two reliable relievers and they don’t have a shortstop.
If they sign another reliable starter, I’ll be thrilled. I doubt Lorenzen came here to compete against, Canning, Detmers and Barria.
Matbe he did, but it doesn’t make sense.
They do have a shortstop, His name is David Fletcher
I don’t think they’re done. After hearing they were runner-up for Scherzer, I think they’ll go over the threshold if they have to this time around. At the same time, something tells me Castillo or Means will be an Angel by this time tomorrow. Or both if they want to get bold. They’re only projected to make $10 million between them, and I can see them trying to minimize the added payroll while still acquiring young quality SP. But then there’s Kershaw and Stroman. Then there’s SS. I think they’ll monitor both directions and go with whichever based just on who they come to terms with.
When I said what the Claudio and Guerra signing meant, almost everyone told me I was wrong. When I said what the Quintana signing meant, almost everyone told me I was wrong.
Best case scenario I’m two for three while everyone else is one for three.
Imagine you are Lorenzen. It’s November, you want a chance to start. You sign a one year deal betting on yourself. Are you really going to sign with a team where you are competing against their number one prospect, a top rated prospect coming back from a non arm related injury and another pitcher with no options who twice has an ERA+ of well over 120?
If I’m Lorenzen, I’m Picking a different team.
I think Lorenzen is given every chance to earn the number 5 rotation slot, will fail miserably, and go to the pen. It’s a coin flip if he’ll be reliable.
That’s why I think it was a bad signing. I think they needed another rotation piece.
I hope the plan is to give Lorenzen every chance to win the number 6 rotation spot, and they still add another good starting pitcher, along with another reliever or two.
That would be my hope as well but if I’m Lorenzen, I don’t sign this early for a chance to win the sixth spot against those guys,. It only makes since if four pitchers are competing for two spots.
Fans construct rosters as if they are baseball cards. They are real people. And real people typically do things that make more sense than that.
You read way too much into depth moves.
How do you define a depth move? To me that’s signing someone to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, not a guaranteed contract for $6.7 million.
I feel like you assume way too much about how everyone else thinks and it seems like you don’t recognize how good a healthy Lorenzen can be. I like to believe a lot of us Angel fans were uneasy with many of the pitching contracts over the last few seasons but Minasian seems like he is making a real effort to improve the arms this year. Lorenzen is solid depth even if he doesn’t pan out as a starter (which personally I think he fits well in a 6 man rotation). He’s in his prime, a local guy and I am willing to bet Angel fans will have his back even if he struggles out the gate. Worst case he contends with Loup for the 8th inning. Best case: we see a guy with the talent find his true potential in a rotation built for another 2 way player.
Looking forward to watching you kick butt this year Lorenzen!
YOU might not sign, but he is an OC guy. Born in Anaheim went to school locally. He gets to play with other 2 way players (Ohtani , Walsh). The Angels also offer more opportunities to hit and play the outfield with Ohtani starts removing the DH.
@Ryan Matt Boyd. Now that he has been non-tendered I believe the Angels will look into him as well.
Boyd can’t pitch until June or July right?
By the end of June the Angels may figure out what they are going to do with there starting pitching.
Correct. He is out until at least June. The Angels have always been linked to trade talks for him but the Tigers were always asking for too much. I would not be surprised if the Angels picked him up as he will a a relative low cost option.
They were just outbid on Scherzer but you think they are finished with the rotation. That doesn’t make sense to me. I would believe they are still in the market for pitching after missing out on the biggest FA available. If they bid on Scherzer they still have money even with the money that has now been allocated to Iglesias.
Arte better open his checkbook for once
“open his checkbook for once”??? He’s done nothing but spend (Guerrero, Colon, Escobar, Hunter, Greinke, Pujols, Wilson, Hamilton, Upton, Rendon, and the Trout extension to name a few). It may not always work out but he doesn’t sit on his purse strings
I like Suarez, barria? Not so much. We need Sandoval and C-Rod healthy.
Well c-rod is out for the year. Sandoval sounds like he will be fine.
C-Rod is out for the year and his career may be over. They’re rebuilding his shoulder socket– not good. None of these kids have a history of pitching a full season in the bigs. You can take one to be a #5 or #6, but you can’t compete with an entire rotation of young starters who are not elite– they’re all #3-5 starters.
Sign Stroman and either Rodon, or trade for Castillo .They need two starters. Syndergaard is coming off TJ and who knows if Lorenzen can start.. But they must get Stroman.
Wonder if Rodon would do a 1-year to prove he’s healthy?
He may have to. Longest deal he’ll get is 2-years.
The Angels need 10+ SP to make it thru a 162 game season. Right now, they are looking for the following guys to give them starts this year – Ohtani, Thor, Lorenzen, Sandoval, Suarez, Detmers, Canning, Barria and probably some guys currently at AA or AAA like Bachman.
Given their current payroll, my guess is they go the trade route to add a TOR arm at $7-$12MM rather than sign a FA at $20+MM.
You’re probably 100% correct. I wouldn’t be surprised if they also reach out to Oakland regarding Montas and Bassitt.
Montas is not going to happen.
1) He’s a PED cheater.
2) Moreno has never brought in a known PED cheater.
3) Moreno went crazy and ostracized Hamilton for snorting cocaine.
4) Skaggs died of drug use.
I agree. In addition, Barria is only proven effective as a starter. He does not pitch well out of the pen. If they don’t trade for Castillo, Montas, Bassitt, Marquez, Civale and Plesac are known to be available for trade.
I view Lorenzen as a SP5-SP8 depth piece. He may earn 9-15 starts and work out of the pen, as well – total IP in the 90-120 range. The Angels always use/need 10+ SP with several of them getting 6-12 starts.
At the right price, Cobb would have been a good depth signing, as well. Not a TOR guy, but a SP4-SP6 that can deliver 90+ quality innings
What you view him as is not what he views himself as and I highly doubt that’s the role he wants to play.
I like every Angel signing but this one.
If the Angels don’t sign another starter, he’s not good enough to be the
last starting pitcher the Angels sign. If they do sign another quality starting pitcher, which I don’t think they will, I much prefer Detmers or Canning I. The sixth spot. Possibly even Barria.
Even if he goes to the pen, we clearly see that other, better, pitchers are being signed for less.
Of the Angels projected SPs, none can be expected to make 27+ starts or pitch 160+ innings largely due to a six man rotation, but also due to the following: Ohtani needs periodic extra days between starts; Thor is coming off TJS; Lorenzen, Sandoval, Suarez, Canning, Detmers, Barria and Bachman are not built up and/or coming off injury.
To accumulate approximately 1000 IP by SPs, given that the Angels SPs are on limits, means 10+ SP will probably throw 50-150 innings apiece. Everyone will get some starts regardless who begins the season as SP5 or SP6. The Angels need depth at SP… and lots of it.
As I stated above, I believe the Angels will trade for a TOR SP to round out the 2022 staff rather than sign a FA.
I think the Angels will continue to explore the trade market for another starting pitcher because with Stroman off the board the free agent market is not very appetizing. Obviously Rodon and Kershaw can be difference makers if healthy, but does it make sense for the Angels to take on that injury risk for this season? I’m not really sold on Kikuchi, and I’m not sure that Greinke and Cueto have much left in the tank. The rest of the free agent market consists of warm bodies, and not much else.
Who do you want to trade?
Lorenzen is not the starter or reliever I would want. I’d prefer someone who is a better bet.
The Angels are betting that Lorenzens poor 2021 results are due to injury and that he will bounce back in 2022. He is just a depth guy as a SP or possibly a high leverage RP with some upside. Lorenzen essentially slots in as SP5-SP8 and knocks someone like Packy Naughtan down a peg to SP12 making it less likely Naughtan will get starts in 2022. I will take a chance on Lorenzen over Naughton.
Depth guys with some upside like Lorenzen, Cobb, Heaney, etc seem to cost $6+MM this year. The real problem for the Angels, and many teams, is that they dont have enough internal depth options at AA and AAA getting paid $600K when they are needed.
He didn’t sign with the Angels to be a depth guy. And the Angels are not paying him 8 million dollars to be a depth.
Already there are low expectation.
They should have gotten a better starter or a better reliever. If the Angels sign a better starter, then they should have gotten a better RP.
Which is another reason I think the Angels are done with their rotation. What’s the point of bringing in Lorenzen to compete for the number six spot.
The Dodgers paid Heaney $7MM to be a depth guy. The Giants paid Cobb $8MM to be a depth guy. Thats the going rate. Not every SP is a TOR guy. Some are depth guys to fill out the rotation.
The Angels brought in Lorenzen so Packy Naughtan does not start any games in 2022. Lorenzen, as a SP5-SP8, is an upgrade over Naughtan at the bottom. The Angels rotational depth is now better than the day before.
I think there’s a difference in how people define “depth guy.” You seem to be using it to mean a back of the rotation guy, basically a 4th or 5th starter. I tend to think of a “depth guy” as a AAA pitcher you bring up due to injuries. Packy Naughton is a depth guy, and he ain’t getting $7 or $8 million. A 4th or 5th starter is getting paid that, but you’re expecting him to be in your rotation most of the time barring injury.
Yes. I think I may be defining depth guys differently than others. I seperate SPs as TOR guys that can dominate or depth guys that can keep their team in the game, eat innings and fill out a rotation.
Teams typically use 8-12 SPs per season. As a general rule, SP4-SP12 is a depth guy for most teams (not the Dodgers last year). Some are on the major league roster like Lorenzen and some are in the minor leagues like Naughtan. Depth guys with experience and some upside like Lorenzen, Cobb and Heaney cost a team $6+MM this year. Depth guys with little or no experience are in the BP or AA/AAA making the MLB minimum. Depth guys like Detmers, Barria, Canning or Suarez, for example, can become TOR guys as they develop.
The goal is to have enough young, cost controlled SPs in your system so you dont have to go out and pay $6MM for a depth guy.
Halo – “He didn’t sign with the Angels to be a depth guy. And the Angels are not paying him 8 million dollars to be a depth.”
A lot of what you’re saying is conjecture. You have no idea what was said in the conversation between Lorenzen and the Angels. Don’t be so fixated. Let it play out.
Shiver me timbers. Ahahahaha!
Finally!! Some nice news out of Anaheim!!
Wonder what the AAV will be. 4/70 or so?
20 mill a year
Thats more then Hendriks, I think he gets something closer to 4/55
I say 4/60.
I think he’s at least getting 4/$60M considering he turned down the QO.
I agree.
Four years between 55 and 6o sounds about right.
I’d guess $48m over 4 years.
No chance it’s $12M AAV
Four years 58 million.
Jon Morosi just reported 4/58
$14.5 AAV.
Thank god
Good job angels!
Ugh, c’mon. I really wanted to see the Yankees entertain getting this guy. He could easily replace some of our RP and we could utilize RP in trades.
Nevertheless, congratulations, Halos, good retention on this one, obviously.
Come on now, the bullpen is the least of the Yankees concerns. Also I don’t want to see them hand out another big contract to a reliever anytime soon
That is true, Ronk. The Yankees are very good at building bullpens, and then even rebuilding them on the fly during the season. They don’t need another high-priced arm. I’m quite sure when Chapman’s deal ends after 2022 they’re going to turn the closer role over to Johnny Lasagna.
The one move I wanted Bloom to make. Very boring November for non-Mets U.S. North East fans.
No chance Bloom would call Barnes a sunk cost after extending him this year. Still a lot of good 7th-8th inning bullpen options, plus the waiver-types that Chaim loves
Barnes isn’t that expensive where they might not slip him back into an 8th inning role. That said, Bloom seems more likely to try and build pens on the cheap as the Rays did.
Regardless, that Barnes extension was the most expensive contract that L’Chayim has given out during his time in Boston. It was his way of saying, “Heck yeah, Matty Backpacks is a high-leverage guy,” even if Barnes isn’t actually prohibitively expensive. It’ll all depend on how Barnes’ arm bounces back after that second half he had
What have the Rays won? Awards for effort and creativity but no duck parades which is the only thing that matters in New England. I’ve been a Bloom supporter but felt Iglesias was the one game changing move that was available. Would you trade Wacha, Paxton and a PTBNL for Iglesias? The contract to carry in future years just isn’t that steep. Unfortunately Barnes proved after a great first half, he’s not dependable as a closet. At this point I want Kelly back. Between the two, one hopefully will do the job. it’s that or Houck and Whitlock at the end. I like that duo but if one or both start, the bullpen again is going to cost the team bigtime.
@dewey
What are you talking about, the Orioles just brought in stinky…
Glad it wasn’t Boston. I guess it could be worse. Bloom has done a good job getting undervalued players but buying experienced pitchers who for one reason or another need a rebound rarely works out
I really do believe the Yankees will only sign players to short-term deals this offseason. One or two seasons. Maybe that will change after the next CBA is announced.
Unrelated, but I noticed new deals went quiet most of today, maybe as teams focused on the non-tender stuff. Once that passed it seems we started hearing more about pending deals. I suspect tomorrow is going to be a crazy day leading up to the 11:59 deadline. Thursday morning is going to be a shock to our systems when we go from non-stop news to…crickets.
The big market teams are waiting until after the new CBA Is signed so that they know what the new luxury tax threshold will be.
hope it’s 3 years or shorter.
Arte is that you?
no. for close to 60 years i have seen quite a few aging rp’s turn useless.
It is for 4/58.
They look like they may have a decent BP in ‘22. They better get Stroman if they wanna play at the top of the West though.
Yes sir.
Stroman and Castillo.
You’ve mentioned Castillo twice in this thread. I guarantee you that if the Angels did acquire Castillo that half of your fans will hate what it’s going to cost to get him. I’ve seen quite a few ridiculous proposals of what’s going back to Cincinnati in a deal for Castillo. The package will start with Adell and Detmers or Bachman plus another prospect. If I’m wrong I’ll happily eat crow but the Reds aren’t giving Castillo away unless a team blows them away with an offer they can’t refuse.
Jo Adell is quite a nice centerpiece to offer for two years of Castillo, on top of what would most likely include Canning, either one of our two top shortstop prospects (Paris or Jackson), and I imagine there would be another top arm prospect ranked in the top 20.
For me that’s too much> I think Adell is a special player. I sign Stroman.
Many halo fans have been on Minasian this off season. Let this play out and see what roster looks like on opening day. OK what’s next hub?
That’s fair, angels 61. All I’m saying is he does not deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Four moves I like, one I don’t. Last year there were two moves I liked, four or five or six I didn’t.
He was also under pretty strict constraints last year. EVERY move was for 1 year. And it was his first year. Gotta give him more time to see what he can do. Although I’m with you on Lorenzen.
he had over $29 mil to spend.. but money was not the problem. it was whom he spend it for.
Yeah, there’s that too.
29 million and 2 starting pitchers, pretty much a complete bullpen including a closer, a shortstop, a right fielder, and catcher spot to fill. 29 million doesn’t afford you the best quality to fill all those positions. Playing GM on a budget isn’t easy, but criticizing someone for every move he makes is.
You keep saying the same thing. Over and over. It has been explained to you repeatedly by many that Minnassian’s arms were tied by his limited budget and the previous roster construction. Your argument is really unfair, and sounds so dogmatic. The guy was 6 months on the job and you were complaining. Can you at least give him the entire off season? If there are no more starters added I’ll storm the castle with you– but don’t get your panties in a bunch.
Nobody’s hands are tied in early December. You keep making excuses.
the only restriction i can think of is arte telling him to discuss with maddon. so maddon must have given him a list of his former players to sign. maddon must have not not known how bad they had become.
You don’t sign players like Guerra and Claudio that early. You don’t sign Quintana PERIOD.
Are people really saying he told Minasian to sigh those guys…..oh brother. People be nuts.
that’s the only reason i can think of him acquiring all the duds in one offseason especially since he was said to have built a great pen for the braves.
They are because of the CBA. They want to make moves now before it expires tonight. this is a unique year.
@angel1961 I think Perry should give Angel fans a reason for optimism. He actually made some decent selections in Cobb and Iglesias. That is 2 better pitchers in his first year than Dipoto and Eppler signed or traded for in 10 years combined. I am also excited about the Syndergaard and Loup signings. Combine that with the Iglesias re-signing, this off season has been better than any other off seasons in recent memories. He hasn’t made any long term gaffes.
I was a bit down on Lorenzen deal initially, but after looking into it a bit, I think he may be worth a chance. He does have a good 4 pitch repertoire, decent velocity, good spin rate. Plus he is a hometown kid, so let’s see what he can do. Again, it is just a flyer. No long term commitment. A lot a fans want the Angels to sign Robbie Ray, Gausman, or Jon Gray, but they are all just 2 pitch pitchers and I never been big on two pitch pitchers, but you cannot deny that Ray or Gausman had a great year last year. I am not as disappointed as others missing out on those 3. I have always wanted Stroman though.
4 year deal to a 32 y/o? I mean, he’s really good, but that would scare me about any reliever besides maybe Liam Hendricks.
He’s been getting better with age and is showing no signs of slowing down though. It’s definitely not without risk being four years in length, but the Angels want to win and they have no greater need than the back end of their bullpen… besides another starter, perhaps.
You’re worried about a stud reliever who has no sign of arm trouble signing a four year deal, but you’re good with the Rangers giving a 10-year deal to a player who hasn’t played an entire season the last four years, and a seven year deal to 32 year player who hit .265 in 2021 and .229 in 2020? I’m good with the deal.
I agree with you Carl. Iglesias has put up good numbers for a long time even when pitching in one of the most hitter friendly parks at GABP.. Lengthy contracts are always a risk, but I would be more willing to commit to good performance over a long period a time with no huge injury past.
Couple more bullpen PCs and another starter or two!All of a sudden the halos pitching has depth and controllable starters in abundance as bargaining chips to find that #1 type starter via trade or free agency.
Good for the angels getting this done before the lockout, he’s gonna have to rush through that physical tomorrow lol.
HELL YES
Thank God. Finally doing something.
Finally a move that makes sense. Interesting that the so called reluctance to sign pitchers to longer term deals doesn’t apply to relievers. It’s a stupid policy anyway.
Good stuff from Perry so far. Don’t think overreacting is ever the move. And i still think Orange County is the perfect place for Trevor Bauer after MLB slaps his wrist. Thor-Bauer-Ohtani-Sandoval-Suarez. This would be why “all this to battle for 3rd” on Rangers posts is accurate.
rangers battling 3rd? lmao!
The Angels are making moves in hopes of ending baseball’s current longest streak of consecutive losing seasons (at six).
The American League West should be interesting in 2022.
The Angels front office is prioritizing high character players. Bauer won’t interest them.
arte hate those guys.
Character is nice, but they need to prioritize talent. Without adding two significant starters we are still behind the division in pitching. The Mariners getting Ray is a tough one. Oakland’s staff is already better. Houston is better. And Texas is not better overall, but they’ve gotten better so far.
No one is going to touch Bauer. What makes you think that the O.C. is the place for Bauer? He will draw large protests from women’s groups, not to mention the national press and every sports talk radio show. Don’t forget that the players have mothers, sisters and daughters and probably won’t respond well to his presence in the Clubhouse. The other factor is he is owed forty million for 2022. MLB still has to rule on their investigation and will then decide if he will be suspended further. Stay tuned.
Oh, I dunno.. I dont have any interest in Bauer coming to Anaheim, but he fits in with the mindset Ive seen down there (Yes, one can be an Angels fan and still think OC sucks)
They gone be dope wit dat dude
Bout time. Should have gotten this deal done earlier.
That’s great
@Anthony Franco, The top free-agent reliever on the market is Kenley Jansen, not Raisel Iglesias.
is jansen projected to be reliable for next few years? dodgers should re-sign him then.
He’s better than Iglesias, but the Dodgers have a deep bullpen and are in a different situation than the Angels. It comes down to allocating resources in the best way possible. If it was up to me, I’d sign Jansen and trade Treinen’s 2 years, $16MM to address other needs, even if it’s a prospect or two. I trust Friedman to do what’s best for the Dodgers. That has tended to work in the past.
I keep forgetting Jansen is out there because I’m assuming he’ll return to the Dodgers. Of course, I also thought that about Scherzer!
I’m relieved Scherzer is gone and in a way Seager (I anticipated the latter leaving all summer). If all the FAs leave, the only three players remaining from 2017’s World Series team will be Bellinger, J. Turner, and Barnes (Urias was hurt that year and Buehler had about a mouthful of coffee in September). But it doesn’t feel like the end of anything. I’m forwarding to seeing how the roster looks on opening day.
I’m sure they will. They’re too well run and they still have a lot of talent.
My four year 56 million guess on Iglesias was pretty close. I thought Dodgers were correct to pass on Max. I wanted to keep Seager but not at over 300 million. The problem is Trea will get much more. I have no prediction on Kenley other than I would be reluctant to offer more than a couple years but he proved me wrong on 2021. Would like a trade for Olson even if it means moving Cartaya. Put Muncy at 3B and Turner at DH. Taylor or Lux at 2B. Outfield Mookie, Pollock and Belli. Vargas at 3B or 2B in a couple years.
Not according to just about everyone other than you.
Only in the drug-addled mind of a Dodgers fan.
Drug-addle minded Dodger fans prefer Steve Howe over Kenley Jansen.
By what metric is Kenley better?
He’s just over 2 years older than Iglesias. Both had about the same workload (Iglesias had 70 IP to Jansen’s 69), but Jansen had 3x more walks (36 to Iglesias’ 12), 17 fewer Ks (86 to Iglesias’ 103), but just a nominally better ERA+ (Jansen at 185 to Iglesias’ 174).
No one thinks he’s better. He’s had a great career, but at this stage everyone rated Iglesias the best RP on the board.
MLB Trade Rumors.
Igliesias 17th. Janson 29.
Ahh, good. I’ve gotten used to hitting refresh late into the night/morning these last few days looking for new deals!
It feels like Wednesday will be crazier than a lot of people think.
I think so. It would be surprising if it wasn’t based on the action we’ve seen since last week. Maybe the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox will have an explosion of deals at 11:45 pm Wednesday! Unlikely though.
The stuff “reported” by Dave Vassegh is a bit wild with Freeman going to the Dodgers, Olsen to the Braves, Kershaw to the Rangers, and Jansen to the Marlins. I think Friedman will do something.
All of this has been good for the game, in my opinion. I prefer to remain optimistic about the lockout, that the two sides will come up with something that makes everyone happy. My MLB.TV subscription hinges on their decision.
Haha remember when David Vassegh was the producer for The Big Nasty, Joe McDonnell?
Lordd99, it’s been so fun, right?!!!
It has been. It would be great if MLB could figure out a way to do this every year with a signing deadline, but I really don’t see how they could make it work.
The July deadline, too. Have it coincide with the all-star break and package it in an entertaining way. There is so much that can be done to promote the game better.
Yes. They’re so bad at creating interest to better market the game.
Wrong Kenley Jansen best reliever on the market
Maybe Kelley is best for 2022, but Iglesias is better bet for a four year stretch.
I bet 4 years 64 million
My guess 4 yrs, 56 million
Marlins? At the beginning of all this, I thought he was the Dodgers FA most likely to return.
My guess there was for Iglesias. Kenley is too hard for me to predict.
Closers are overrated/overpaid. Last 3 outs are not harder to get than any other 3 outs. Eliminate the save as a stat and he’s making half that tops. 15 million to pitch an inning 3 times a week. Gotta be the sweetest gig in the history of sports.
TheGr. Yes and no. If all you have is a closer, than you are right. If he’s the foundational piece to three good other RPs, the game is shortened and bad loses are kept to a minimum.
iglesias pitched 2 innings many times this past season.
I tend to agree, however he is one of the few closers that can get you more than 3 outs on occasion
I agree with TheGr8. Although what comes to mind is that it’s all relative. If it’s so easy then why are only a handful of RP able to close? To his point, it seems these best RPs are best suited for that crucial out in any late inning rather than a bases empty 1-2-3 9th with maybe a 2-3 run lead.
Jansen going to get 15+ mill per year now
no way.
Angels, can’t land gray so give a reliever 98% of the money gray got. Do 75 win teams need closers that bad?
gray is not worth that much.
I don’t mind missing out on Gray. He is inconsistent. Maybe he is worth a flying since he is getting out of Colorado, but 4 years…… no thanks.
Good enough for third in the division still.
Nice to have trolls visit our board. They have nothing else to do in their pathetic lives.
The rotation is horrendous, and the 1 decent arm in the pen just got what you could’ve given Jon Gray. Third place!
Nice that a troll visits our board so he can feel better about his pathetic life.
Do you want to be left in your safe-space where you imagine their staff isn’t trash?
Angels had 3 starters with ERA under 4 and WHIP under 1.25. Added a guy yes is coming back from Tommy John surgery. But before the injury, was a premier starting pitcher. Made the BP deeper. The Angels won 75 games, with Trout and Rendon both missing over 100 games each. And a BP without much depth. So keep trolling.
I’m sure Joe Barlow strikes fear into batters when he walks to the mound to close games for Texas in 2022.
People who go on threads about other teams for the sole purpose of tearing down teams are pathetic weasels.
When you grow up you’ll realize that.
AngelFirLife. Trolls don’t come on threads about other teams to talk baseball.
“Only one reliever (Liam Hendriks and Drew Pomeranz, respectively) has landed a four-year pact in each of the past two offseasons.”
Isn’t that two?
Padam. Yes and no. Yes it’s two but two years listed. One per year
Haven’t you heard about the Hendriks-Pomeranz Split-Body Theory? It’s not something they teach you in public school. Liam Hendriks/Drew Pomeranz is one man with two bodies
Good move by the Angels. They just need help bridging the gap between the starters and Iglesias
Halo you’re not wrong but the 3 guys that shorten that game with the closer are gonna make combined what the closer makes…. 15 million for 6-9 outs or 15 million for 3…
The price of non-closing relievers is going up, along with the price of five-inning starters. Over the long haul and with expansion coming eventually, you have to wonder how sustainable that will be. Teams can’t just keep pitching four or five different guys every game. Meanwhile, pitching injuries are going up, not down. Teams are doing the opposite of saving wear and tear on their pitching staff.
They shouldn’t, but for the Angels it will. A couple/three should be home grown or found. The Angels pen is so bad, they need to add at least one more and hope they find a couple others.
We can hope that changes in the future not just for the Angels, but for all teams. These teams can’t be expected to call on 30-40 pitchers every year. The Angels drafting a pitcher in every round was interesting but is hardly a solution to the problem.
Saw this one coming. One of the more consistent relievers in the game right now, but 4 years for a closer is always a risk.
Four years for any pitcher if you check the injury lists from recent years. The best strategy seems to be drafting and developing as many good pitchers as you can, and then let them go once they’re eligible for free agency. A team can round off their staff with a few pricier veterans but not that many.
Nice resigning!
I think a lorenzen and Iglesias 8th/9th could be nasty.
But, guessing Lorenzen is going to be used as a starter?
Many of the recent World Series winners at a gauntlet for the 7th-9th innings for opposing batters.
T. Hunter, Gary Mathews jr. joshH. Cj w. Mr Albert Pujols and I know if anyone loves this team like I do knows it’s not payroll or a gamble or a want to win. It’s let’s all stop thinking like a fan and want to win
Yankees 2009 doggers 26 year for all they want to talk red suck 99 years ok not that but close. The guys who won the last 4 years are not all A’s is a group. It’s 9th 8th maybe 7th inning and let’s reinvent the wheel 6man rotation
Angels payroll now sits at $185 million against the luxury tax.
This followed by Stroman or a Castillo trade otherwise still a huge need for one more solid arm in the rotation to get to Iglesias.
The game has changed no starter will face batters in the playoffs 3 times. We all need a 2-0 ball game on 5 innings
The game has changed no starter will face batters in the playoffs 3 times. We all need a 2-0 ball game on 5 innings we need a solid combo of 9 to 12 guys that can work and pitch and get things done when it count.
MISSED IT BY THAT [ = ] MUCH !!
According to informed sources, The Marlins were in on Raisel Iglesias right up until he signed the deal to join the Angels.. The Marlins made a “strong” offer, but not one that matched the Angels’ financial commitment. The Marlins weren’t the only team to be outbid.
The Minnesota Twins had also been linked to Iglesias.
Big overpay
Hardly. $14.5m Aav is about what MLBTR predicted and less than some other top tier closers. Chapman and Hendriks come to mind with higher AAV.
Affordable & he was a must.Suprised he signed for that cheap.Great job I love this offseason.More pitching,more pitching,& a Story please sir.
Angel payroll needs to be 250 plus.TY Ryanwkrol I was curious were the money was at.72 yr old billionaire,I know Mr.Moreno wants to win.Time is now!Outspend the Dodgers and go for the RINGS .Do it for Trout!
Thank the heavens. My goodness him leaving would’ve been such angel thing to happen. Maybe we turned a corner !?!?
This is great news to wake up to! I could see the Halos adding Joe Kelly into the mix, and it would be cool to finally see Joe in a Halos jersey. Another OC guy joining the team this season sounds fitting.
Angels are still gonna finish 78-84 or 81-81 they’re the Angels.
Better than Chapman and didn’t beat his girlfriend. Not a bad deal.
Dodgers lose out. Surely, they don’t resign Jansen.
Retaining Iglesias was a needed accomplishment.
Based on history, it is likely Moreno is finished spending money on any more meaningful acquisitions. The only other possibility of adding another starter or BP piece is through trade.
– Trade for Sonny Gray
– Sign Carlos Rodon
Rodon, Gray, Syndergaard, Ohtani, Sandoval would complement that lineup nicely