Moustakas, now 36, was selected second overall in the 2007 draft. Taken out of Chatsworth High School, Moustakas was one of several high-profile draft picks that the Royals made as part of an aggressive rebuild. In an era prior to the draft lottery, the Royals had nine straight losing seasons from 2004 to 2012, with at least 100 losses in the first three of those seasons. That allowed them to have an desirable draft position for a long stretch of time, getting guys like Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer, Moustakas and others in that span.

The hope was that this aggressive rebuild would allow them to build a stockpile of young talent that could eventually slingshot them to future success. Since Moustakas was drafted as an 18-year-old, it took him a few years to get to the majors, debuting in 2011.

He didn’t hit the ground running. By the end of the 2014 campaign, Moustakas had stepped to the plate 1,993 times at the club’s regular third baseman. However, he had hit just .236/.290/.379 in that time for a wRC+ of 82. Though it was taking “Moose” some time to fully acclimate to big league pitching, the club’s fortunes had turned around as hoped. They had made it to the playoffs in 2014 and progressed all the way to the World Series, though they lost a seventh-game heartbreaker to the Giants. Moustakas clubbed five homers in 15 games during that postseason run.

From there, he did find sustained success. Moustakas hit 22 home runs in 2015 and slashed .284/.348/.470 for a wRC+ of 123, easily his best offensive performance to that point. The Royals returned to the postseason and got the job done this time. Moustakas only hit .215/.257/.277 in the 2015 playoffs but the Royals made it back to the World Series, this time defeating the Mets in five games.

Over 2016 and 2017, Moustakas continued to perform as a solid big leaguer. He hit a combined .267/.312/.517 over those two seasons, which translated to a 113 wRC+, though the Royals fell from their heights. They were exactly .500 in 2016 and then finished 80-82 the following year.

Moustakas reached free agency going into 2018 and rejected a $17.4MM qualifying offer with the expectation of finding a robust market. MLBTR predicted he could secure a five-year, $85MM deal that winter. Unfortunately, he didn’t find the interest he was hoping for and lingered on the market unsigned into March. He and the Royals eventually reunited on a one-year, $6.5MM deal, far less than the QO he turned down.

In 2018, he had another solid but not outstanding season, split with the Brewers after a midseason trade. He hit .251/.315/.459 between the two clubs for a 105 wRC+. MLBTR made a far more modest prediction of $16MM over two years going into the next offseason. He returned to the Brewers on a one-year deal but with a slightly better average annual value of $10MM. Milwaukee planned to move Moustakas from third base to second base in deference to Travis Shaw.

With the Brewers that year, his second base defense was graded as close to average, adding some nice versatility to his profile. He hit 35 home runs that year, though his batting average and on-base abilities continued to be less impressive. His .254/.329/.516 batting line translated to a 113 wRC+. MLBTR felt he still had enough juice to get a two-year, $20MM deal but the new position seemed to unlock an extra gear for his earning power. The Reds, who had Joey Votto at first base and Eugenio Suárez at the corners, gave Moustakas a four-year, $64MM deal with the plan to install him at the keystone.

In the shortened 2020 season, Moustakas had another decent campaign. He hit eight home runs and slashed .230/.331/.468 for a wRC+ of 105. That helped the Reds to make the playoffs, their only postseason appearance of the past decade, but they were quickly dispatched without scoring a run in a two-game sweep at the hands of Atlanta.

His production tailed off from there and never really recovered. He put up a line of .227/.291/.372 from 2021 onwards as various injuries limited his ability to take the field. He played less than 80 games in both 2021 and 2022, getting designated for assignment after the latter of those two seasons. He was released and signed with the Rockies. He got into 47 games with them and seemed to be bouncing back, hitting .270/.360/.435, before getting flipped to the Angels. But he then hit just .236/.256/.371 in 65 games for the Halos. Going into 2024, he signed a minor league deal with the White Sox but hit .195/.283/.317 during the spring and was released at the end of camp.

Though he didn’t start or end his career with a bang, he had a strong run for a few years as an above-average player. Overall, he got into 1,427 major league games and stepped to the plate 5,577 times. He hit .247/.307/.431 for a 96 wRC+ and generated 15.1 wins above replacement, per the calculations of FanGraphs. He hit 215 home runs, scored 595 times and drove in 683. From 2015 to 2020, he slashed .262/.326/.490 for a 113 wRC+ and tallied 12.2 fWAR. He made three All-Star clubs in there and won a World Series ring. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Moustakas on his career and wish him the best in whatever comes next.

Neto, 24, was the 13th overall pick in the 2022 draft and has quickly (and quietly) cemented himself as the Angels’ everyday shortstop. While other top picks and prospects have garnered more fanfare, Neto (like so many Angels draftees) sprinted through the minors. He made his MLB debut less than a year after being selected, and while he didn’t hit much as a rookie in 2023, he played sharp defense at shortstop and did enough to land the Opening Day shortstop job in 2024.

Last year brought a true breakout on both sides of the ball. Neto hit .249/.318/.443 — about 14% better than average, by measure of wRC+ — adding 23 homers, 34 doubles, a triple and 30 stolen bases (in 40 tries). Defensive Runs Saved pegged him as a plus defender, though Statcast was more bearish after agreeing on his quality glovework in 2023. Neto’s 18 errors could certainly use some cleaning up, but it’s clear that even with the uneven performance in ’24 he still has strong defensive tools; he ranked 13th among 60 qualified shortstops in terms of arm strength last year, per Statcast.

It’s long looked possible, if not likely, that Neto would require some time on the shelf to begin the season. Now that that’s cemented, the Angels have a few options they can take. Most straightforward would be simply installing utilityman Kevin Newman as the shortstop to begin the season. The Halos inked Newman on a one-year, $2.75MM deal early in the offseason. He’s a glove-first utility option who can provide sound defense while waiting for Neto’s rehab to complete.

Elsewhere in camp, the Angels have former All-Star Tim Anderson looking to reignite his career after a pair of calamitous seasons in 2023 (White Sox) and 2024 (Marlins). He’s on a minor league deal. Infielders Scott Kingery and Kyren Paris are both on the 40-man roster as well and could factor into the mix — whether as an option at shortstop or stepping into a bench role if Newman is pressed into everyday action.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Fisher moved to Oklahoma as a child. He attended OU before signing with the Giants in 1958. A knuckleballer, Fisher reached the majors within a year of signing his pro contract. He pitched sparingly over three seasons with San Francisco. The Giants included the 6’2″ righty in a trade package to the White Sox for veteran pitchers Billy Pierce and Don Larsen during the 1961-62 offseason.

Fisher spent parts of five seasons in Chicago. Working primarily as a long reliever, he rattled off four straight years with at least 120 innings and a sub-4.00 earned run average. Fisher had his best season in 1965, when he turned in a 2.40 ERA while leading the American League in appearances (82) and WHIP (0.974). He made his lone All-Star appearance, where he tossed two scoreless innings. Fisher finished fourth in AL MVP balloting behind Zoilo Versalles and future Hall of Famers Tony Oliva and Brooks Robinson.

It was more of the same in ’66. Fisher carried a 2.29 ERA over 35 1/3 innings for the White Sox, who swapped him to the Orioles for middle infielder Jerry Adair that June. Fisher tossed 71 2/3 frames with a 2.64 mark down the stretch for Baltimore. The O’s went on to win the World Series, getting Fisher the only ring of his career. He didn’t make an appearance in the Fall Classic. Baltimore’s sweep of the Dodgers included complete game shutouts from Jim Palmer, Wally Bunker and Dave McNally, so they had little need to use their bullpen.

Fisher continued to soak up innings out of the ’pen for multiple teams into the 1970s. He pitched one more season with Baltimore and spent four years with the California Angels, for whom he turned in a 3.22 ERA. He had a brief second stint with the White Sox and wrapped his career with the Cardinals in ’73.

He concluded a 15-year big league run with a 3.41 earned run average in more than 1500 innings. Fisher won 85 games and recorded 812 strikeouts. He finished 344 contests and was credited with 82 saves (most of them retroactively because the stat wasn’t officially tracked by MLB until 1969). MLBTR sends condolences to Fisher’s family, friends and loved ones.

Moore, 22, was only drafted last summer. On most clubs, that would make him a long shot to crack the major league roster, but the Angels have been very aggressive in promoting their top picks. First baseman Nolan Schanuel was drafted in July of 2023 and was up in the show by the middle of August, just over a month later. Shortstop Zach Neto was drafted in 2022 but was up in the majors less than a year later, getting promoted in mid-April 2023.

Fletcher adds that Moore was almost promoted in September of last year before hurting his knee, so a 2025 debut would appear to be firmly on the table. Selected eighth overall in last year’s draft, he had hit 61 home runs in 186 games over three years at the University of Tennessee, producing a line of .338/.447/.698.

After the draft, the Angels put him into two games at Single-A and then 23 contests at the Double-A level. He hit a combined .347/.400/.584 in those minor league contests. He only played one game in the month of September because of that aforementioned knee injury.

After he recovered, the Angels gave him some work at third base in the instructional league. During his time in Single-A and Double-A, he only played second base. That was his primary position at Tennessee as well, though he did see some limited time at shortstop and in the outfield. He played one game at third base in the Cape Cod League in 2022.

“He plays third base pretty good,” Washington said. “It’s wide open. It’s freelancing at third base. Second base, he’s got to make decisions. That’s what I want to see at second base, the type of decisions he makes. Third base, you do or don’t, you will or you won’t.”

Diversifying his defensive skill set would give Moore another path to the big leagues. The Angels project to have Luis Rengifo as their regular second baseman. He can play other spots but he’s been at the keystone most often. At third base, Anthony Rendon is going to be on the injured list for an extended period of time following hip surgery. The Angels signed Yoán Moncada to take over at the hot corner, though he has an extensive injury history of his own. He has only got into more than 104 games in a season three times in his nine-year career, the most recent instance being back in 2021.

If Moore looks capable of holding down third base and Moncada gets bit by the injury bug again, then perhaps the Angels will give Moore consideration there. Other options would include Kevin Newman or Scott Kingery, who are on the roster, as well as non-roster invitees like J.D. Davis or Tim Anderson. With Rengifo’s ability to move to third, those guys could potentially play second.

Even if Moore takes the third base job at some point this year, that will likely be a short-term proposition. Rengifo is slated for free agency at season’s end. Assuming the Halos still think the keystone is Moore’s long-term home, it should be available to him. Moncada is also on a one-year deal, so taking over third is also possible if they think he’s a better fit there. Rendon is under contract through 2026 but he hasn’t played more than 58 games in a season since 2019 and the Angels don’t seem committed to giving him playing time even when he recovers from his surgery.

Arenado’s no-trade clause was clearly a key part of the offseason narrative and the club’s efforts to trade him. Reports throughout the winter suggested there was a narrow group of clubs he was willing to join, which Woo confirms in her overview. Arenado told president of baseball operations John Mozeliak that he was willing to waive his no-trade for five clubs: the Yankees, Dodgers, Padres, Red Sox and Astros.

The first three clubs on that list never seemed especially interested. The Yankees were focused on Juan Soto at the start of the offseason. After missing out there, they pivoted to getting Max Fried, Devin Williams, Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger. The Dodgers have Max Muncy at third and didn’t seem keen on a switch. The Padres have Manny Machado at the hot corner. Arenado was reportedly willing to move to a new position but the Friars have budgetary concerns that made a fit tough regardless.

It’s well known by now that the Astros were interested and seemed to have a deal lined up, but Arenado blocked it. Reporting has suggested that Arenado was open to going to Houston but was a bit concerned by the club trading Kyle Tucker and seemingly moving on from Alex Bregman. Woo’s reporting aligns with that framing, with Arenado wanting some time to think about the possibility of becoming an Astro. She writes that he was aware they might move on while he was taking some time to ponder the idea, which is what happened. They quickly signed Christian Walker to cover first base, which effectively locked Isaac Paredes into the third base spot.

That left the Red Sox as the best landing spot for Arenado, with Boston genuinely interested. However, they bolstered their infield by waiting out Bregman and signing him, taking them out of the running for Arenado.

Woo reports that other clubs checked in about Arenado’s availability, including the Royals, Tigers, Mariners and Angels. Those were all sensible on-paper landing spots. The Royals were looking to add a big bat to the lineup and could bump Maikel Garcia to a utility role. The Tigers were involved in the Bregman market, making him a six-figure offer, clearly indicating a willingness to add an established third baseman ahead of prospect Jace Jung. The infield had been a target for the Mariners this winter, who eventually added Donovan Solano and re-signed Jorge Polanco. The Angels were looking to add at third base with Anthony Rendon no longer reliable, eventually signing Yoán Moncada. However, none of those clubs made progress with the Cardinals, as they were informed that Arenado wasn’t interested in waiving his no-trade protection for them.

All of that led to Mozeliak recently declaring that Arenado would stay a Cardinal, suggesting that he would have to change his team preferences in order for a deal to come together. That doesn’t seem likely to come to pass. Arenado has a two-year-old kid and is apparently only open to uprooting his family under very specific circumstances. It’s long been reported that Arenado is primarily motivated by winning but it appears that his off-field circumstances are also playing a notable role in his decision making. “I don’t see myself changing that list ever,” Arenado said. “I have a family now. … To be willing to pick up my family and move them, it has to be something that’s worth it.”

That’s his right as a player with a no-trade clause, though it leaves the Cardinals in an awkward spot. They are doing a reset, trying to turn the franchise away from upgrading the big league roster to a focus more on player development. It’s unclear how long it will take them to make a full-throated attempt at competing again. For now, Arenado is still on the team, which his contract running through 2027. He’ll be 36 years old in the final year of that pact.

It’s possible a trade could come together at the deadline or in another offseason, but it seems it would have to involve a change at one of Arenado’s preferred destinations. Muncy is in the final guaranteed year of his deal, so perhaps a move to the Dodgers for 2026 is possible, though they could keep Muncy around for ’26 via a $10MM club option. Goldschmidt is only on a one-year deal, so the Yankees might have more interest in an infield addition next winter. Bregman could opt out of his Boston deal, though they have a number of infield prospects likely to be coming up this year. Perhaps the Padres would have interest next winter after Luis Arráez, Dylan Cease and Michael King hit free agency, with Robert Suarez having the change to opt-out as well. A significant injury or two could always change the calculus somewhere.

“If something comes up and it makes sense, I’ll certainly get with him and we’ll talk about it,” Mozeliak said over the weekend. “But it’s not something where I’m getting up every morning and chasing the waiver wire or chasing injuries. I think from our fan perspective, from our team perspective, from our perspective, he is a part of the Cardinals.”

It’s an interesting end to an offseason where Mozeliak regarded an Arenado trade as a top priority. The Cards wanted to reduce payroll and open up some playing time for younger players. They could have dropped the payroll in other ways, such as by trading guys like Ryan Helsley or Erick Fedde, but haven’t shown much interest in doing that in the short term. Perhaps the Cardinals will end up being one of the most interesting clubs to watch when the July deadline rolls around, whether Arenado is likely to move or not.

Center field will primarily be filled by the Mickey Moniak/Jo Adell pairing. They’d projected as the right field tandem had Trout stayed up the middle. Moniak has been the primary fill-in when Trout has gone on the injured list in recent seasons. Adell only has 15 major league starts in center, but he told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) that he’s excited about the opportunity to cover more ground.

Manager Ron Washington said this week that utilityman Luis Rengifo and non-roster invitee Tim Anderson will take some center field reps in camp as well (link via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). That’s primarily a means of expanding their versatility rather than an indication that they’re in the mix for regular work on the grass. Anderson has been exclusively a middle infielder, primarily a shortstop, during his professional career. Rengifo has logged a few hundred innings in the corner outfield. His center field experience consists of 22 innings over four games in 2023.

Asked about how they’ll divvy up playing time, Washington indicated that it’ll mostly fall to Moniak and Adell but wouldn’t necessarily be a strict platoon. “I think we’ll just see. We know both of them can play it. And we’re going to really get a good look at Adell down here this spring, where he gets more reps out there. We know Moniak can play it, so we’ll just keep going in Spring Training and see where it shakes out,” the veteran skipper said (via Bollinger).

The lefty-hitting Moniak would get the bulk of playing time if they ran with a simple platoon. He’s probably the best defensive outfielder on the roster and has nearly 1500 career innings in center field. He’s coming off a subpar .219/.266/.380 offensive showing, though. Moniak has a .272 on-base percentage in 908 career plate appearances. The righty-hitting Adell has similar on-base concerns. He’s a career .211/.268/.381 hitter in more than 1000 trips to the plate. Adell popped 20 homers last season but did so with a .280 OBP that landed in the bottom 15 among players with at least 400 PAs.

Rengifo has a much stronger offensive track record. The switch-hitter put up a .300/.347/.417 slash with six homers and 24 stolen bases in 78 games last season. A wrist injury required season-ending surgery in early August, but that marked Rengifo’s second straight impressive year on a rate basis. The bat will keep him in the lineup. The Halos have never really settled on his defensive home, bouncing him around the infield.

Washington told Bollinger and other reporters that he considers third base to be Rengifo’s best position, but free agent signee Yoán Moncada is going to get a lot of run there. Rengifo projects as the season-opening second baseman, but it might not be long before Christian Moore pushes for that job.

Last year’s eighth overall pick, Moore is a bat-first second baseman who hit 34 homers during his draft year at Tennessee. He raked at a .347/.400/.584 clip in 25 games between High-A and Double-A after the draft. While Moore is unlikely to break camp with that little professional experience, the Angels have pushed their top college draftees extremely quickly. Nolan Schanuel was up within a couple months of being drafted. Zach Neto debuted midway through April the year after his selection.

If Moore follows a similar timeline, Rengifo’s center field work this spring could be significant. Depending on Moncada’s performance, third base and center field would be the easiest places to move Rengifo to open the keystone midseason. Rengifo is making $5.95MM for his final arbitration year. He’d be one of the Halos’ better deadline trade chips if they don’t stick in the playoff race.

Cáceres, 25, has spent his entire career with the Angels. An international signing out of the Dominican Republic, he was added to the roster late in 2023 and got to make a very brief big league debut. He got into two games, recording four outs, with one strikeout, two walks, two hits and one earned run allowed.

Last year was a lost season for him. He was optioned to the minors during spring training and landed on the minor league injured list to start the year with a lat strain. The Angels recalled him in May and placed him on the big league 60-day IL, in order to open a roster spot to claim Niko Goodrum off waivers. Caceres stayed on the IL for the rest of the year.

Across several minor league levels in 2023, he tossed 54 2/3 relief innings with a 4.12 ERA. His 34.8% strikeout rate was massive but he also gave out walks at a 13.1% clip. Some clubs may have been intrigued by the strikeouts but those free passes were concerning and his health is a question mark after missing an entire season.

This is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time. That means he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency. As such, he’ll stick with the Angels as some non-roster depth for their pitching staff. The Angels didn’t state whether or not Caceres has received a non-roster invite to big league camp, but it’s possible he pops up in a few spring games regardless, since even those without NRIs often get brought along to fill in.

Trout’s talents are obvious but his health, or lack thereof, has been the primary focus of his recent career. In the eight seasons from 2012 to 2019, Trout was a fixture for the Angels as their primary center fielder. He never played fewer than 114 games, got into at least 134 games in seven of those eight campaigns and got to 157 contests in four of them. He then played in 53 of the club’s 60 games in the shortened 2020 season.

But he was limited to just 36 games in 2021 by a right calf strain. He played more regularly the following year, but was still capped at 119 contests by back problems. A left hamate fracture was the primary culprit in 2023, with Trout getting into 82 games. Last year, he twice suffered a tear of his left meniscus and only got into 29 games. His production has still been very strong when on the field, but trying to keep him there more often is an obvious goal for the club.

In addition to those mounting injuries, Trout is now 33 years old and will turn 34 in August. His contract runs through 2030 and he therefore still has six seasons to get through, at a premium salary, before it runs its course. Center field is a more taxing position than either of the corners, so moving Trout over to right will detract from his value somewhat but ideally be better for his long-term health than staying up the middle.

The Angels have Taylor Ward in left field and Jorge Soler slated to be their primary designated hitter. With Trout now set to be the regular in right, they will have a question mark in center. With Trout having missed so much time in recent years, Mickey Moniak has gotten plenty of run there with good defensive metrics. He logged 445 innings up the middle in 2023 and then 800 last year. Combined with his previous center field work with the Phillies, he now has 1,465 2/3 innings at the position in his career with three Defensive Runs Saved and eight Outs Above Average.

The bigger question is what we will provide offensively. He seemed to have something of a breakout in 2023, hitting 14 home runs in 323 plate appearances, leading to a .280/.307/.495 batting line and 114 wRC+. However, there were some yellow flags in there. His 2.8% walk rate and 35% strikeout rate were both awful marks and his production seemed to be floating on top of a .397 batting average on balls in play.

Regression seemed to be likely and indeed came to pass in 2024. Though Moniak improved his walk and strikeout rates to 5% and 27.3% respectively, those were still subpar numbers. He hit another 14 home runs, but in a larger sample of 418 plate appearances. His BABIP fell to .272, far closer to the league average, which was .291 last year. His .219/.266/.380 line led to a 79 wRC+.

Moniak has 84th percentile sprint speed and those aforementioned strong grades for his glovework. That perhaps gives him a decent floor, at least capable of running down fly balls and stealing a few bases. There is perhaps a bit of upside with the bat but there’s also a chance that he’s a hole in the bottom of the lineup. The 32.% career strikeout rate is obviously a concern. Zack Gelof was the only qualified hitter to be above that in 2024. It is perhaps encouraging that Moniak has been striking out less over time. From 2021 to the present, his strikeout rate has gone from 43.2% to 39.3%, 35% and 27.3%, though even that last number is still rough.

Another option on the roster is Jo Adell, though there is perhaps even more concern with him than with Moniak. He has hit .211/.268/.381 in his career for a 78 wRC+, striking out 32.2% of the time. That includes a .207/.280/.402 line and 90 wRC+ in 2024, though with some nicer numbers under the hood. He hit 20 home runs last year and got his strikeout rate down to 27.9%. His .244 BABIP was below average and lower than his previous marks, despite decent Statcast data.

Perhaps he deserved better and there’s an offensive breakout on tap for him, though whether he can handle center field defensively is another question, as he has just 122 big league innings there. He has 3 DRS while OAA considers him to have been league average, but it’s hard to read too much into such a small sample of playing time.

It’s also possible that a platoon will form, since Moniak hits from the left side and Adell the right. Moniak has a dismal .176/.210/.244 line against lefties in his career but a more respectable .239/.282/.428 mark and 93 wRC+ against righties. Adell’s career splits aren’t massive but he was noticeably better against lefties in 2024. He only struck out 20% of the time against southpaws while slashing .245/.295/.582 for a 138 wRC+, in spite of a .232 BABIP. Against righties, he struck out 30.3% of the time and hit .195/.275/.345 for a wRC+ of 76.

They do have a notable center field prospect in Nelson Rada, though he is currently 19 years old and struggled at Double-A last year. In the short term, they could bolster the group by bringing in a veteran such as Kevin Pillar, who was with them last year and is currently unsigned.

Perhaps the Angels cane make it work but it’s an area of uncertainty on a roster that has a few of them. Anthony Rendon is slated to miss significant time yet again, leaving the Angels relying on another oft-injured player at third in Yoán Moncada. Shortstop Zach Neto is recovering from shoulder surgery and might start the season on the injured list. The rotation is currently relying on veteran soft-tossers like Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Anderson.

But those things were mostly true even before today’s news, which is a sensible one for the long run. Ideally, this development means that Trout will spend less time on the injured list and more time on the field, which will be good for both the Angels and baseball fans in general.

FEBRUARY 11: The Angels are reportedly in agreement with Kenley Jansen on a one-year, $10MM contract. The Wasserman client will step into the closer’s role and give manager Ron Washington an established option in the ninth inning.

The 37-year-old Jansen is coming off yet another fine season of closing, having finished 38 games and tallied 27 saves for the 2024 Red Sox. He notched a 3.29 earned run average, fanned 28.4% of his opponents and posted a 9.2% walk rate in 54 2/3 frames during the second of his two years in Boston.

Those 27 saves pushed him up to 447 in his career, placing him fourth all-time behind Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith. Jansen isn’t going to run down Rivera (652) and Hoffman (601), but he’s 31 saves behind Smith’s 478 — a number that seems plenty attainable, perhaps even this year. Craig Kimbrel and his 440 saves aren’t far behind, but after last season’s struggles, it’s an open question whether Kimbrel will find his way back to regular closing work this year. Jansen, meanwhile, seems like a lock to serve as the Angels’ primary closer. He reportedly drew interest from other clubs with set ninth-inning options, including the Mets, but preferred to sign in a spot that afforded him more save opportunities.

Jansen isn’t the near-automatic ninth-inning powerhouse he was earlier in his career with the Dodgers, but he’s still sporting a 3.42 ERA over the past three seasons and has never turned in a single-season ERA worse than the 3.71 he logged during 2019’s juiced-ball campaign.

The 92.2 mph Jansen averaged on his cutter last year is right in line with his average mark from 2018-23, when he posted a combined 3.45 ERA and fanned just over 30% of his opponents. He allowed a career-high level of contact within the strike zone, but his 82.6% rate in that regard was still nearly three percentage points better than average — and Jansen still induced whiffs on pitches off the plate at a strong rate.

Even though Jansen isn’t an elite reliever anymore, he’s a very good one who should help to deepen a Halos bullpen that lacked experience. Lefties Brock Burke, Jose Quijada and Jose Suarez all have four-plus years of MLB service. No other Angels reliever had even two years of service, prior to today’s agreement with Jansen.

Flamethrowing righty Ben Joyce, MLB’s hardest-throwing pitcher, had been slated for closing duties with the Angels. He’ll now drop down to a setup role that allows him to gain some more experience while giving Washington the flexibility to use his most dynamic arm in the highest-leverage situations a game presents (without feeling tempted to “save” him for the ninth inning). Joyce, a 2022 third-rounder, averaged a comical 102.1 mph on his four-seamer last year and has run the pitch up to 105 mph at times.

As a rookie in 2023, Joyce walked nearly 19% of his opponents in a small sample of 10 innings. He made significant gains in 2024, pitching 34 2/3 big league innings with a 2.08 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate. Joyce piled up grounders at a massive 58.9% clip and tallied four saves and eight holds. His 13.7% swinging-strike rate and unmatched velocity suggest there are more strikeouts in the tank as he continues to develop.

Jansen, Joyce and that previously mentioned trio of lefties will now anchor the Angel bullpen. Ryan Zeferjahn put himself in good position to win a spot this spring with a terrific 17-inning debut in 2024, but he’ll need to solidify that job during camp.

There’s a good chance the Angels will continue shopping in the relief market. They’ve reportedly been on the hunt for multiple bullpen arms, so they still feel there’s at least one spot that could yet be filled. It’s unlikely that any subsequent additions will be on the same eight-figure scale as Jansen, unless the Angels opt to double down on high-end, late-30s relievers and make a push for David Robertson. Regardless, general manager Perry Minasian should have the budget available to pursue just about any bullpen help he likes.

As things stand, the Angels project for a payroll just north of $202MM with roughly $220MM of luxury obligations, per RosterResource. That leaves them more than $10MM shy of the franchise record for Opening Day cash payroll and about $21MM shy of the $241MM luxury tax threshold.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Angels were signing Jansen. The Post’s Joel Sherman had the one-year, $10MM guarantee.

FEBRUARY 11: The Angels are reportedly in agreement with third baseman Yoán Moncada on a one-year, $5MM deal. The signing is pending a physical for the Quality Control Sports client. The Angels will need to create a 40-man roster spot once it is finalized.

Moncada, 30 in May, is looking for a rebound after a disappointing end to his eight seasons with the White Sox. The former top prospect had an up-and-down tenure in Chicago. He earned down-ballot MVP support during his best year, a 2019 season in which he hit .315/.367/.548 with a career-high 25 home runs. The Sox signed Moncada to a $70MM extension the following spring, believing he’d cemented himself as a core piece coming out of their rebuild.

That is not how things have played out. Moncada slumped to a .225/.320/.385 showing in 2020. That looked like a short-season aberration the following year, as he posted a strong .263/.375/.412 slash across 144 games. Moncada’s bat hit another sharp decline thereafter. He combined for a .234/.288/.386 line in nearly 800 plate appearances over the next two seasons. His final year in Chicago was tanked by injury. Moncada suffered a significant left adductor (groin) strain two weeks into the year. He was immediately ruled out for 3-6 months. Moncada didn’t return to the active roster until the middle of September.

By that point, the White Sox were playing out the string on the worst season in modern history. It was a foregone conclusion that they’d buy Moncada out for $5MM instead of a $25MM club option. The Sox had little reason to put him back in the lineup. He only made one appearance as a pinch-runner in the final two weeks. His season ended with 12 games and 45 plate appearances.

Moncada is now three years removed from his last strong season. At his best, he has shown above-average power and speed with a patient offensive approach. Moncada took walks at an excellent 13.6% clip back in 2021. He takes a lot of called strikes as well, so he has punched out in 29.2% of his career plate appearances. He’s a .254/.331/.424 hitter in more than 3100 major league plate appearances.

After playing second base during his first two seasons, Moncada kicked to third base in 2019. He hasn’t played anywhere other than the hot corner over the past six years. That’ll very likely be his home with the Halos. General manager Perry Minasian said at the beginning of the offseason that the Angels were not committed to giving that job back to Anthony Rendon. He’s likely headed to the bench as he enters the sixth season of his seven-year free agent deal. Luis Rengifo can take the majority of the playing time at second base, while the Halos acquired Jorge Soler to serve as their primary designated hitter.

This is the Angels’ first move of consequence in months. They were the league’s most active team in the offseason’s first few weeks. They pulled off the Soler trade while signing Kyle Hendricks, Travis d’Arnaud and Yusei Kikuchi before Thanksgiving. They had not made a major league free agent pickup since finalizing the Kikuchi deal. They’ve added a few veteran infielders on minor league contracts, including Moncada’s longtime Sox teammate Tim Anderson. With Zach Neto questionable for Opening Day following postseason shoulder surgery, Anderson could compete with free agent signee Kevin Newman for the season-opening shortstop job. The Angels may have Moncada and Anderson on the left side of their infield for at least a few weeks.

Moncada was also tied to the Blue Jays, Mariners and Cubs at points this offseason. Francys Romero reports that the Cubs made a one-year offer worth around $3MM. Moncada declined and came out $2MM ahead with the Angels. (Chicago has signed Jon Berti to serve as a multi-positional infielder and is likely to turn third base over to top prospect Matt Shaw.) This pushes the Angels payroll to approximately $193MM, as calculated by RosterResource. They’re at $210MM in luxury tax commitments, a little more than $30MM below the lowest threshold.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the $5MM agreement. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Anderson, 30, is a swingman who made six big league appearances last year between the Rangers and Marlins. He allowed 15 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings, leading to an unsightly 8.27 earned run average. That’s a tiny sample and seems to have been thrown out of shape by a .443 batting average on balls in play and 53.5% strand rate, which were both on the unlucky side. His 4.70 FIP and 4.59 SIERA were far more normal.

His work in Triple-A last year was greater in terms of quality and quantity. He tossed 63 innings over 19 appearances, including nine starts, with an even ERA of 3.00. His 23.4% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate were both strong numbers.

That’s been a pattern for Anderson for a while, as he has generally posted some intriguing numbers on the farm that haven’t translated to the big leagues. Including last year’s small sample of work, he has now thrown 152 big league innings for a 6.10 ERA, with a 16.5% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate. But over the past four years, he has logged 226 1/3 minor league innings with a 3.62 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate.

The Angels have a lot of rotation options but not a lot of certainty. Yusei Kikuchi will be locked into one spot. Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Anderson seem likely to serve as veteran innings eaters. José Soriano had a good year in 2024 but has a long track record of injuries. Reid Detmers has shown flashes of potential but is coming off a rough year. Guys like Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, Chase Silseth and Jack Kochanowicz have some intrigue but limited experience.

The Halos signed Dakota Hudson earlier this offseason for some veteran non-roster depth and now Anderson joins him in that department. Given that Anderson has long relief experience as well, that’s another possible path for him. If he gets up to the big leagues at any point, he’ll face a challenge in hanging onto it since he is out of options.

Rendon, 34, is entering the sixth season of a seven-year, $245MM contract that has proved a catastrophic misstep for the Angels organization. He played 52 of 60 possible games during his first season with the Halos and looked every bit like the star they’d hoped to sign, slashing .286/.418/.497 in 232 plate appearances. It’s been all downhill from there.

Over the past four seasons, Rendon has played 205 of a possible 648 games (31.6%) and posted an anemic .231/.329/.336 batting line. Dating back to 2021 alone, Rendon has had a staggering 12 different IL placements. This hip procedure will account for his 13th. He’s missed time with a near-interminable list of injuries which, in order, reads as follows: knee contusion, hamstring strain, hip impingement, wrist inflammation, wrist surgery, groin strain, wrist contusion, shin contusion, hamstring strain, back inflammation, oblique strain — and now hip surgery.

As Minasian explains, Rendon had a setback during his offseason rehab work, leading to the upcoming operation. Even prior to that, Minasian had stated that after the past four seasons, Rendon would not simply be handed the third base job on account of his contract. The Angels were open to everyday additions at the hot corner throughout the winter and reportedly looked into potential trades for Nolan Arenado, Alec Bohm and Eugenio Suarez. The recently signed Yoan Moncada to a one-year, $5MM deal. With Rendon out indefinitely, Moncada’s already apparent status as the team’s primary third baseman is only further solidified.

There’s no exact timetable for Rendon’s return, but at this point it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll make it back to the field in an Angels uniform. He’s been injured more often than not since signing in Anaheim and now faces the prospect of rehabbing from a major surgery in his mid-30s. He’s signed through the 2026 season, bringing him close to the point at which teams start to feel comfortable cutting bait on underwater contracts.

Given Moncada’s own lengthy injury history, the Angels may have to patch things together at the hot corner this year. Utility infielder Kevin Newman signed a big league deal early in the offseason and could see frequent time there. He may also get some early run at shortstop with Zach Neto still mending from shoulder surgery. Neto said today (via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) that he recently got some “good news” and is ahead of schedule in his recovery, but it’s still not a given that he’ll be ready for Opening Day. He’s hitting off a tee but is not yet cleared to throw.

Among the notable non-roster invitees in Angels camp who could factor into the infield mix — especially early — are Tim Anderson, J.D. Davis, Carter Kieboom and Yolmer Sanchez.

Nick Pivetta stands as the most notable starter who's yet to find a landing spot. He's surely been impacted by the qualifying offer that's hanging over his head. Any team other than the incumbent Red Sox would need to forfeit at least one draft pick (possibly two, depending on CBT status) in order to sign the longtime Boston righty. Others still on the market include veteran mid-rotation or back-end starters Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana, Kyle Gibson, Cal Quantrill, Ross Stripling, Lance Lynn and Patrick Corbin -- just to name some. (A full list can be seen here.)

This time of year, there's plenty of talk about teams that still need to add an arm. That can take different shapes, however. I wrote about the Mets' rotation for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers last week, but the Mets aren't necessarily the type of team that needs to go out and add an innings eater to step into the fourth or fifth spot in the rotation. They have myriad options there already. Any addition for them, presumably, would be a clear-cut playoff starter. It's a similar situation with the Orioles, Cubs, Blue Jays and many other postseason hopefuls. Other clubs, like the Tigers and Pirates, have a mostly set group with a bevy of interesting young, MLB-ready top prospects knocking on the door. Signing Quintana or Gibson to eat innings likely isn't in the cards for teams in either of these groups.

At this stage of the offseason, some of those available free agents might need to wait for a spring injury or a trade to create the opportunity they seek. But there are still teams around the league that are rather clearly in need of some steady innings in the Nos. 3-5 spots in the rotation. Let's run through some clubs that have the need and, as crucially, the budget (or lack thereof) to add an established veteran arm to the back of the staff.

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Petersen, 30, made his big league debut with the Dodgers last year, pitching 14 innings with a 6.43 ERA. He went from Los Angeles to the Marlins via waivers late in the year and tossed another five innings for Miami. Overall, he finished with a 5.95 ERA, 15.6% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate in his first 19 2/3 innings in the majors.

The U.K.-born Petersen spent his career prior to last season with the Rockies and Brewers organizations. He’d joined the Dodgers on a minor league pact and posted lights-out numbers in Triple-A: 1.64 ERA, 35.2% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate in 33 innings. Petersen’s towering 6’7″ frame only makes his 97 mph heater and upper-80s cutter play up. That power arm, last year’s huge numbers in the minors and multiple minor league option years have combined to make a popular waiver target. The Angels will be his fourth organization since September.

Cáceres, 25, missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn lat. He made his MLB debut with the 2023 Angels but pitched just 1 1/3 innings in that brief cup of coffee. He’s posted solid numbers in the minors with the Halos, most recently working to a combined 4.12 ERA with a 34.8% strikeout rate and 13.1% walk rate in 54 2/3 innings across three levels. That included a dominant 10-inning run in Triple-A, where he allowed just one run on five hits and five walks with 11 strikeouts.

Cáceres sits 95-96 mph with his heater and couples the pitch with a curveball and changeup. He still has multiple minor league options remaining, so perhaps another club will be intrigued by the optionable power arm and place a claim or work out a small trade. His health outlook remains murky for now, but an optionable 25-year-old with a power arm and a history of missing bats is the type of prospect teams love to speculate on if they have the roster space.

This marks Rengifo’s final trip through the arbitration process before reaching free agency next winter. The switch-hitting 27-year-old (28 later this month) has been a steady presence in the Halos’ infield for the past three years, batting a combined .273/.323/.431 in that time and improving his overall output each season along the way. This past season, Rengifo posted a hearty .300/.347/.417 with six homers and a career-high 24 steals in just 78 games/304 plate appearances.

Unfortunately for both Rengifo and the Angels, he missed nearly half the season with a wrist injury that twice sent him to the injured list — first on July 5 and then again on Aug. 3 in what wound up being a season-ending placement. That injury limited Rengifo’s earning power in arbitration and also ruled out any possibility of a summer trade. The Angels were more focused on trading impending free agents than players with control beyond 2024 anyhow, so perhaps he never would’ve been on the block, but the wrist issue also surely gave interested teams some pause.

Heading into the 2025 season, Rengifo looks poised to be the Angels’ primary second baseman. He’s comfortable all over the diamond, with 600+ innings at each of second, third and shortstop (plus another 238 innings in the outfield). Continued health troubles for oft-injured third baseman Anthony Rendon could see Rengifo slide back over to the hot corner, but yesterday’s agreement between the Angels and Yoan Moncada gives manager Ron Washington more options at the hot corner.

With Rengifo’s case now settled, the Angels have wrapped up this year’s arbitration dealings. They went 0-for-2 in hearings, losing to both Rengifo and outfielder Mickey Moniak. The Angels also exchanged figures with lefty reliever Jose Quijada, but the two parties managed to strike up a deal about a week after that exchange, negating the need for a hearing.