The Winter Meetings are over and boy were they entertaining. Things were pretty quiet on the Angels front as they only made one move, signing Carlos Estevez, but there was so much movement in baseball as a whole.
Hopefully, things continue to move as the Winter Meetings are done. There are still prominent names available like Carlos Correa, Carlos Rodon, Brandon Nimmo, and plenty of others. What the Angels do will be exciting to see!
The Halos were reportedly one of the finalists for Willson Contreras. This can be viewed as a good thing or a bad thing. It’s good that they’re willing to spend at least most of what it’d take to get Contreras on board. It can be looked at as a bad thing that they were looking into a 30-year-old catcher when they just traded for Logan O’Hoppe.
The Angels are reportedly looking into Seth Lugo as a starter. I like Lugo as a reliever but he hasn’t shown much of anything as a starter since he first came up in 2016. He wouldn’t be the worst option as a sixth starter and maybe he can find a groove as a full-time member of the rotation, but I’d shoot a little higher if I’m the Angels. They clearly have the money!
The Mets signed former Angel Jose Quintana to a two-year $26 million dollar deal. I know most Angels fans refuse to forgive Quintana for his struggles in an Angels uniform but he had a tremendous season in 2022 and the Mets got him on pretty cheap terms relative to how the pitching market has shaped up. Quintana was linked to the Angels earlier this offseason.
The Red Sox signed Kenley Jansen to a two-year $32 million dollar deal. I thought Kenley being an established closer would be a pretty good fit with the Angels but at $16 million dollars for multiple seasons I’m good with them passing.
In the most surprising move of free agency this far, the Athletics actually did something! They signed Aledmys Diaz to a two-year $14 million dollar deal. This doesn’t mean much, but Diaz stays in the AL West and again, the A’s did something!
The Dodgers are reportedly not pursuing Carlos Correa (subscription required). Correa of course was a part of the 2017 Astros who beat the Dodgers in the World Series. I understand why they believe their fans wouldn’t welcome Correa, but the Angels shouldn’t feel this way. They should go hard after Correa and try to lure him to Anaheim.
The Red Sox signed Masataka Yoshida to a five-year $90 million dollar deal. He’s the first of the Japanese players to sign this offseason. Maybe the Angels can get Kodai Senga to pair with Shohei Ohtani?
In the biggest news of the night, the Padres signed Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year $280 million dollar deal. San Diego gets their star after missing out on Trea Turner and Aaron Judge. The Angels need a shortstop but it’s hard to fault them for not having interest in giving a 30-year-old an 11-year deal. (Whatever it takes to get the AAV down I guess?) Good for the Padres for going all-in, but 11 years for a guy who probably won’t be playing the position in five or fewer is pretty crazy.
Next. Rob Manfred gives an exciting Angels sale update. dark