Free-agent pitchers the Angels could target as the Winter Meetings begin
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — While much of the news made by the Angels over the past month involved hiring Manager Ron Washington and his staff, they now begin the Winter Meetings looking to what’s most important.
Adding some new players.
So far this winter left-hander Adam Kolarek is the only player the Angels have added to the 40-man roster, leaving plenty of work for General Manager Perry Minasian as he looks to build a team to end their nine-year playoff drought.
Pitching is obviously the focus.
The Angels aren’t going to be able to trade for any sort of impact pitcher like Dylan Cease or Corbin Burnes because their farm system has been depleted. A deal like that would probably mean giving up someone like Reid Detmers or Chase Silseth, plus other prospects.
That leaves free agency.
The Angels are currently approximately $73 million short of the luxury tax threshold of $237 million, according to Roster Resource at FanGraphs.
The Angels bumped up against the luxury tax last season, finishing less than $30,000 under the threshold, but owner Arte Moreno definitely showed a willingness to go over it for a chance to contend. The Angels were over before they fell out of the race and unloaded some salaries on waivers and placed Max Stassi on the restricted list.
If they’re going to sign two-way star Shohei Ohtani, he would obviously eat up a large chunk of their remaining payroll space. Although the Angels’ chances of re-signing Ohtani shouldn’t be dismissed entirely, for now, let’s assume that they won’t get him back.
Even if they did re-sign Ohtani, he wouldn’t be able to help their pitching staff in 2024 anyway, because he’s rehabbing from elbow surgery.
Here’s a look at some of the free-agent pitchers – starters and relievers – who make the most sense for the Angels. Bear in mind that the Angels might need to overpay for any of these pitchers to lure them away from teams that seem to be more likely to contend. (Ages are as of June 30 next season. The estimated cost is for 2024 only.)
RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, age 25: Yamamoto is widely considered the top pitcher available. He had a 1.82 ERA over seven years in Japan, with 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings. He won the Japanese version of the Cy Young Award and the Pacific League MVP Award each of the last three years. He is also coming to the majors at a younger age than most Japanese pitchers, making him an even more attractive commodity. If there’s any reason for concern, it’s that he’s only 5-foot-10, and short right-handers traditionally haven’t been big winners in MLB. Cost: $25M-$28M.
LHP Blake Snell, age 31: Snell is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, including taking the award in 2023, so he’s the top current major leaguer available. Snell had a 2.25 ERA in 180 innings last season. He did issue a major-league high 99 walks, though. Cost: $25M-$28M.
LHP Jordan Montgomery, age 31: Montgomery helped the Texas Rangers to the World Series title after a midseason trade from the St. Louis Cardinals. Without much fanfare, Montgomery has strung together three straight seasons with 30 starts and an ERA below 4.00. Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees and Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays are the only other two pitchers in the majors who did that. Cost: $20M-$23M.
LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, age 31: Rodriguez bounced back nicely from missing much of the 2022 season with a personal issue. He posted a 3.30 ERA in 152⅔ innings with the Detroit Tigers. That was his best season since 2019. Rodriguez vetoed a trade to the Dodgers last summer, so it’s fair to wonder if he’d be interested in signing with a West Coast team now. Cost: $17M-$20M.
RHP Marcus Stroman, age 33: Stroman had a 3.95 ERA in 136⅔ innings with the Chicago Cubs last season, although he finished poorly. He had three bad starts in July and then missed a month with right hip and rib injuries, before coming back for eight innings in September. He then chose to opt out of his $21 million deal with the Cubs for 2024. Cost: $20M-$23M.
RHP Michael Wacha, age 32: Wacha certainly doesn’t qualify as a potential top-of-the-rotation starter, but he could offer some good value and depth for a rotation. He’s made at least 23 starts each of the past three years, with an ERA of 3.84. That includes a 3.27 mark over the past two years. He missed five weeks with shoulder inflammation last summer, which could be concerning, but he returned in August and had a 3.88 ERA over his last nine starts. Cost: $10-13M.
LHP Josh Hader, age 30: Hader is the best reliever on the market, and he figures to get paid accordingly. A five-time All-Star, Hader had a 1.28 ERA and 33 saves last season with the Padres. He’s posted a 2.50 ERA over his career. Steve Karsay, who will reportedly be hired as the Angels’ bullpen coach, was the Brewers’ bullpen coach during three of Hader’s seasons in Milwaukee. Although Carlos Estévez was good enough for most of the year to warrant keeping his closer job, an addition of Hader’s caliber would make it a no-brainer to move Estévez to the eighth inning. Cost: $16M-$20M.
RHP Jordan Hicks, age 27: The second-best reliever on the market, Hicks is especially attractive because of his age. He was very good in his first two years, then sat out during the pandemic in 2020 and struggled for two years before coming back strong in 2023, posting a 3.29 ERA with 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Hicks has been a setup man, so the Angels certainly wouldn’t be tied to him closing if he wasn’t pitching as well as Estévez. Cost: $7M-$10M.
LHP Will Smith, age 34: Obviously, everyone in baseball ought to want Smith. He’s been on the World Series-winning team three years in a row. Besides that, he pitched pretty well last year, with 55 strikeouts and 17 walks in 57⅓ innings. He also recorded 22 saves. His 4.40 ERA was deceptive because he had a WHIP of just 1.06. Also, Minasian was the Braves’ assistant GM when Smith signed with Atlanta in 2019. Washington was on the coaching staff for both of Smith’s seasons in Atlanta, in 2020 and 2021. Cost: $4M-$6M.