17 free agent relievers who the Angels might consider reuniting with Mike Maddux

There's a case to be made that the Angels need relievers far more desperately than they need starting pitching. The Angels do not have the highest ranked starting pitching prospects, but they do have many potentially serviceable starters in Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, Ryan Johnson, Víctor Mederos and even Mitch Farris (Jack Kochanowicz maybe could be added into this group). The bullpen, however, is perhaps losing their closer and relying on incredibly injury-prone set-up men in Ben Joyce and Robert Stephenson. It's a problem when Brock Burke is far-and-away the most reliable reliever you have.

All that being said, Mike Maddux is a force multiplier of a pitching coach. Like with many of the free agent starting pitchers, Maddux has many ties to some intriguing relievers on the open market. The pitching-needy Angels might want to key-in on some Maddux products to help them revive their careers.

17 free agent relievers who the Angels might consider reuniting with Mike Maddux

Ryan Helsley

This one's a layup. Helsley could be the best example of a buy-low candidate that could far out-perform his next contract. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel did not even include Helsley as a top-50 free agent, and had relievers like Seranthony Dominguez, Caleb Ferguson, and Helsley's former teammate Steven Matz (more on him later) ranked above him.

Maddux served as St. Louis' pitching coach from 2018-2022, and Helsley debuted for the Red Birds in 2019 and pitched for them until mid-way through the 2025 season. 2022 was Helsley's breakout campaign, as he posted a 1.25 ERA, 2.34 FIP, 0.74 WHIP, 19 saves, 4 blown saves, a 13.08 K/9 in 64.2 innings pitched. It makes total sense for Helsley to reunite with Maddux to revive his career after he posted a 7.20 ERA in 20 innings pitched for the New York Mets.

Shawn Armstrong

Armstrong was historically great against right-handed hitters last season under Mike Maddux. He is a perfect fit for many teams, but especially the Angels as a cheaper set-up man and swing 9th inning stopper.

Like with Helsley, he is not necessarily viewed as being in the same class as other free agent relievers like Edwin Díaz, Robert Suarez, Raisel Iglesias, Devin Williams, Seranthony Dominguez, Kyle Finnegan, Emilio Pagan, Brad Keller, Tyler Rogers or Kenley Jansen. However, there is certainly a world where he could out-play many of those arms if he reunites with Maddux in Anaheim.

Hoby Milner

Yes, many of these names will be Rangers relievers. Milner is one of four free agent arms on this list that have Angels ties. The southpaw had such a disastrous tenure with the Angels in 2020, and all he's done after leaving Anaheim was turn himself into a bona fide stopper. Milner is the type of pitcher who will continue to pitch for many years, despite being a 34-year-old thumber. His pitches move a whole lot, and he punishes left-handed hitters.

Brock Burke is the only left-handed reliever the Angels have now that Reid Detmers is moving back into the rotation and Andrew Chafin (more on him later) is a free agent. Milner is a far more traditional left-handed reliever than Burke, and he would be a cheap, valuable middle reliever for the Halos.

Kirby Yates

Speaking of former Angels who were revived in Texas under Maddux, Yates will be far-cheaper this offseason than he was last year when he was scooped up by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The injury and effectiveness concerns for the soon-to-be 39-year-old are real. However, his dominant 2024 season for Texas simply cannot be ignored -- a 1.17 ERA, 2.50 FIP, 0.83 WHIP, 12.41 K/9 and a 33:1 save to blown save ratio.

Yates' 2024 season was by far the best of his career, and Maddux oversaw it. Bringing him back to the Angels makes all the sense in the world.

David Robertson

Robertson has been the apple of Halo Hangout's eye for some time now, as despite his age he can still carve up hitters. Robertson will be a buy-low option, as he willingly signed mid-season last year because he was not getting what he thought he deserved in free agency (Robertson represents himself, he does not have an agent).

Robertson had a mid season when he signed mid-season with Philadelphia, but he could certainly out-perform his next contract if he gets a normal ramp-up period with an organization.

Phil Maton

Maton had a couple unfortunate outings for the Rangers after he came over at the trade deadline that inflate his stats, but overall he was a dominant arm for them out of the bullpen. He does not have high-octane velo (pretty much all of these relievers do not), but he has a fantastic array of breaking balls that he locates well.

Like with Armstrong, Maton is a set-up man who is a solid option to close games in a pinch. He is a versatile reliever who can go multiple innings and pitch on back-to-back days. He might be one of the more expensive names on this list given his solid CV in MLB, however. Maton might not be the best value free agent, but is worth a look.

Chris Martin

Like with Robertson, Martin is a rock-solid veteran reliever even though he is turning 40-years-old in June. Martin is the picture of a leader in the clubhouse who could set the tone in the bullpen, and also still has some gas left in his tank.

Martin will undoubtedly need an IL-stint in 2026, but when he stays on the field he can get outs. Like with Maton, he had a couple disastrous outings (including one on June 24th where he went 0.0 innings and allowed 3 home runs) that inflated his 2025 stats. Despite the blow-ups, he still finished 2025 with a 2.98 ERA which speaks to how well he did overall.

Danny Coulombe

Again, like with many of these names, Coulombe is a fantastic buy-low reliever that the Angels need to consider. Coulombe and Milner are incredibly redundant as a bullpen option, but both do what they do very well. Coulombe has more experience and effectiveness as a set-up man throughout his career than Milner, and will probably be the cheaper addition.

Like with Maton, Coulombe was shipped to Texas at the trade deadline but went down with an injury and largely disappointed. However, with Minnesota that year he had a 1.16 ERA and with Baltimore the year prior he had a 2.12 ERA.

Luis García

García's an old guy! He pitched under Maddux for the Cardinals back in 2021, AKA six teams ago. Regardless of who the Angels tabbed as their 2026 pitching coach, the Angels would have been highly motivated to bring García back given how he looked for them the past couple of seasons.

Separately, García's career is a great reason for the Angels to be motivated to bring back Milner and/or Yates -- a pitcher who failed for them years ago, revived his career, had a down-year, then came back and revived his career yet again.

Steven Matz

Matz will have a lot of teams gunning for his services, but perhaps he wants to take a deal with the Angels to pair back up with Maddux, right? Well, maybe not as they overlapped for one year in St. Louis back in 2022 and Matz posted a 5.25 ERA in 15 games.

Matz pitched well last year for both the Red Birds and BoSox, and is one of the few marquee left-handed relievers this offseason. A reunion with Maddux in Anaheim is unlikely unless the Angels Godfather option him.

Andrew Chafin

Like with Luis García, Chafin is a pitcher the Angels were going to pursue whether or not they brought in Maddux. Both García and Chafin pitched admirably for the Halos after being brought over from Washington.

Chafin was traded to the Rangers in 2024 and did not pitch incredibly well under Maddux. Between that and Chafin not loving the state of California, he's likely to explore other options as a free agent.

José Leclerc

Leclerc is only 31-years-old, even though it feels like he's been around forever. He debuted in 2016 with Texas, so he overlapped with Maddux twice (2016-2018 and 2023-2024). Leclerc would be a solid MiLB contract candidate for the Angels.

T.J. McFarland

McFarland was teammates with Leclerc last season in Sacramento, and pitched for Maddux in St. Louis back in 2021 and 2022. His last above average season was with the Cardinals in 2021, so the southpaw seems like a prime candidate to sign with the Angels to work with Maddux again.

John Brebbia

Brebbia's career year came under Maddux in 2021. He is yet another fine MiLB candidate for the Angels.

Luke Jackson

OK, last member of the 2025 Rangers here. Jackson actually had two separate stints with Maddux as his pitching coach, and started last year as the Rangers' closer. He had a massive fall-from-grace and is more than likely washed.

Chris Stratton

The last member of this list with Angels ties (he pitched for the Halos back in 2019) pitched for Maddux in St. Louis in 2022 and in Texas in 2023. Like with McFarland, both of those years were career years for the righty.

Génesis Cabrera

Cabrera is basically out of baseball, but he was an up-and-coming starting pitcher prospect with the Cardinals once upon a time.