2 Angels fall victim to the non-tender deadline as team whittles down 40-man roster

Perry Minasian is no stranger to removing players from the Los Angeles Angels' roster, as evidenced by the last few seasons. Take a look at the 2024 roster, for example, and try and count how many players are still with the organization. Well, ahead of the non-tender deadline the Angels made two players free agents.

2 Angels fall victim to the non-tender deadline as team whittles down 40-man roster

Gustavo Campero and Sebastián Rivero are now free agents, as the Angels decided to not tender the two position players contracts. All the eyes were on the arbitration-eligible players like Taylor Ward (who wound up getting dealt), Jo Adell (who is in trade rumors), and other players like Brock Burke, José Soriano, Reid Detmers, Zach Neto, Logan O'Hoppe. Well, pre-arbitration players were also subject to the non-tender deadline and Campero and Rivero are now off the 40-man.

With the switch-hitting Campero hitting free agency, the Angels have a sole left-handed hitter on the 40-man roster in Nolan Schanuel. Campero, who had been a DFA candidate for over a year now, is off of it for the time being.

Campero is more likely to return to the Angels than Rivero, who is virtually a journeyman catcher. The Angels have long-valued Campero due to his unique background of being a bullpen catcher, then transitioning to the outfield and working his way to the big leagues the past couple of seasons. Bryce Teodosio is a recent example of an Angels player who was non-tendered and wound up coming back to the organization in free agency (Teodosio signed a MiLB shortly after getting non-tendered).

The Angels have just 33 players on the 40-man roster, which does currently include Anthony Rendon -- who the team might actually cut ties with this time around. The team just saved roughly $13 million by trading Ward for Grayson Rodriguez, and the Angels are being looked at as spenders this offseason especially with the plethora of available spots on the 40-man. The Angels will likely add a player or two to the 40-man via the Rule 5 Draft (which takes place at the upcoming Winter Meetings), but they have other DFA candidates they could take off if they need room for more players they acquire via trade or free agency.