2 dream Winter Meetings free agency signings for Angels fans

The Winter Meeting are one week away and the world may never be the same again afterwards. In recent years, MLB's hot stove has not lived up to the billing. However, it is largely anticipated that Juan Soto signs in the next 10 days or so, then the ball will really get rolling with every subsequent free agent.

The Angels have set the market for everybody else. They established a price point for a ~tier 1.5~ starting pitcher after signing Yusei Kikuchi to a deal averaging $21 million in AAV. The Angels' GM has reiterated that the team is far from done, even though he has drained his notoriously cheap owner's wallet a considerable amount already.

“What we've done so far, we've been pretty aggressive and we're going to continue to be aggressive,” Minasian said. “I wouldn't say anything is off limits. With the year we had, there's definitely areas to get better. Really, every area, whether it's rotation, lineup, bullpen, bench depth. We'll look to tackle and attack all those areas and continue to improve this club.”

When a team needs help all over the place, anything and everything is still on the table acquisition-wise. With the remaining payroll they have left, and trying to stay somewhat realistic (avoiding any player who was offered the qualifying offer, as the Angels are in no position to lose draft picks), who would Angels fans love to see Minasian acquire here shortly?

We will solely focus on free agency signings here, but in terms of dream trade targets: Brandon Lowe, Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, and Sonny Gray are some names that come to mind.

Also of note: the number one dream signing would be Roki Sasaki, but Rob Manfred indicated that "Sasaki is likely to sign after the league’s 2025 international signing period begins on Jan. 15." So, that would be post-Winter Meetings.

Ha-Seong Kim

This would be a great addition for the Angels for multiple reasons. First off, he is coming off a labrum surgery so he might opt for a one year, prove it deal rather than a 2-3 year guaranteed deal with a high AAV. If the Angels snag Kim, they could potentially extract an inordinate amount value on a short-term contract. Over the past two seasons for this year's position player free agent class, Kim's 6.9 fWAR only trails Soto's 14.2, Alex Bregman's 8.6, and Willy Adames' 8.0. A get-right year for Kim on his next team would give that club an extra leg-up in his sweepstakes the following offseason. If his labrum surgery drastically affects his above-average arm strength, then the Angels could move off of him after a 1 year experiment.

Kim is a utility-man extraordinaire. With Zach Neto's injury potentially sidelining him for the beginning of the season and massive third base concerns that have persisted over multiple years, Kim's ability to provide top-tier defense all over the infield would pay dividends. Last season with the Padres, Kim solely played shortstop on a roster that has Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatís Jr. He won the Gold Glove for utility players in 2023, as he scattered around short, third, and second. Kim is essentially Kevin Newman, but has a higher offensive and defensive floor and ceiling.

Like Minasian has said about Kikuchi, signing Kim would help the rest of the roster slot into a more realistic role. Newman would not have to play every day, Scott Kingery would not be a vital cog in the engine as he low-key is right now, Luis Rengifo could focus primarily on his better position of second base, Christian Moore could continue to develop at the minor league level, and Anthony Rendon could be purged from the roster so the team no longer has to cling to some notion that he will salvage his Angels tenure.

Nathan Eovaldi

Eovaldi will be entering his age-35 season in 2025, and the former fireballer is settling into a revised version of himself. Like many pitchers have experienced before him, Eovaldi no longer has his blazing fastball (he still averages an above average 95mph, but he used to average 97mph for many years). However, like a C.C. Sabathia or Jon Lester, Eovaldi still holds tremendous value moving forward because of a new, effective approach that he has unlocked for himself.

In 2024, Eovaldi's 2.7 fWAR led the Rangers pitchers. His four-seam has a unique, two-seam-esque movement profile due to its arm-side run, but he really was able to retire batters with an offspeed-based arsenal. He threw his splitter almost as often as his four-seam, added in some cutters, and used his fourth pitch, a curveball, more often than many starters use their no. 4 pitch (he threw his curve 14% of the time). His offspeed run value was in the 90th percentile, a great sign that Eovaldi will be able to pitch well as he continues to age.

If the Angels are serious about contending, they need pitchers with a track record of playoff success. Kikuchi does not have that, he has 1.2 innings of total postseason experience. Even though he dominated down the stretch for Houston last season, the Astros did not even use him during their wild card round against Detroit. Kyle Hendricks has postseason experience, but relying heavily upon him as a playoff stopper in 2025 would be a mistake. If Tyler Anderson sticks around, he has 12 innings of solid playoff stats. He does not inspire overwhelming confidence in the playoff department, though.

Eovaldi is a big-game pitcher. He does not necessarily need to be a team's ace in the regular season in order to pitch like one in the playoffs. Eovaldi sports a 3.05 ERA in 79.2 postseason innings, and earned his World Series rings while with the '18 Red Sox and '23 Rangers. He also pitched admirably during the '21 playoffs with Boston.

The Angels would be taking away the Rangers' most valuable arm from last season, while potentially adding their own. Eovaldi would be a great pick-up, and add some more legitimacy to the Angels' devotion to contend during 2025 season.

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