2 former Angels players they should re-sign and 2 they should not

2 former Angels they should not re-sign

Carlos Estévez

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel put it succinctly: "If the aging slugger is first on the list of player types you don't pay retail price for, the reliever coming off of a career year is next. The reality is that this type of reliever is often an even worse bet, but you don't usually have to pay as much as you do for the aging slugger." McDaniel projected his contract in the 3 year, $36 million range for his age 32, 33, and 34 seasons.

The Angels are, and should be, scarred by previous relief pitcher signings like Robert Stephenson, Aaron Loup, and Ryan Tepera. Bringing Estévez back at a similar contract figure risks far too much, even if he can somewhat replicate his success with the Angels in 2023 and at the beginning of 2024.

There are myriad other veteran relievers the Angels should consider in the free agency market, as well as some internal options who can recreate Estévez's production moving forward. Sure, the Angels could use Estévez as a back-end reliever, but they should use Ben Joyce as their full-time closer next year. Bringing back Estévez at that contract figure would bump Joyce back to a set-up man, where the team should instead utilize Joyce in the 9th and bring in a cheaper reliever who can fill-in as the closer on days where Joyce is burned.