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

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Reunions are always fun storylines, but they need to make sense for both sides. The Angels have a few former players on the open market and a lot of roster holes to fill, but would any of them help the Angels compete next season?

The Angels are increasing payroll next season, but need to do so in a savvy manner. They will avoid big-ticket items, and instead plug away in the mid-lower tier free agent class as they normally do. If they were to consider bringing back former Angels, who should they opt-in on and should they opt-out on?

2 former Angels they should re-sign

Alex Cobb

When the Cleveland Guardians go after a pitcher, it is usually a good sign that he has solid upside.

Cobb certainly has that, and showed Angels fans as much during his 2021 campaign. During his sole season with the Halos, he posted a 2.92 FIP and 119 ERA+...two of the best marks of his career. With the Giants in 2023, Cobb made his first All Star team in his age-35 season. While he was injured for the majority of 2024 and the injury risk remains high, Cobb could far out-perform his contract figure in 2025. He will likely sign to a 1 year deal wherever he goes. The Angels would risk nothing and could reap a high reward if Cobb can stay healthy.

Cobb has a unique and effective pitch arsenal. His most used pitch last season was his 89mph, depthy splitter, followed by his mid-90s sinker, and then his gigantic curveball. He is a groundball savant, who does not walk batters, and avoids barrels. Cobb would fill-in well next to José Soriano and Kyle Hendricks.

Max Stassi

This is more of an emotional take than a logical one. The Angels need catcher depth in the wake of designating Matt Thaiss for assignment, and eventually trading him to Chicago for cash considerations.

Stassi has not been in the big leagues since 2022, and will undoubtedly accept a minor league deal in order to reclaim his career that has been derailed due to injuries and an incredibly scary personal situation.

Bringing back Stassi, and allowing him to learn from Sal Fasano and Travis d'Arnaud, would be a great story of an old Angels player helping usher in a new approach. Stassi would be a welcome sight at Spring Training, and the Angels could do much worse in terms of depth options at the catcher position.

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.

Gio Urshela

The logic that led to the Angels signing Gio Urshela before the 2023 season still remains before the 2025 season. The Angels could use Urshela's skillset, particularly on a minor league deal. He could be a useful depth option at third base, a position of extreme turmoil for the Angels. Urshela was fine for the Angels in '23 before he was lost for the season due to a fractured left pelvis. He had a .299 batting average and played all over the infield.

It was a tale of two cities for Urshela in 2024. He was ineffectual with Detroit, but a spark plug with Atlanta. In only 36 games with the Braves, Urshela's 4.4 defensive fWAR ranked fifth amongst their position players. His OAA ranked in the 86th percentile last season.

The Angels brought in Kevin Newman and Scott Kingery as their utility players, who will fill-in for Zach Neto while he is on the shelf (and inevitably Anthony Rendon). They still have Luis Rengifo as well. The Angels are valuing veterans with great makeup this offseason, and Urshela fits the bill there still. His defense was great last year and the Angels have a lot of sinkerballers who generate a lot of ground balls. Adding Urshela as organizational depth given his Braves production makes sense, so why not sign him?

If the Angels need a player to come in and make a spark if Rengifo, Rendon, Newman, and/or Kingery get injured or are ineffective, they should opt for a younger player. If they need a third baseman, Matthew Lugo has experience at that position. They just added Lugo to their 40-man roster to protect him from being taken in the Rule-5 Draft, and he should be MLB ready at some point next season coming off of a hand injury. The 23-year-old could, and should, be moved back to the infield for the Angels, as they are in need of infield depth more than outfield depth next season.

How about giving Christian Moore a shot? Moore was on-track to make his MLB debut in the same year he was drafted, and should be on the same trajectory next season. A youth movement in the wake of their veterans' potential unproductiveness would behoove the Angels next year.

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