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

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.