Angels 2015 Salary Arbitration Preview

Aug 10, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Hector Santiago throws a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning during the game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

SP Hector Santiago

Hector Santiago has been plagued by inconsistency during his brief career, and that trend continued in his first season with the Angels in 2014. The 27-year-old southpaw was acquired by the Halos in December of 2013, and he immediately took hold of a spot in the back end of the starting rotation. Santiago posted decent numbers last season, going 6-9 with a 3.75 ERA over the course of 24 outings. Santiago failed to impress in the key categories however, averaging 7.6 strikeouts per 9 innings, and recording a strikeout to walk ratio of just 2.04. He allowed an average of 1.36 walks/hits per inning, and posted a FIP of 4.29.

The Angels spent $520,000 on Hector Santiago in 2014. MLB Trade Rumors believes Santiago is due to earn $2.2 million in his first year of arbitration eligibility. That is a number that makes sense to both sides, and I expect Santiago to gladly accept that amount. Jerry Dipoto and his staff have aggressively sought out some young arms to compete for a spot in the rotation this spring. While the Halos do not seem prepared to give up on the 27-year-old, it is fair suggest they are creating contingency plans incase he never develops into a quality starter. The Bloomfield, NJ product exudes charisma, but it will take more than a smile to carve out a long-term future with the Angels organization.

UPDATE: The Angels avoided arbitration with Hector Santiago by signing him to a one-year deal worth $2.29 million on Thursday. Santiago managed to score a few extra thousand from he Halos than MLBTR had projected.

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