Los Angeles Angels: Cam Bedrosian becomes a free agent
The Angels have announced that they have sent both infielder Elliot Soto and catcher Jose Briceño to Triple-A Salt Lake. In addition, they also announced that they out-righted right-handed reliever Cam Bedrosian, but that he has elected to become a free agent instead of accepting the demotion.
Jose Briceño is a 28-year-old catcher that has left a lot to be desired in his major league career that has spanned just 48 games. The backstop has posted a slash line that includes a lifetime .238 batting average and .678 on base plus slugging percentage. He also posted an 89 wRC+, 11 percent below league average. He received just six plate appearances for the Halos in 2020, playing in only two games.
Elliot Soto saw three games of action for the Angels this past season, grabbing seven plate appearances. He did well in those appearances, but at 31 years of age, Soto is likely no more than a depth piece at this juncture. Soto spent ten seasons waiting for his big-league call-up and will likely end up spending time in Triple-A Salt Lake until the Angels find a need for a bench bat or utility man in 2021.
Cam Bedrosian at one point was the closer for the Angels, but has fallen from grace in recent seasons. Bedrosian looked poised to be one of the best relievers in baseball after posting an elite 1.12 ERA across 40 1/3 innings pitched in 2016, but he has never replicated that production since. Bedrosian will likely draw a lot of interest from rival clubs this winter given his experience at the big league level and his relative success. Bedrosian has posted a 3.70 ERA across 277 2/3 big league innings of work.
Many more moves like this will be set to flow in and out of the Angels news cycle in the coming weeks given the nature of the offseason beast. Hopefully, the moves become bigger for the Halos in an addition sense and not a subtraction sense.