LA Angels: 5 non-tendered players to look at

Curt Casali

The Angels are need of a backup catcher, someone that can help split time with current Angels catcher Max Stassi and while the team does need pitching as well, why not go and get the number one free agent pitcher’s battery mate? Casali was splitting time with Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart as Casali was more of offensive of the two, he slashed .260/.345/.440 with 18 home runs in less than 500 plate appearances across the three seasons he spent with the Reds.

In 2020, Trevor Bauer’s stats while Casali was the one catching him were sharp as he had an ERA of 1.82 in 39.2 innings pitched with 54 strikeouts and held opponents batting average to a .145 which is absurdly low. Casali was also trusted with catching Bauer in the National League Wild Card series against the Atlanta Braves where Bauer went 7.2 innings giving up no runs on only 2 hits with 12 strikeouts.

Casali being non-tendered means he should be considered reasonably cheap as the Cincinnati Reds clearly thought he wasn’t valuable enough to be tendered a contract. In an interview with Christopher Russo on MLB Network, Casali mentioned that he was very involved with the prep work that went into Bauer’s starts and that while Bauer mostly led the charge between the two of them, Casali was on the same page with him terms of attacking hitters at the plate.

Getting a guy like Casali would be a huge get for the Angels both in terms of needing an extra catcher and making a strong sails pitch to land Trevor Bauer as they would both get to adjust to both being back in the American League.