Angels Rumors: Dylan Bundy’s 2022 free-agent rank and projected contract

It’s no secret Angels starter Dylan Bundy grows more expensive each time he takes the mound this season.

We’re only 11 games into the 162-game marathon so there’s obviously a ways to go, but given the Halos pitching situation, it’s a topic the front office needs to address. The only current player in the six-man rotation under contract for next season is Shohei Ohtani. Right-hander Griffin Canning will also enter his first year of arbitration in the offseason. Those are the only guaranteed options beyond 2021.

The Angels can build towards future rotation now with Dylan Bundy.

Bundy, Alex Cobb, Jose Quintana, Andrew Heaney, will all become free agents. Maybe the Halos will consider using top prospects No.2 Reid Detmers or No.4 Chris Rodriguez in the rotation, but their lack of experience leaves questions. Even if the Angels decide to use either as starting pitchers, that still leaves one or two spots to fill.

If they plan on contending for a World Series they’ll need to make a trade, or commit some long-term money on proven options in the upcoming free-agent class.

Luckily, the Angels will have roughly $111.2 million in guaranteed contracts for the 2022 payroll. They have plenty to spend so that leaves room to extend Bundy, and sign another starter or address other areas of the team.

In terms of how much Bundy will and should get paid, I think it’d be accurate to compare him to Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. The right-hander is one year younger (27) than Bundy (28), and the two have similar numbers over the past two seasons. While McCullers has better overall career statistics, Bundy has outperformed him going back to 2020.

Angels: Dylan Bundy is projected a similar deal to starter in the AL West.

McCullers signed a five-year, $85 million extension in March. I think Bundy earning a deal in the neighborhood of four-years, $80 million can be expected if he continues his current trends.

McCullers and Bundy Last Two Seasons:

• McCullers (14 starts): 68.2 IP (4.22 ERA) (1.188 WHIP) (9.5 K/9)
• Bundy (14 starts): 84.2 IP (3.31 ERA) (1.045 WHIP) (10.0 K/9)

Career Statistics:

• McCullers (97 games): 522.1 IP (3.74 ERA) (1.262 WHIP) (10.0 K/9) (3.32 FIP)
• Bundy (141 games): 699 IP (4.51 ERA) (1.295 WHIP) (9.0 K/9) (4.55 FIP)

What Bundy’s payday will come down to is whether or not teams will take into account his past performances with the Orioles (4.67 ERA, 4.75 FIP) versus what he’s done with a smaller sample size in Anaheim (3.30 ERA, 3.11 FIP).

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Given how much this franchise has been starved for consistent starting pitching, I think it’d be a mistake for Angels owner Arte Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian to risk Bundy testing the free-agent market.

With the way Bundy’s stock is rising, the Angels need to make a contract extension happen now.