LA Angels free agents: Predicting which FAs stay and which leave Anaheim

The LA Angels have many free agents on the team right now, and therefore have many important decisions to make right away.

The Halos have a lot of money to spend this offseason, but that number could go down depending on which guys they bring back. Therefore, they’re only going to bring guys back on great value.

Not everyone will be back, but many will.

A.J. Ramos (Relief Pitcher): Stays in Anaheim

A.J. Ramos will be back for the Angels next year. In obviously limited action this year, he did his job; giving up no hits or runs in four games (4.2 innings pitched).

Ramos is a former All-Star who’s overall had a pretty good career. He has a lifetime ERA of 3.04, and will be pretty cheap again this offseason.

He’s a veteran guy who’s proven that he can have success in both leagues. Not many relief pitchers on the Angels can say that.

Luke Bard (Relief Pitcher): Leaves Anaheim

Luke Bard isn’t worth re-signing. He obviously didn’t play this year due to season-ending hip surgery, so he didn’t have a chance to prove himself. That being said, he hasn’t really performed very well in the opportunities that he has had in his career so far.

Bard has taken the mound in 46 games, and has an ERA of 5.05. The Halos haven’t tried starting him since 2019, so he’s not much of an option there. The bullpen’s bad, but there are better options than Bard this offseason.

Scott Schebler (Center Fielder): Leaves Anaheim

The Angels are too deep in the outfield to bother with re-signing Scott Schebler. The Angels would rather just keep Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh up, not trade Justin Upton, re-sign Juan Lagares, and have Taylor Ward be that last backup outfielder.

Schebler has been a pretty bad player in his career (which began in 2015), hitting .237/.314/.437 (.750 OPS) with 61 HR, 167 RBI, and 174 R in 394 games at this level. He wouldn’t provide much value to this squad.

Steve Cishek (Relief Pitcher): Stays in Anaheim

Steve Cishek is one of the best relief pitchers on the Angels. He’s not perfect, as he’s posted a 1.494 WHIP in these past two seasons. That being said, he posted a solid 3.42 ERA this past year, and has posted a 2.85 ERA over the course of his long 12-year career.

He has closing experience, and has succeeded during his career in many different roles. Cishek did nothing in his first year with the Angels to warrant the Angels wanting him to leave. On the other side, Cishek did too well, and too much better than he did with his previous team to entertain leaving.

Juan Lagares (Outfielder): Stays in Anaheim

Juan Lagares is most likely going to stay in Anaheim because he’s cheap and he can help mentor Marsh and Adell in the early stages of their Big League journeys.

Lagares also is still a great player on defense, which is always nice to have in a backup outfielder. He hit poorly this year, and has always been a poor hitter overall. The type of veteran leader he can be in the clubhouse is still valuable, however, and his defense speaks for itself.

Kurt Suzuki (Catcher): Leaves Anaheim

Kurt Suzuki will be leaving Anaheim this offseason and I’m happy about that.

Suzuki used to be a good player in this league, but he’s pretty terrible now. He hit .224/.294/.342 this season with 6 HR, 16 RBI, and 17 runs in 72 games this year. That’s pretty embarrassing.

On defense, he led the team in errors (once Jose Iglesias left the team). He led the team in errors despite only playing 72 games.

Besides, why did Joe Maddon need him catching Shohei Ohtani again? Max Stassi did just fine in his opportunities to catch Ohtani, and Suzuki is not needed on this team.

Dylan Bundy (Starting Pitcher): Leaves Anaheim

Dylan Bundy had a good 2020, but had a horrendous 2021. It got so bad that we couldn’t even get rid of him at the trade deadline when we wanted to. There were few starting pitchers on the trade block, yet still, nobody wanted Bundy.

Bundy went 2-9 this year in 23 starts and four relief appearances. He posted a 6.06 ERA to go along with a 1.357 WHIP. He struck out just 8.3 batters per nine innings and walked 3.4 batters per nine.

He’d be cheap, but Bundy’s time in Anaheim needs to be over and will be.

Dexter Fowler (Outfielder): Leaves Anaheim

Dexter Fowler won’t be back with the Angels next year, which is too bad. He could have possibly put together a good season for the Halos if he wasn’t injured right away.

We know Joe Maddon likes Fowler, as he was an All-Star and World Series Champion for him up in Chicago. That being said, I’ve already explained that the Angels are actually already looking good as far as their outfield goes next year.

Fowler deserves a job in this league, but I just don’t think it’s in his or the Angels’ best interest to stay here.

Alex Cobb (Starting Pitcher): Staying in Anaheim

Alex Cobb wants to stay with the Angels, and they should want to keep him as well.

Cobb was far and away the second-best starter on the Angels this year, and we definitely felt his presence when he was injured at the times he was this season.

Posting a 3.76 ERA and a 1.264 WHIP, Cobb was solid this season and has improved in each of his last two years in this league. If the Angels don’t have to overpay for him they should absolutely keep him around.

Raisel Iglesias (Relief Pitcher/Closer): Staying in Anaheim

The LA Angels can offer an $18.4 million Qualifying Offer to Raisel Iglesias, and they will. Even if Iglesias turns that down, they’ll still likely only need to pay him around there in average annual value. Besides, he’s worth a long-term deal.

He’s one of the best closers in baseball, and recorded 34 saves this year. Posting a 7-5 record with a 2.57 ERA, he posted an 0.929 WHIP in his first year with the Angels this season.

The Angels are going to be a good team next year if they have a fine offseason. Part of that is going to be keeping the important players with this team already.