Angels make first official move of offseason by nabbing promising arm from Minnesota

While there are definitely reasons as to why the Angels' free agency may get off to a slow start, that did not stop Perry Minasian and the front office from staking out the waivers around the league. For the Angels, their bullpen be a position of priority over the course of free agency and trades, so scouring the waiver wires for arms with potential to contribute and at least battle for a roster spot in Spring Training will be vital. And that is exactly what they did to get their off season started on the player acquisition front.

The Angels bullpen is currently very thin, and Reid Detmers' move back to the rotation may just require the Angels to add as many arms as possible in hopes of finding a few diamonds in the rough. That starts with adding players via waivers, as well as finding under-the-radar free agents and trade targets that could profile well out of the bullpen at The Big A. And Cody Laweryson - the newest Halo - definitely fits that profile after an encouraging debut late last season in Minnesota.

Angels claim 27-year old reliever Cody Laweryson off waivers

The Angels claimed the right-handed reliever and University of Maine product off of waivers on Thursday, adding to a bullpen in desperate need of (cheap) reinforcements. Laweryson had been a career minor leaguer up until September of the 2025 season, spending six full seasons in the minor leagues (there was no minor league season in 2020) before his debut. Laweryson made five appearances for the Twins after they gutted their bullpen following the trade deadline. In a total of 7.2 innings pitched, Laweryson allowed only one earned run and struck out seven hitters. Angels fans will love to hear he also did not walk a single opposing batter, and only gave up four hits during all of his appearances. His only "bad" outing came against the New York Yankees, where he allowed one run on three hits across two innings pitched.

Laweryson joins an Angels bullpen that currently only has Ryan Zeferjahn and Brock Burke as healthy, signed members. While the potential for minor leaguers such as Sam Bachman and injured arms such as Ben Joyce and Robert Stephenson to contribute in 2026 exists, adding a healthy arm to the bullpen group was a much needed start to the off season. While the hopes of bringing Kenley Jansen back to Anaheim remain, the Angels cannot ignore building out their depth while they wait to sign more high-profile free agents.