Angels News: Former LAA infielder goes to Padres; former reliever claimed by Yankees

Kansas City Royals v Los Angeles Angels
Kansas City Royals v Los Angeles Angels | Ronald Martinez/GettyImages

A couple of members of the 2024 Angels have found new homes, as the Angels have purged many members of their 99-loss roster. Niko Goodrum is technically one of those members, even with his 4 games played last season being the fewest of any Angels position player. The utility man signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres, as he last played in a major league game with the Angels in mid-May. What a great Jurickson Profar replacement!

In theory, the Angels (and every team really) could use a switch-hitting utility man like Goodrum. At his peak in 2019, Goodrum played every single position in the field for the Tigers and slashed a respectable .248/.322/.421/.743 with 12 home runs and 27 doubles. He was never a star, but a player who can play every position and hit from both sides is immensely valuable in the eyes of ball clubs.

The former second round pick is now 33-years-old and holding onto his career for dear life. Much like Roansy Contreras, Goodrum bounced around the league last year. He spent time with the Twins, Rays, Angels, Pirates, and Orioles organizations last season.

Roansy Contreras' claimed once again on waivers, this time by the Yankees

Roansy Contreras is on his sixth team in the past calendar year...but at least this one is slightly familiar. The New York Yankees claimed Contreras off waivers after he was DFA'd for the fourth time this offseason. Contreras was signed as an international free agent by the Yankees, and was traded five years later for Jameson Taillon.

It's a tough situation for Contreras, as nobody wants to have their career so up in the air like this. There are two upsides in all this mess, though: it is the offseason so Contreras does not need to constantly change facilities/move all over the country, plus getting claimed over-and-over means he's still on a 40-man roster and is subsequently getting paid more than he would if he was not. So there's that.

What's not great is Contreras is out of minor league options, so unless he can make a big league bullpen then he will continue to get DFA'd. He is not good enough for a bullpen role, but good enough for the Angels, Rangers, Reds, Orioles, and Yankees to try and keep him as a minor league depth piece. In theory, he can become a good piece of the bullpen. Hence the claims. However, he struggled with the Angels last season despite an intriguing fastball shape and velocity. It will be interesting to see where Contreras lands out of spring training, as he is undoubtedly bound for another waive. Maybe he will finally stay with a team, even if it means not making 40-man roster money.

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