Perry Minasian really could have rounded out the Angels' offseason in a big way over the past month, but instead he has been continually shut out. When free agents' contract details emerge, it never looks good for the runners-up. Either the club low-balled the player, or they over-bid and were still turned down. Minasian, Arte Moreno, and the Angels are in the former's camp, once again not moving the needle enough financially to land a slugger they desperately needed.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic dropped some industry-wide notes in his latest column, including pertinent details of the Angels' pursuit of the newest member of the Toronto Blue Jays -- Anthony Santander:
"The Los Angeles Angels also made a run at Santander, proposing three- and four-year concepts, according to sources briefed on the discussions.Ken Rosenthal
Santander instead opted for a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Blue Jays, two-thirds of which was deferred. The deferrals lowered his present-day value to about $71.5 million for luxury-tax purposes and $68.6 million according to the union, which uses a different discount rate. Santander would have at least approached those numbers with the Royals or Angels. But his total payout would have been lower."
Sure, a five-year deal for Santander was more than expected, but the average annual value was lower and total amount of payout ended up being about the same (ESPN's Kiley McDaniel predicted a three-year, $69 million contract for $23 million AAV). Instead of $23 million a year, the Blue Jays have Santander at $16.2 million this year, and $19.2 million in 2026 and 2027. He also has a player opt-out after the third season, which the team can void by tacking on a 6th year.
The Angels are emerging from a franchise worst 99-loss season, meaning their team culture is not going to entice free agents. The guys who run this bad, big-market team need to understand that everything comes down to one thing: their sum of money being offered needs to be greater than the opponents'. A free agent of Santander's caliber does not want to play for a non-contender unless they offer him the biggest contract. The Blue Jays and Angels were bad last year, and the Royals were good. The Blue Jays beat the Angels and Royals for Santander's services because they offered the slugger more years and more total money. It's pretty simple. The Angels could have put themselves in a position to land a switch-hitter who hit 44 home runs last season, but did not. They either got too cute, or just got scared.
Not everybody is Yusei Kikuchi, a top-of-the-line player who adores the Angels and is happy to sign with them at market value. Most players who wind up signing with the Angels are veteran guys trying to hold onto their careers for dear life. It remains to be seen when the Angels ever become a desirable landing spot again. Guys actually do not want to play here, Perry!
Ken Rosenthal throws out a few bullpen names who could wind up signing with LAA
Rosenthal reported nearly a month ago that the Angels are "lurking for free agents," and over a week ago he went on "Foul Territory" to report that he expects the Angels will "pick off" some players. Well, literally nothing has been done on that accord, outside of a couple of minor league signings. Rosenthal floated the Angels as a potential landing spot for closers Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan, and setup options like Phil Maton and Andrew Chafin. Yippee.
First off, those are not the names fans should want. The name is David Robertson, who is miles better than all four of those guys despite his age. Secondly, what're we doing? Do Minasian and Moreno seriously believe the Angels' bullpen problems will be solved simply by adding any one of these veterans?
Jansen quit on his team last year and was incredibly erratic on the mound all year. Finnegan completely cratered during the second half of last season, in large part due to giving up the worst exit velocities and hard hit rates in the entire league. Maton and Chafin are solid for what they are -- middle relievers. The same goes for Tim Hill, who the Angels may or may not be interested in. Signing any of those players as a setup guy says a lot about the current state of the bullpen. Any would be an upgrade, simply because the current group is incredibly suspect. That does not make them savvy moves.