Angels trade a recently DFA'd first baseman to the depleted Red Sox

The Angels have been constantly shuffling relievers they signed to minor league deals in and out of their major league roster, meaning that they had to clear room on their 40-man roster in order to do so. One 40-man roster casualty recently was a position player the Angels grabbed in the offseason via waivers to compete for a bench role behind Nolan Schanuel, as Hunter Strickland was being called up to help stabilize the bullpen.

Angels trade a recently DFA'd first baseman to the depleted Red Sox

Ryan Noda found himself getting designated for assignment after being buried at Triple-A Salt Lake all season, but now will get a real chance to earn himself some service time with the Boston Red Sox. The Angels shipped Noda to the Sox in exchange for cash considerations following his DFA.

Noda will be sent to Triple-A Worcester and might be given some consideration in the big leagues if Abraham Toro or Nick Sogard do not work out for the Sox moving forward. Romy Gonzalez should be back from the injured list soon and get a lot of run at first too. Obviously, Noda's run production numbers need to come up if that is going to happen, but things are not looking good for Noda. If he could not hit in the Pacific Coast League then how is he going to be trusted in The Show?

The 1B/OF posted a .148 batting average (the single worst BA on the Bees), a .270 SLG (their third worst mark) and a 34.4% K% (their second worst, excluding Christian Moore) in his 38 games at Triple-A Salt Lake this season. To Noda's credit, he has continued to do what he's done best his whole career: draw walks. His 20.1% BB% was the best rate the team. His defensive prowess at first base has always been lauded, guy can pick it over there. He is a major league defender but minor league hitter for sure.

The Angels looked past Noda's brutal 2024 campaign and focused on his stellar 2023 season with the Oakland Athletics when they claimed him off waivers during the offseason. However, when the Angels needed position player depth earlier in the year they opted for Niko Kavadas instead. Noda's place on the Angels' 40-man was certainly untenable due to his incredibly below average stats at Triple-A, Schanuel's emergence and their preference of Kavadas.

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