Angels' worst player in 2025 signs with Tigers after getting cut post trade deadline

The Angels aimed to kick-start their season at the trade deadline by adding Andrew Chafin, Luis García and Oswald Peraza. By trading for Peraza, the Angels were signaling that they wanted to upgrade a clear weak point on their roster -- the spot that Kevin Newman held.

Despite being signed to a one-year deal with a club option in the offseason, the Angels had seen enough of Newman as they entered August. As soon as Peraza came in, Newman went out. Well, the 32-year-old picked up with the Detroit Tigers on a minor league contract and has reported to Triple-A Toledo. While it is unlikely to happen, Newman is eligible to be added to the Tigers' postseason roster should the team with the best record in the AL need to press him into duty.

The highlight of Newman's 2025 season was hitting a home run off Jacob deGrom on July 28th, and that two-run home run broke a 0-0 tie in a game the Angels improbably wound up winning. At that time, Arte Moreno had no clue which direction he wanted to point Perry Minasian at the trade deadline. The Angels were a fringe contender in late-July, and the players needed to show Moreno that they were capable of making a legitimate playoff push. In a fit of irony, Newman's home run helped inspire Moreno to add to the team at the deadline. So, the Angels added Peraza to replace Newman. It's a tough business.

The Angels had myriad reasons to cast Newman off. In terms of FanGraphs WAR, Newman was the worst player on the team -- he posted a -0.7 fWAR in his 57 games played, the lowest mark of any Angels player. The logic behind signing Newman this offseason was that he could hit left-handed pitchers while providing above average infield defense (especially while Zach Neto rehabbed from shoulder surgery). He did neither, and was pretty much exclusively a bench-warmer during his entire Angels tenure.

Newman's 56 games played are his fewest in a full-season since his rookie year in 2018 with Pittsburgh, and just 12 more games than he played during the 60-game 2020 season. His .202 batting average and .209 OBP are the worst of his career, while his .231 SLG and .481 OPS are the second worst. Newman's home run off deGrom was one of just two he hit this season.

The Tigers used to be tied with the Angels for having the active longest postseason drought in baseball. They broke that schneid last year, and they will likely find some tweak in Newman's game to unlock him (like the Diamondbacks did in 2024). That's just how things go with this franchise.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout