Market starting to crystallize for Angels' ideal Anthony Rendon replacement

The Angels are a franchise that is attempting to veer away from gigantic offseason swings, as they have been known to do back in the olden days under Jerry Dipoto and Billy Eppler. However, the Angels do need reinforcements/upgrades on the infield dirt, plus are vowing to compete in 2025. A familiar face to Angels fans, yet an under-the-radar free agent in general, is out there and baseball fans are starting to become aware of his emerging suitors. The Chicago Cubs are interested in Josh Rojas, who's a player every team should want to bring in. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported that the Cubs are one of multiple teams interested in adding the infield whiz who can also serviceably play the outfield.

The Cubs' serious interest in Rojas muddles things, as nobody should trust or expect the Angels to win a bidding war against a big market team. The Angels' level of interest in Rojas should be serious though. Adding a player like Rojas unlocks a lot of things for the team, and takes away very little. It's a low-risk flier on a player who should not have even been designated for assignment by the Mariners in the first place. The temptation of taking a player away from a division rival, while adding in a better version of Kevin Newman, not spending virtually any payroll on a high-floor player, not blocking a Christian Moore or Matthew Lugo...AND....most importantly...supplanting Anthony Rendon at third base...is incredibly palpable!

While Rojas is not a left-handed power bat like Anthony Santander (Santander switch hits, but is a power bat from the left side), he can still serve a purpose in a lineup. Rojas' presence in a lineup can benefit sluggers like, for example, Jorge Soler, Mike Trout, Zach Neto, Taylor Ward, and Logan O'Hoppe. He, like many others who played before him, thrived with the Diamondbacks, but hit a down-turn offensively when he joined the Mariners. In 2022 with the D-Backs, he played in 125 games and led the team with a .349 OBP. Essentially, if you take him out of pitcher-friendly Seattle then his numbers could tick back up to where they were after the 2022 season. In 2022 he had a 96th percentile chase rate and 81st percentile BB%. His BB% ticked down to the 69th percentile in 2024, but he maintained an elite chase rate and also elevated his ability to square up baseballs.

His bat-to-ball skills are solid, and he's a versatile, ball-hawk, Swiss Army Knife defender. His defense cannot be under-stated, a 94th percentile OAA is nothing to turn your nose up at. The Angels will undoubtedly utilize both sinker-ballers José Soriano and Jack Kochanowicz this season, alongside other pitchers who generate a lot of ground balls, and Rojas' elite-elite defense would have a profound effect on the totality of the roster. He's more established and has a higher floor than Hye-seong Kim, he has fewer question marks than Ha-Seong Kim post-shoulder surgery, and is WAY cheaper and plays a position of greater need than Pete Alonso. The ownership group and front office might feel dubious about the prospects of matching Pete Alonso's financial demands, or landing Ha-Seong and/or Hye-seong Kim who are both commanding a ton of attention around the league. Rojas is right there and incredibly available for anybody to sign.

Signing Rojas to an unsexy one or two-year deal -- over multi-year deals for either Kim infielder or Alonso -- would probably cause fans some misery, but genuinely might be the best path forward for the Angels. Please, Angels, get serious about Rojas like the Cubs.

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