3 Angels free agents whose stock is in the toilet

2) LA Angels pitcher Aaron Loup is seeing his free agent stock plummet

If anyone knows how to cash in on a walk-year, it's Aaron Loup. The left-handed reliever had the best season of his career by far with the Mets right before hitting free agency the following season. He had a 0.95 ERA in 65 appearances back in 2019 for New York, and the Angels were the team that allowed him to cash in.

Loup signed a two-year deal worth $17 million to come to Anaheim that offseason. He wasn't nearly as good as he was for the Mets as expected, but Loup was still a useable reliever for most of the season. This year has been a different story.

Loup has a 5.47 ERA in 27 appearances. He was given the first high-leverage chance of the three lefties in the bullpen on Opening Day and he blew it. He was immediately moved to lower-leverage situations, and he has yet to earn high-leverage spots. He's only been used in close games when the bullpen has been exhausted or when they've needed one out against a left-handed hitter.

At certain points this season it felt inevitable that Loup would be DFA'd. I still wouldn't rule it out. He has a club option worth $7.5 million which the Angels certainly won't be picking up. He'll get a deal in free agency, but it won't be anything close to what he got with the Angels and it might not even be fully guaranteed.