3 best LA Angels left-handed relievers to target in free agency

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The only area of the team the Los Angeles Angels have addressed is their bullpen, and the work they've done has not been enough. They've added Luis Garcia, Adam Cimber, and Adam Kolarek on one-year deals. Fine depth additions, but not much better than the arms they already had.

There are two things missing from this Angels bullpen. One, another late-game reliever. None of the arms they signed fit the bill there. Right now, Carlos Estevez, Jose Soriano, and Ben Joyce would be their late-game trio. All three of those relievers have immense potential, but also come with a ton of question marks. Another thing missing is a left-handed presence. Sure, guys like Kolarek and Jose Suarez are left-handed but they're not late-game left-handed relievers that you want going up against the likes of Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and Corey Seager.

The dream addition that fits both of these needs as a late-game lefty is Josh Hader, but his contract demands likely take the Angels out of the equation there. Fortunately, there are other lefties out there that the Angels can bring in on more reasonable terms. Let's rank them.

3) Aroldis Chapman

After a down year in 2022, Aroldis Chapman enjoyed a bounce back year this past season. It began on a cheap deal with the Royals and ended with him winning the World Series and being a key piece out of Texas' bullpen.

Overall, Chapman had a 3.09 ERA in 61 appearances and 58.1 innings of work. He struck out a whopping 103 batters this past season, although his command was shaky as well. His stuff was back to elite form as Chapman was hitting triple digits with his fastball regularly, and because of how good his stuff was, his walks often didn't lead to runs.

The 35-year-old felt like a realistic trade deadline candidate for the Angels to pursue before the Rangers got him. He'll certainly get more money than he got last offseason, but Chapman likely won't fetch more than one year on his deal, making it an easy decision for the Angels. If he pitches well, they either have a great late-game reliever or a valuable trade piece. If he doesn't he's off the team after the year.

He can be frustrating to watch due to his eratic command, but there's no denying the talent. If he has a repeat of the year he just had, Angels fans would be very happy with the addition.

2) Brent Suter

Brent Suter fits the profile of relievers Perry Minasian likes to target. He has a unique pitch delivery and is a soft-tossing left-hander who induces weak contact. Suter averaged just 86 mph with his fastball this past season, but he also ranked in the 100th percentile in average exit velocity, the 97th percentile in barrel rate, and the 99th percentile in hard-hit rate according to baseball savant.

Suter spent each of his first seven seasons in Milwaukee and was an underrated southpaw coming out of their 'pen, and then proved to be a good option even while pitching half the time at Coors Field. Suter had a 3.38 ERA in 57 appearances for the Rockies this past season and had a 3.66 ERA in his 27 appearances in Colorado.

Suter does a nice job keeping the ball on the ground which should work well with Ron Washington's defense, and he allowed just three home runs this past season. The walks were up and strikeouts were down for Suter, but the results were quite promising.

The 34-year-old did have reverse splits this past season with left-handed hitters faring much better against him than righties, but he's held lefties to a .238 average against him in his career.

Suter has been reliable throughout his career and would even add another element to this bullpen as a reliever who can go multiple innings when asked. He'd be a really underrated addition.

1) Matt Moore

Bringing Matt Moore back is a no-brainer if he's open to it. Moore was signed late last offseason and proved to be the best reliever in the Angels bullpen until the team opted to waive him and five others at the end of August to creep below the luxury tax threshold.

In 41 appearances for the Angels, Moore posted a 2.66 ERA in 44 innings of work. He threw strikes, fared well against both lefties and righties and worked well when asked to go more than an inning.

Moore happened to pitch for two more teams, the Guardians and Marlins, after the Halos waived him. He allowed just two runs in 8.2 innings pitched overall for those teams in September and he helped the Marlins make the playoffs by throwing four scoreless innings for them.

The Angels can bring Moore back to pitch in the same set-up role he was in last season. They can even use him to close games if they don't think Carlos Estevez is right for that role.

This was not an outlier season for the 34-year-old either, who had a sub-2.00 ERA in 63 appearances for the Rangers in 2022. Moore is proving to be one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball, and after Josh Hader, he's pretty easily the best southpaw available.

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3 best Angels left-handed relievers to target in free agency

3) Aroldis Chapman

2) Brent Suter

1) Matt Moore

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