3 former Braves players to reunite with Ron Washington on the Angels

The Los Angeles Angels hired and officially introduced Ron Washington as the team's manager for the 2024 season. It's an exciting hire for the Angels as Washington will look to change the culture in Anaheim and get the franchise back on track after eight straight losing seasons.

We've already seen Washington bring Braves first base coach Eric Young Sr. with him to Anaheim to coach third base for the Angels. Washington could look to add more staff members from his Atlanta days to his new coaching staff with the Angels, but could also be in Perry Minasian's ear about bringing former Braves players to town. There are some former Braves in free agency that would be pretty decent fits.

1) Jorge Soler

While the Angels hope to bring Shohei Ohtani back, it's far from a foregone conclusion that that'll happen. In fact, it's more likely than not that Ohtani will depart. Ohtani leaving would mean there's a gaping hole in the Angels lineup as they'd have MVP numbers to replace.

Jorge Soler isn't close to the player Ohtani is, obviously, but he can slot right into the DH position if Ohtani leaves and provide close to the same production power-wise at the very least. That does count for something.

While in Atlanta, Soler helped them get to the postseason thanks to an incredible second half and then won World Series MVP, hitting three home runs in their victory against the Astros. He only spent a couple months with Washington and the Braves, but that had to make an impression.

Soler has spent the last two seasons playing for the Marlins. He struggled his first year and was limited to just 73 games due to injury, but he was one of the best designated hitters in baseball this past season. He slashed .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs and 75 RBI in 137 games for the playoff-bound Marlins.

The 31-year-old smacking 36 long balls while playing half the time at pitcher-friendly Loan Depot Park says a lot about his power. Soler has hit as many as 48 home runs in a season (more than Ohtani's career-high). His issue has always been simply playing games, as he has just four seasons of 100+ games.

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3) Craig Kimbrel

Soler and Pederson both played in Atlanta while Ron Washington was there, but Craig Kimbrel was an Atlanta Brave before then. Kimbrel was in Atlanta to begin his career from 2010-2014 while Washington came to the Braves in 2016. Despite that lack of overlap, he'd still be an interesting fit with the Angels.

Kimbrel is coming off an up-and-down year for the Phillies. He had a solid regular season posting a 3.26 ERA in 71 appearances with 23 saves, but continued to struggle in the postseason as he blew two games in the NLCS against Arizona. At his best, Kimbrel still has the lights out stuff he had in Atlanta but he has his moments where he struggles with his command.

The 35-year-old is one of the best closers in MLB history and is still a very solid arm today, so he'd help an Angels bullpen that could really use it. While his postseason struggles are a legitimate concern, the Angels have to worry about getting there moreso than how he'd perform once they did. Kimbrel would help with that.

While the Angels would presumably look for some better arms before circling to Kimbrel, this right-hander would be a welcome addition to this young Angels bullpen.