3 free agent relief pitchers the LA Angels should stay far away from this offseason

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It's safe to say the 2023 offseason will be another one in which the Los Angeles Angels look for reinforcements for their bullpen in free agency.

The bullpen actually does have some decent pieces in it with Carlos Estevez, Ben Joyce, Sam Bachman, and Jose Soriano all projected to be a part of it. The problem is, the depth is non-existent and arms like Jose Quijada and Austin Warren who might have been a part of it are on the IL after undergoing Tommy John Surgery earlier this season.

The Angels will look to improve a bullpen that had some good moments in 2023 but still finished with a 4.88 ERA. 25th in the majors. ERA isn't everything, but they were also 27th in fWAR and tied with the seventh most blown saves in the majors.

These are arms Perry Minasian needs to stay far away from, whether it's because of a large financial commitment or expected regression.

1) Josh Hader

I know, I know. Josh Hader is one of, if not the best reliever in all of baseball. He's on the right side of 30 and is coming off a dominant year in San Diego. All true. Those are reasons why the team should not be pursuing him.

In 61 appearances for the Padres Hader posted a 1.28 ERA, striking out 85 batters in 56.1 innings pitched. He allowed just three home runs all year and converted 33 saves in 38 tries. It's hard to find a negative with Josh Hader. Again, that's why the team should not be pursuing him.

This Angels team has a ton of holes. Especially if Shohei Ohtani leaves. Giving what will likely be a nine-figure contract to a reliever would be bad news for this Angels team, especially because of how volatile they are. Yes, even Josh Hader falls into this category.

When the Padres first acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline, he randomly went from dominant to a shell of himself. It got so bad to the point where he was removed from his closer role for a couple of outings.

Edwin Diaz signed a five-year deal worth $102 million last offseason. Hader could easily get more. He'll at least get around that number. As fun as it'd be to get a guy who'll likely be lights out, it's too much money when there're many other holes for such a volatile position.

2) Aroldis Chapman

Aroldis Chapman went from one of the most dominant relievers we've ever seen to a pitcher whose career looked like it was on life support after an abysmal 2022 season. Chapman's velocity was down, and he was even left off the Yankees postseason roster after missing a workout.

He'd sign a one-year deal with the Royals this past offseason mainly because most of the league had no interest. Out of nowhere, his velocity peaked back up and he had a 2.45 ERA in 31 appearances for Kansas City. His great half season earned him a trade from the lowly Royals to the division-leading Rangers.

Chapman was incredibly shaky for the Rangers and was part of the team's struggles down the stretch. The Rangers went from a team that looked like they'd cruise to a division title to a team that might've not even made the playoffs. They did settle into a WIld Card spot, but that was no thanks to Chapman (or the rest of their bullpen).

His 3.72 ERA in 30 appearances was decent, but Chapman blew three saves in six tries and took three losses as well (all in separate appearances). He had a 4.81 ERA in save situations compared to a sparkling 1.85 ERA in non-save situations. His struggles have even peaked into the postseason as he had a rough outing in Baltimore saved by a crucial double play ball.

He's been erratic on and off the mound, and his struggles in high-leverage spots raise concern when his role would at the very least be a set-up man for Carlos Estevez if not the team's closer. Plus, there's always concern that at age 36 his velocity will dip once again.

3) Robert Stephenson

Robert Stephenson's 2023 season and MLB career is a hard one to explain. He was a first-round pick in the 2011 Draft by the Reds, but never quite stuck in Cincinnati. He didn't work as a starter, so was moved to the bullpen. He'd move on to Colorado in a trade but struggled there for a couple of years before being DFA'd and landing in Pittsburgh.

Stephenson pitched well for the Pirates down the stretch in 2022 but had a rough season before being traded to Tampa Bay. That's when all of a sudden, things clicked.

The 30-year-old right-hander had a 2.35 ERA in 42 appearances and 38.1 innings pitched. He struck out 60 (!) batters in those innings while walking just eight batters. He had an absurd 0.678 WHIP for Tampa Bay and turned into a primary set-up man as the season went on.

The Rays tinkered with Stephenson's pitch usage and had Kyle Snyder, the Rays pitching coach, teach him how to throw a harder slider. A pitch baseball savant deems a cutter. That pitch yielded a .101 batting average against and a .123 xBA. He generated whiffs 59.9% of the time. Absurd.

I have no doubt that with Tampa Bay he can remain dominant. This is what teams like the Rays do. If he were to go to the Angels, I have my doubts. It isn't a Stephenson problem, it's an Angels coaching problem. Matt Wise is the pitching coach for now and he has earned none of my trust. He's likely to get a multi-year deal but it's hard to seeing that age well with the Angels.

We saw Tyler Anderson go to a good team in 2022, the Dodgers, and have a breakout season. He'd then sign a multi-year deal with the Angels and have arguably his worst season yet. Aaron Loup had a career year in New York the season prior only to follow that up with a poor Angels tenure after signing a multi-year deal. I have the same fears with a guy like Stephenson who broke out this past season with Tampa Bay.

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