3 players who did not meet expectations in 2022

The Los Angeles Angels as a team did not meet expectations, finishing with just 73 wins in 2022. They did have some players who had great seasons, but this was yet another disappointing season for the Halos.

Something that's important to point out is that guys who missed most of the season won't be considered as not meeting expectations just because that is out of the player's control.

Anthony Rendon only played in 43 games, so he gets a pass from this list. However, there are plenty of players who disappointed in 2022.

1) Angels player who did not meet expectations in 2022: Aaron Loup

Aaron Loup was one of the big free-agent pickups for the Angels this past offseason. He signed a two-year $17 million dollar deal. He's making $7.5 million dollars annually with a club option in 2024 for another $7.5 million dollars.

Loup was coming off of a year in New York where he posted a 0.95 ERA in 65 appearances. That number rose to 3.84 in the same number of appearances.

The southpaw got off to a horrible start, ending the month of July with a 4.71 ERA. Loup did improve as the season progressed, but the Angels simply didn't get what they paid for.

Loup was supposed to be one of the key relievers to send close games to Raisel Iglesias but he had five blown saves. To put that number in perspective, Loup allowed just six earned runs in all of 2021.

Loup walks went way up and his strikeouts went down. Nobody ever expected him to duplicate what he did in 2021, but Loup was expected to be a lot better than just a mediocre middle reliever.

3) Angels player who did not meet expectations in 2022: Max Stassi

Right before the 2022 season kicked off, the Angels decided to extend Max Stassi on a three-year deal worth $17.5 million dollars. The extension included a club option for the 2025 season.

While the AAV isn't so bad, it might've been a little bit too soon for an extension based on his performance this season.

Stassi was an above-average hitter and defender at the catcher position in 2020 and 2021. He took major steps back in both areas this season, his first as the no doubt number one catcher.

In his 102 games played, Stassi slashed .180/.267/.303 with nine home runs and 30 RBI. If he had enough plate appearances to qualify, his 63 WRC+ would be the second-worst mark in all of baseball among qualifiers.

Teams can often deal with poor offense from the catcher spot if that catcher is good defensively. In the past, Stassi was good defensively. Last season he was in the 87th percentile in framing according to baseball savant and had 10 DRS according to FanGraphs. This season, he was in the 42nd percentile in framing and had 0 DRS.

Stassi was a -0.4 bWAR player which is something I did not expect after the season he had in 2021.

With the 31-year-old locked up and with there being so many holes on this Angels team I expect Stassi to be the number-one catcher to begin the 2023 campaign. Hopefully, he reverts back to his 2020 and 2021 form.