Angels agree to contracts with four of their six arbitration-eligible players

The Los Angeles Angels had six players eligible for arbitration. That's not a small number, but it's also not a massive number of players either. Yesterday was the deadline for players and teams to agree to terms to avoid setting up an arbitration hearing. With that in mind, teams were desperate to agree to terms with their players to avoid the brutal process that is arbitration.

Arbitration involves a neutral party arbitrator and has both sides arguing why they're right to ask what they asked for. The players argues that he's good enough to earn the money, while the team argues that the player is not good enough. This can cause some rough feelings, as it did with Corbin Burnes in Milwaukee just last season.

The Angels were typically a team that avoided arbitration with only a pair of cases from 2011-2021, but went to arbitration with three of their eight eligible players last offseason. This offseason they appear to be on track to head to arbitration with another two, Taylor Ward and Jose Suarez.

LA Angels fail to agree to terms with two of their six arbitration-eligible players

The Angels were able to avoid arbitration with four of their six players eligible, most notably Patrick Sandoval, Luis Rengifo, and Griffin Canning. All of the players they agreed with got around what they were projected to by MLBTradeRumors.

Taylor Ward and Jose Suarez were the two who did not agree to terms for now, but with MLBTradeRumors projecting an estimate right in the middle of what these players were arguing about with the team, perhaps they can come to a settlement.

While it's less common for players to agree to terms after this deadline, it's not impossible. The Angels should really be doing whatever it takes to avoid arbitration hearings, especially with players they deem to be an important part of their future like Ward. Giving Ward in particular an extra $500,000 just to avoid the brutal hearing shouldn't be much of an issue, especially when the Angels have spent on nothing else of import this offseason.

Those who fail to come to an agreement on a contract sometimes work out a long-term deal during this period between the deadline and an arbitration hearing. While it's probably not likely with Ward or Suarez, it's not impossible.