Angels make intriguing signing bringing in versatile player on MiLB deal

The theme of this offseason for the Los Angeles Angels has been to stockpile depth. As much of it as possible. They've done this through upgrades to the MLB team, while also bringing in players on minor league deals. The latest signing is intriguing.

The Angels signed former Astro Taylor Jones to a minor league deal. Taylor Jones is a player who's hit pretty well in the minors throughout his career but has yet to receive a legitimate opportunity at the big league level.

The Angels add more versatility with the Taylor Jones signing.

In his six minor league seasons, Jones has slashed .270/.368/.452 with 77 home runs and 339 RBI. He's hit as many as 22 home runs in a minor league season.

The issue for Jones is he was in the Astros organization. He was behind players like Yuli Gurriel, Alex Bregman, and others because they've been World Series contenders since he stepped foot into the organization in 2016.

Jones is a right-handed hitting first baseman who also has experience at third base and left field. He provides the Angels some more versatility which is something they've looked at all offseason with the Brandon Drury signing and the Gio Urshela trade.

Jones has appeared in 43 career games and hasn't been anything special at the big league level. He's slashed .234/.260/.395 with three home runs and 19 RBI in 131 plate appearances. He played in 35 of those 43 games in 2021, appearing in just one game, for one at-bat, this past season. He dealt with a back injury which caused him to miss the first two months of this season.

Something I could see happening is Jones being a platoon partner with Jared Walsh if Anthony Rendon goes down with an injury and Gio Urshela plays third base. He has 11 hits in 34 career at-bats against lefties in the bigs and has hit well against southpaws in the minors as well.

Jones won't start the season in the bigs most likely but there could be something here for the Angels to use. His ability to play multiple positions and his strong AAA numbers make this an intriguing signing for the Angels.