Angels news: Arbitration, 1 concern we should still have with the team, more

Yesterday was the day teams and players had to exchange arbitration figures. This typically is the day that the players eligible for arbitration agree to a one or multi-year deal with the team to avoid that grueling process. The Angels were able to agree to terms with five out of the eight arbitration-eligible players.

The Angels can still negotiate with the other three players but a settlement isn't as likely as it was yesterday. Typically the hearings are in early February so the Angels do have some time to sort this out. They should do everything in their power to get this done so it doesn't linger.

More Angels news:

The Angels have done a nice job making improvements to their roster. It's as deep of a roster as they've had in years and they're prepared for the worst-case scenarios of Trout and Rendon injuries. With that being said, there's one area they haven't really upgraded as much as I think they should. That's still a concern heading into the 2023 season.

MLB news:

The Angels weren't the only team in the league agreeing to one-year pacts with players. All but 33 arbitration-eligible players agreed to deals. Some of the biggest names to not agree to deals include Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker. Both players were $2.5 million dollars apart, so I'm not sure how likely a settlement will be for either player. Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Christian Javier also did not agree to deals. The Rays were the team with the most players heading to arbitration by far with seven.

Juan Soto agreed to a one-year $23 million dollar deal with the Padres to avoid arbitration. That's the fourth-largest agreement in history only behind Shohei Ohtani ($30 million), Mookie Betts ($27 million), and Nolan Arenado ($26 million). This is only Soto's second year in arbitration so he's likely going to come close or top Ohtani next season.

In more fun news the Pirates brought Andrew McCutchen back on a one-year deal. McCutchen isn't the MVP he once was but it's cool to see him possibly finish his career where he started and dominated.