Angels news: Free agent pitchers, arbitration, more

Today is a pretty important day in MLB as it's the deadline for teams and players to exchange their arbitration figures. The Los Angeles Angels have eight players scheduled for arbitration including two players they just traded for in Hunter Renfroe and Gio Urshela.

While Renfroe and Urshela enter the final year of arbitration before hitting free agency after the 2023 campaign, players like Taylor Ward, Patrick Sandoval, and Jared Walsh are arbitration-eligible for the first time. They're not expected to make much in 2023, but we'll start to see these figures really increase if these players perform up to par.

Teams and players don't have to agree to deals to avoid arbitration today, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Angels get a deal or two done. The Halos are not a team that usually heads to arbitration, so I'd expect deals to get done before the hearings which usually occur in early February. With Shohei Ohtani already under contract there's nobody I'd be nervous about.

More Angels news:

MLB Insider Robert Murray of FanSided listed two pitchers he believes are fits for the Angels. One was an obvious name we've heard a lot about lately. The other, not so much. Murray see the need the Angels have for pitching just like the rest of us.

The Angels announced important dates for Spring Training. Pitchers and Catchers report on February 15th with the rest of the club reporting five days later. The first Spring Training game is February 25th and the first home game is the day after.

MLB news:

The Dodgers officially released Trevor Bauer. This came as no surprise as no team would be willing to give up an asset for a player the Dodgers were undoubtedly going to release. What happens now with Bauer will be interesting. Will a team take a chance on him?

The Athletics signed Japanese pitcher Shintaro Fujinami to a one-year deal. He's expected to be a member of the Athletics rotation. Fujinami is a pitcher who can reach triple digits. It'll be interesting to see how he does.