Angels sign former all-star in latest surprising move

The Los Angeles Angels have had a pretty quiet offseason relative to expectatons, but have been active in the relief market. They've signed five relievers to MLB deals this offseason, including two of the best available in Robert Stephenson and Matt Moore in just the last couple of days alone.

Stephenson and Moore should help transform what was a weakness for the Angels into a legitimate strength. While the bullpen additions have been great, they've done very little in other areas of their roster. Zach Plesac is fine rotation depth, but they have not signed a single game-changer in the rotation, which looks like a mistake with Shohei Ohtani gone.

Additionally, the Angels have done next to nothing position player-wise. While we've seen them linked to some big bats, all they've done is bring in some players on minor league deals with Miguel Sano being the latest one.

LA Angels sign former all-star Miguel Sano to minor league deal

Miguel Sano is a player Angels fans know well, as he's posted a .941 OPS against them in his eight-year career. His MLB career has been spent exclusively with the Twins, and has seen some great years and some awful ones.

Sano is known for his raw power. He's hit at least 25 home runs four times, hitting as many as 34 long balls in a single season. He was an all-star for Minnesota back in 2017 and was a staple in the middle of their order when healthy for over a half-decade.

The 30-year-old represents a solid upside play considering he's proven he can hit for power at the MLB level, but he signed a minor league deal for a couple of reasons. First, he's had major issues putting the ball in play. He has struck out 36.5% of the time in his MLB career, and even led the league in strikeouts in the shortened 2020 season with 90 despite not even appearing in all 60 games.

Additionally, while Sano has appeared in both corner infield positions and in right field, he's far from sound defensively. And lastly, after being let go by the Twins ahead of the 2023 season, he went the entire year unsigned. He's played well in the Dominican Winter League this offseason, but he'll have a lot to prove when it comes to being a MLB contributor.

The Angels signing him to a minor league deal involves zero risk, so it cannot possibly be a bad move. If it works out, he'll be fun to watch hit moonshots. If it doesn't, the team can simply release him. You can never have enough depth, and adding a player who has had success at the MLB level, even if his last taste of it was three years ago, makes a lot of sense.