MLB Trade Rumors prediction has Angels signing three players

MLB Trade Rumors released their annual top 50 free agents piece. In this article four members of their staff predict where each of the top 50 free agents will sign and the terms of the deals these players will receive.

The Los Angeles Angels are linked to three different players in this article. Each of the three would fill a hole the Angels have right now.

While these three players wouldn't be my top targets, they're certainly upgrades to what the Angels have right now.

MLB Trade Rumors links Mitch Haniger to the Angels on a three-year $39 million dollar contract.

The first player they have the Angels signing is Mitch Haniger, who's ranked as the 20th-best free agent. Two of their writers have Haniger going to the Angels and the other two have him going back to Seattle.

Something very important about Haniger is he did not receive a qualifying offer. This means the Angels would not have to forfeit a draft pick if they signed him, making him much more attractive.

The Angels could use a corner outfielder as Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak haven't proven to be MLB starters yet. An outfield consisting of Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, and Haniger would be a very good one.

Haniger dealt with injuries this season and slashed .246/.308/.429 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI. The underwhelming season is why he's projected to get the contract he's projected to receive. In 2021 Haniger hit 39 home runs and was a big reason the Mariners were in contention until Game 162.

Haniger is 31 years old and the terms of the contract could potentially end up being a steal for Los Angeles if he stays healthy. He's a guy with 30+ home run power and can be an impact bat in the middle of any order.

MLB Trade Rumors links Mike Clevinger to the Angels on a one-year $10 million dollar contract.

If you told me three or four years ago that the Angels would have a legitimate shot at signing Mike Clevinger I would've gone crazy. He was one of the more exciting young arms in the game who was well on his way to stardom.

In his first five seasons, Clevinger had a 3.19 ERA in 105 appearances (92 starts) while striking out 10.0 batters per nine.

During the 2020 season, Clevinger was traded from Cleveland to the Padres for a huge haul. That offseason, Clevinger underwent Tommy John surgery. That kept him out for all of the 2021 campaign and part of 2022 as well.

As cool as it would've been to see Clevinger return as the same guy he was before Tommy John, that didn't happen. Angels fan witnessed it with Noah Syndergaard, and Padres fans saw it with Mike Clevinger.

Clevinger threw pretty hard and had elite strikeout numbers before his injury. Since returning, he hasn't been the same guy. His fastball velocity dropped from 95.1 mph in 2020 to 93.6 in 2022. His velocity on all of his pitches dropped by around two MPH. When you average 95 with your fastball, losing two mph is a big deal.

Clevinger struck out 8.6/9 in 2020 and 10.0 in his career before Tommy John. He struck out 7.2/9 this past season. He allowed opponents to hit the ball harder than they ever have and gave up 1.6 HR/9, well above his career mark of 1.1/9.

In the postseason Clevinger looked like he didn't belong anywhere near the mound as he allowed five runs (four earned) in 2.2 innings against the Dodgers in the Division Series. He then allowed three runs and did not record an out in the Championship Series against the Phillies.

Some pitchers come back stronger in their second year back from Tommy John and I hope Clevinger does. However, he clearly is not the same pitcher he once was.

Two members of the staff have the Angels signing Clevinger while the other two have him going to either Colorado or Toronto.

The Angels need to sign a couple of starting pitchers this off-season. I don't hate the idea of signing him to a one-year deal but there're other pitchers I'd rather the Angels kick the tires on.