In current days, it was reported that the Cardinals and Astros had every given multi-year presents to catcher Willson Contreras, with the Cardinals finally winning the bidding by giving him five-year, $87.5MM deal. Nonetheless, there was one different workforce apparently on the desk, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch stories that the Angels have been one of many groups outbid by the Playing cards.
The Angels have been pretty lively to this point this offseason, including to their pitching workers by signing Tyler Anderson for his or her rotation and Carlos Estévez for his or her bullpen, whereas including Gio Urshela to their infield and Hunter Renfroe to their outfield. It appears they’re nonetheless hoping to make additional strikes, however the truth that they pursued a catcher like Contreras is no less than mildly stunning since that doesn’t stand out because the membership’s most blatant weak spot.
Max Stassi had a pleasant breakout for the Halos over 2020 and 2021, moving into 118 video games and hitting .250/.333/.452 for a wRC+ of 113, indicating he was 13% higher than league common. When mixed together with his robust glovework, he produced 3.6 wins above substitute over that point, in keeping with FanGraphs. With Stassi set to succeed in free company after 2022, the membership signed him to an extension that went by 2024 with an membership possibility for 2025. Sadly, he had a dismal marketing campaign in 2022, hitting simply .180/.267/.303. He most likely deserved higher than that, nonetheless, as his .239 batting common on balls in play was beneath his .276 profession mark and effectively beneath his .325 from 2021. With one other two assured seasons on his deal, he’s positive to be within the combine someway with an opportunity to bounce again.
Then there’s additionally Logan O’Hoppe, who came to visit from the Phillies within the deadline deal that despatched Brandon Marsh to Philadelphia. Between the 2 golf equipment, he annihilated Double-A pitching final yr, resulting in a batting line of .283/.416/.544 and a wRC+ of 159. He skipped Triple-A to get a five-game cup of espresso within the large leagues because the season was winding down.
Neither Stassi or O’Hoppe are a positive factor, however it could have been cheap sufficient to enter the season with the 2 of them every jockeying for enjoying time and letting it get sorted because the season went alongside. Nonetheless, it appears the membership has no less than some openness to improve, primarily based on their pursuit of Contreras. It’s doable they need to give O’Hoppe extra time within the minors or perhaps that they’d have pursued trades with Stassi in the event that they landed Contreras.
Basic supervisor Perry Minasian recently instructed members of the media that the membership may push pay the aggressive stability tax in 2023 with no possession mandate in opposition to it. Roster Useful resource presently pegs their 2023 payroll at $198MM with a CBT determine of $213MM. The primary threshold of the luxurious tax will likely be $233MM subsequent yr, giving the Angels about $20MM to work with earlier than they’ve to consider whether or not they’re prepared to cross the road or not.
Contreras ended up signing a five-year, $87.5MM deal, with involves a mean annual worth of $17.5MM. We don’t know precisely how a lot the Angels have been prepared to spend on Contreras, however one thing on this neighborhood would have gotten them near luxurious tax territory. Assuming the Angels nonetheless have that cash to spend on different gamers, it’s a superb signal for Angel followers. The membership may search for one other backstop however have additionally been connected to shortstops and bullpen assist. Since Contreras was clearly on a distinct tier to the opposite out there free agent backstops, it’s doable that the Angels have been prepared to make an exception for him and received’t essentially circle right down to the opposite choices. Nonetheless, if they’re concerned about pursuing assist behind the plate, the free agent market has choices like Christian Vázquez and Gary Sánchez. The commerce market is highlighted by Oakland’s Sean Murphy and Toronto’s Danny Jansen, although the asking costs on from each the A’s and the Jays are reportedly fairly excessive.
