Ahead of the Nov. 17 deadline for teams around Major League Baseball to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players, the Los Angeles Angels offered contracts to all but one eligible player.
Among those Angels general manager Perry Minasian opted to retain are Griffin Canning, Luis Rengifo, Jose Quijada, Patrick Sandoval, José Suarez, and Taylor Ward.
All of which will remain on the team’s 40-man roster, and agree to come to terms on a salary between now and late February. If both the player and team can’t agree to terms, they’ll head for an arbitration hearing, in which a panel of arbitrators will determine the player’s salary.
All, aside from Suarez, plan to be active pieces to the Angels roster moving forward. The exception is Quijada, who figures to be on the shelf for a solid period of time as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Suarez, had a horrific 2023 season, posting an 8.29 ERA, 1.96 WHIP across 33.2 innings pitched. It came on the heels of two solid years when he held a 3.75 ERA (2021) and 3.96 ERA (2022), which made his most recent year that much more surprising.
The Angels will bank on their ability to work through the poor performance, and the left-shoulder strain that ended his season in MLB.
The Angels opted to non-tender right-hander José Marte.
The 27-year-old had spent three years within the organization, totaling an 8.14 ERA across 24.1 innings pitched. He’s now a free-agent and can sign with any team around the league.
Angels protect Jack Kochanowicz from Rule 5 Draft
Prior to the deadline to protect prospect eligible players from being plucked by other teams in the Rule 5 Draft, the Angels selected the contract of right-hander Jack Kochanowicz.
Kochanowicz is the club’s ninth rated prospect, most recently earning a call-up to Double-A. Most of his struggles came once he reached Double-A, posting a 6.53 ERA in 70.1 innings pitched.
He seems destined for a relief-role within the Angels organization, having had success out of the bullpen during his 2022 season, when he held a 1.53 ERA with a 26.1 strikeout rate in 17.2 innings. Kochanowicz is now on the 40-man roster, and it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to continue rising within the Angels’ system if they figure out which role best suits him.
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