The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with left-handed pitcher Adam Kolarek, their first signing of the 2023 free agency period. Kolarek, 34, pitched six innings in 2023 without allowing a run between the L.A. Dodgers and New York Mets.
Kolarek has played in seven Major League seasons. He debuted in 2017 with the Tampa Bay Rays and spent two and a half seasons there before being traded to the Dodgers at the 2019 trade deadline. He excelled as a member of the Dodgers, posting a sub-1.00 ERA in 30.2 innings over the next two seasons.
He pitched 3.1 innings during the 2020 postseason that saw the Dodgers win the World Series against Kolarek’s former Rays. Kolarek then spent two seasons with the Oakland Athletics in 2021 and 2022.
In seven MLB seasons, Kolarek has a combined ERA of 3.62 over 149.1 innings. He has a 1.246 WHIP, a 4.09 fielding-independent pitching (FIP) and 101 strikeouts. He figures to be a solid middle relief option for an Angels team that has routinely been toward the bottom in bullpen statistical rankings.
Financial details of the contract have not yet been released, but a one-year deal at this point in free agency assumes a relatively fair number for a player with Kolarek’s career numbers.
Angels hire Barry Enright as pitching coach
Barry Enright was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round of the 2007 MLB Draft and would go on to pitch in parts of four seasons from 2010-2013.
Enright spent the final two seasons of his career with the Angels, where he posted a 13.50 ERA and 2.25 WHIP in 12 innings across seven appearances (seven starts).
Enright announced his retirement as a player before the 2019 season and began his coaching career three years later with the Diamondbacks. The 37-year-old was named the team’s assistant pitching coach and Minor League pitching coordinator, and continued in those roles through the 2023 season.
Enright will now oversee an Angels pitching staff that took a step backwards this year after a promising 2022 season.