The Los Angeles Angels added veteran pitcher César Valdez on a Minor League deal this week in another move by general manager Perry Minasian to bolster their roster depth.
Valdez, 37, has 69 Major League games under his belt with his first stop in MLB coming with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010. But with stops in the Mexican League and the Chinese Professional Baseball League, he most recently appeared with the Angels this past season, spending the majority of his time with their Triple-A club.
He made one appearance for them at the backend of the season and was designated for assignment, clearing a spot on the 40-man roster. The righty posted a 3.94 ERA over 146.1 innings at Salt Lake and will have another shot with the Angels heading into Spring Training.
In 112 career big league innings, he’s posted a 6.11 ERA and has struggled to strike out opposing hitters, surrendering a .305 batting average.
Valdez can be used in both the starting rotation or in the bullpen, but manager Phil Nevin and the Angels will most likely just look to find someone to eat innings or provide depth in the Minor League system.
Angels sign Chris Devinski & Jonathan Holder to Minor League deals
The Angels made another series of moves in a buy-low attempt to turn around the careers of a few veteran bullpen arms in hopes they can be serviceable pieces to the roster in 2023 with Chris Devenski and Jonathan Holder.
Devenski, 32, has struggled for the better part of his career outside of 2016 and 2017 with the Houston Astros. He posted earned run averages of 2.16 and 2.68 to kick off his career but hasn’t quite found the same form that made him an All-Star and helped the Houston Astros capture a World Series title.
The Angels are correct to continue taking fliers on veteran arms on Minor League deals, simply because there is no downside. If they work, great. If not, cut bait and move on to the next project. But the belief that the Angels can fix him if the Astros couldn’t figure him out for three seasons after 2017 is a bit much. Still, he should be an interesting addition if something can be done.
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