The Los Angeles Angels agreed to terms on one-year contracts with five players, including outfielders Jo Adell and Taylor Ward, to avoid arbitration, the team announced Thursday.
In addition to Adell and Ward, L.A. also agreed to terms on deals with starter Reid Detmers and relievers Brock Burke and Jose Suarez.
Ward has secured the biggest of the five contracts, as he signed for $7,825,000 for the 2025 season. Ward is in his third arbitration season, which normally would be his last before unrestricted free agency. However, as a Super 2 player, Ward still has a fourth arbitration season in 2026.
That extra arbitration year is why Ward was seen as a potential trade target when the team was rebuilding, and why it’s still possible he gets dealt at some point this offseason. Two years of team control, one at a very reasonable $7.8 million, is a valuable prospect for teams looking for replacement-level talent in the outfield.
Adell is the next player who received a one-year deal to avoid arbitration. He will make $2.1 million for the Angels in 2025. Adell is in his first arbitration season, putting him under team control through 2027.
Detmers, another potential trade candidate if a team is willing to pay for the left-hander to have a change of scenery, is signed for $1,825,000 in 2025. He is another Super 2 player, giving him four more seasons of team control in his first arbitration year. He is currently slated to be the team’s No. 5 starter, according to FanGraphs Roster Resource.
Burke, the Angels’ reliever acquired this offseason in his second arbitration year, will make $1.15 million in 2025. Finally, Suarez — the 27-year-old with a rollercoaster history in Anaheim — signed for $1.1 million in his second arbitration year as well.
This puts the Angels at around $170 million in guaranteed contracts, prior to any pre-arb or arbitration-eligible players that are yet to be settled.
Taylor Ward was nearly traded at Winter Meetings
The Angels went into Winter Meetings with the prospect that they were remaining aggressive to improve their roster for the 2025 season. The four-day annual event came and went, and the Angels did not make any moves. However, general manager Perry Minasian believes he laid the groundwork for later moves this offseason.
One of those potential moves is reportedly in the outfield. On Tuesday, the second-to-last day of the Winter Meetings, it seemed the Angels were close on dealing an unnamed outfielder.
The rumor was reported by Mark Feinsand of MLB Network, who theorized on who the outfielder might be based on what he’s heard.