The Los Angeles Angels have already brought in two pitchers to begin the offseason. Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Loup have both relocated from the New York Mets to Anaheim, but that doesn’t mean the Angels are done looking. They have been tied to a number of starters and relievers, with the latest being Steven Matz.
Matz is yet another former Mets player connected to the Angels. However, he spent 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays and had one of the more productive years of his career. He pitched 150.2 innings — the third highest total of his career — and finished with his second best full-season ERA, 3.82.
Now, the Angels are one of eight teams to have made an offer for Matz’s services, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network:
Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers, Cubs, Cardinals, Giants, Angels, Mets are among teams in on Steven Matz. Deal could come soon. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 23, 2021
The teams listed provide plenty of stiff competition for the Angels. The Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, and Mets are all teams with playoff aspirations in 2022.
Not only does this mean that Matz may prefer to play elsewhere, it also means the cost to acquire him may be more than is worthwhile. But at this point, the Angels are clearly operating on the assumption that every pitcher will come at a higher premium than expected.
Outside of Matz, there are still deals to be made for nearly every top pitcher on the market. There’s no doubt that if they don’t land Matz, they’ll have to roll out even greater amounts of money to land one of the top guys.
It’s unclear exactly how much money the Angels have left to spend, but they absolutely need to make more pitching acquisitions, meaning time will tell what the 2022 budget is.
Jose Quintana signs with Pirates
The Angels released one of their 2021 free agent pitcher signings — Jose Quintana — in the middle of the season. He simply did not live up to expectations and was one of the worst pitchers on the team throughout his short tenure.
Now, Quintana has received a one-year, $2 million deal from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He agreed to the deal earlier this week.