The Ultimate Wildcard: Angels Mull Shocking Move for…
The Los Angeles Angels have been the busiest team so far this winter, but their offseason spending spree could go further after a 99-loss season.
Heading into this week, Los Angeles signed free-agent pitchers Yusei Kikuchi, Kyle Hendricks, catcher Travis d’Arnaud, and infielder Kevin Newman, as well as trading for designated hitter Jorge Soler.
However, Caleb Moody of Just Baseball believes the Angels need to keep going. He believes the team is one of the prime landing spots for free-agent second baseman Gleyber Torres.
Torres, a highly regarded prospect who the Chicago Cubs traded to the New York Yankees for closer Aroldis Chapman during the Cubs’ 2016 drive to win a World Series title for the first time since 1908, quickly endeared himself to Yankee fans upon his MLB debut in 2018.
However, after earning All-Star Game nods in his first two big-league seasons, Torres’ production trailed off during an attempted move to shortstop in 2020 and 2021. While his offensive statistics have again improved since moving back to short, he has not developed into the superstar that Gotham initially thought it had.
Though Torres remains a solid second-sacker with a career batting average of .265 and 20-plus home run power, resigning him does not appear to be a priority for the Yankees.
Spotrac projects Torres to have a market value worthy of a three-year, $20.8 million contract. Whether owner Arte Moreno believes that expenditure will be worth it with his team already employing Luis Rengifo at second base remains to be seen.
However, shortstop Zach Neto, who was injured near the end of the 2024 season, may not be ready for the start of the 2025 campaign.
