Another day, another signing. That’s how the Los Angeles Angels roll these days, and the latest signing is 32-year old infielder Jeimer Candelario, with the news reported by Nick Deeds of MLBTradeRumors.com.
This would be Candelario’s 11th big-league season if he makes the team. Candelario was originally signed by the Chicago Cubs out of teh Dominican Republic, and he rose up to have a minor role in the Cubs’ World Series win in 2016. The following year he was included in a deadline deal that sent him to the Detroit Tigers, where he flashed initially but settled into an up-and-down performance pattern.
The Tigers non-tendered him in 2022 when his numbers further declined, but Candelario rebounded and had a strong season for the Cubs and the Washington National, and after that he landed a three-year, $45 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds, but Candelario immediately declined again as he struggled with knee tendinitis and a fractured toe. He did hit 20 home runs for the Reds in 2024, but his slash lines have been bad since 2023, when he hit 16 home runs to go with a .258/.342/.481 line.
He played just 22 games with the Reds last year, and Candelarios’s defensive struggles at third were especially noteworthy, according to Deeds. He got another look with the New York Yankees when the Reds released him in June, but Cadelario just .203/.289/.357 at Triple-A and didn’t get a call-up.
Part of the attraction here for the Angels is that Candelario comes cheap. He’ll make $13 million from the Reds in the last year of his contract with Cincinnati, and if he does make the Angels roster he’ll get the prorated league minimum, which will come out of the money the Reds have to pay him.
That makes Candelario the ultimate no-risk flyer, but it’s hard to tell what he might add on the field at this point. The Angels recently re-signed third baseman Yoan Moncada to a one-year, $4 million deal, and his competition and possible backups will include infielders Vaughn Grissom, Oswald Perez and maybe second baseman Christian Moore.
It’s impossible to tell what Candelario still has left in the tank given his injury history, much less whether he’s interested in rehabilitating his career given that he’s already been paid. An injury could open up a depth spot for the infielder, as Deeds notes, but it’s a huge stretch to imagine him making the club. From a distance, this looks like another move that makes the Angels look busy, and it’s tough to see it as a genuine add.