Angels Could Cash In On Free-Agent Frenzy To Land Closer

The Los Angeles Angels finally moved on from Kurt Suzuki on Wednesday, and interim GM John Mozeliak announced that he won’t be staying on when his current contract expires. There’s a reason for this, and it’s all about an upcoming what many insiders around MLB an upcoming “free-agent frenzy,” according to Andy McCullough of The Athletic. 

Why? Consider this a prime example of history repeating itself. This happened before the last time the CBA expired, which happened back in 2021. Numerous nine-figure contracts were handed out, with McCullough mentioning the names of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Max Scherzer, Robbie Ray, Javier Baez and Kevin Gausman. 

McCullough quoted one exective as saying there could be more urgency in November, and it could be a “fun month.” The way it lays out is that the GM meetings start on Nov. 9 in Las Vegas, and with no winter meetings happening after the looming lockout, this could be the setup for things to get done. 

Expect the Angels to be in on this, even though we don’t know who the GM and new manager will be. New owner Stan Kroenke didn’t win championships in other sports by lagging behind the competition, and he won’t allow that to happen with his prized new property, either. 

McCullough threw out multiple players who could benefit this time around, including pitchers Michael King and Sonny Gray, Randy Arozarena, infielders Jake Bauers and Brandon Lowe and outfielder Seiya Suzuki. Morejon was the leader of the pack in the relief market, and he’d make a lot of sense for the Angels. 

Adding a left-handed closer would obviously be unconventional, but at the very least Morejon would be a high-leverage arm for a bullpen that’s going to need a near-total rebuild. 

The owners supposedly want to hold the line for a hard cap this time around, but we’ve seen how that goes. As far as how it affects free agency, some teams will want to hold off on making moves until new rules are in place, but the Halos could have carte blanche to spend big, and closer is one of their biggest needs. 

The move to watch for is a GM add in the next week or so. There’s no reason to wait at this point, and Kroenke has to already know who he’s going to put in place, or at least be very close to knowing. It’s a prime opportunity to get ahead of the curve, and that’s not a window the new owner is going to want to miss on.