Angels Infielder Selects Free Agency After Year At Triple-A

The Los Angeles Angels signed third baseman Jeimer Candelario during the offseason hoping he would be able to recapture his glory days with the Cincinnati Reds, but Candelario has elected free agency going into the offseason, according to a report from Charie Wright and Connor Byrne of MLBTradeRumors.com. 

Candelario was once a budding star, as he was signed to a three-year, $45 million deal by the Cincinnati Reds back in 2023. The contract didn’t pan out, and the Reds cut ties with Candelario in June of 2025, with the Angels signing him to a minor league deal last winter. 

He played well enough to earn a roster spot, but things quickly went sideways after that. Candelario went 2 for 18 with eight strikeouts and one walk in seven games, and the Angels outrighted him in mid-April. 

Candelario spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Salt Lake and hit a solid .281/.377/.509 with 15 homers in 387 plate appearances, but he’s electing to leave the Halos minor league system to look for another minor-league deal.

It’s probably a smart move on his part. Candelario became part of a revolving door of similar veteran retreads who were signed by former Angels GM Perry Minasian. Minasian is gone, with interim GM John Mozeliak coming on board to clean house at the deadline, and a new ownership group will be taking over next year now that owner Arte Moreno has sold the team. 

The revolving door has come to a close, thankfully, with the Angels making moves simply to make it through a disastrous second half of the season as they wound up losing an even 100 games. The one player who did make it through all this was outfielder Wade Meckler, who became one of the bright spots of the Halos season with his hustle plays and near-.300 final average. 

The infield is also in a similar state of uncertainty. The Angels punted on veteran Yoan Moncada at third base, and the one player who did pick up the baton at the hot corner was Oswald Peraza, but Peraza slumped badly near the end of the season. 

Third base is now an open position, as is second base, and no one knows how this is going to look at the moment. Candelario is one of many low-level players who’s in a tough spot due to the impending lockout, and his career is now in limbo.