The Los Angeles Angels may not be spending any money this offseason, but they’re still making moves. Their latest one is another waiver-wire claim, with this one plucking outfielder Wade Meckler from the San Francisco Giants, according to Eric Cole of Halo Hangout.
This isn’t a significant move, but like nearly all waiver wire moves, the upsell is potential. Meckler can play all three outfield positions, he walks a lot and he hits the ball hard.
The tough part of this sell is that Meckler has just 64 plate appearances in the big leagues, with a .232 average to show for it. The Oregon State product was drafted in the 8th round of the 2022 MLB draft, and he quickly rose through the Giants farm system. Meckler has had a couple of injury issues, specifically a sprained wrist in 2024 and a stint in the concussion protocol last year when he dove for a ball in a Cactus League game.
For the Angels, he’s likely just a depth piece. The Angels have holes in left and center field, and currently their defensive option is Bryce Teodosio, who hasn’t hit well enough to claim a full-time job.
Angels fans would love to see prime prospect Nelson Rada grab the center field job and take off, but it’s highly unlikely, so Meckler gives them more versatility across all three outfield positions. He’ll likely end up at Triple A Salt Lake, where he’ll get an opportunity to garner attention at the Angels highest level.
The latest story about the Angels’ supposed increase in spending could actually help Meckler indirectly. Before yesterday’s lates interview with GM Perry Minasian, Angels fans were assuming that the Halos would have some money to spend, based on part on the trade of outfielder Taylor Ward, and also on the completed contract resolution of former third baseman Anthony Rendon.
But Minasian waffled horribly when asked specifically about this recently, thus revealing what most of us already knew, which is that the Angels aren’t going to spend much more money at all.
They’ll likely continue to do more waiver wire pickups, along with a minor trade or two, then try to sell the fan base that these minor moves represent major upgrades that can make the Angels competitive once again.
The real action to watch will be with the pitching staff, which is where the Angels actually have a genuine chance to improve. New pitching coach Mike Maddux has been reunited with several of the pitchers with whom he had success as a Texas Ranger, and if he and new manager Kurt Suzuki can somehow turn around some of their wounded pitching warriors, something closer to a .500 might be possible.