The Los Angeles Angels made another move yesterday, resigning third baseman Moan Yancada to a $4 million at a position where they really need a serious upgrade, with the signing reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It’s another signing that’s all about the bottom line, but even spending this amount of money, which is small by current MLB standards, feels like a serious overpay.
Moncada hasn’t done much to earn his way back on the team. He was originally signed in 2025 for $5 million after spending eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox, but he was disappointing last year, posting a slash line of .234/.334/.448 while hitting just 12 home runs to go with 35 RBIs.
The third baseman struggled with injuries, and he spent the last five weeks on the shelf due to knee inflammation. Moncada also had thumb issues last year, but injuries have been an issue for the third baseman throughout his career, and he played just 85 games last year.
Moncada was once a plus defender, but that’s no longer the case. He has soft hands and a strong arm, but his ongoing struggles with knee issues have made him a statue at third, which was part of the reason many Angels wanted to see the team move on from Moncada and make a significant upgrade.
The switch-hitting third baseman does have power, but it’s been a while since he’s shown it. He did hit 25 home runs to go with a slash line of .315/.367.548 back during his career year in 2019, but he hasn’t hither 14 home runs in any season since.
The best case for the Angels would be a batting average over .250 to go with a 20-HR season, but that feels like a big ask for a player going into his age-31 season with a career that looks to be in serious decline.
Nonetheless, Moncada represents a warm body at third base, which is a position where the team currently has very few options. Moncada could face competition in spring training from prospect Christian Moore and newly-acquired infielder Vaughn Grissom, but both Moore and Grissom are second basemen who’d be making a big switch.
It’s hard to see this signing as anything other than the least amount of money the Angels could spend to get a competent third baseman, but that’s how the Halos roll. The emphasis this year has been on building a pitching staff with new manager Kurt Suzuki and pitching coach Mike Maddux, but Moncada won’t give them much help defensively, nor will he add a whole lot to the lineup.