The Los Angeles Angels are “closing in” on bringing back their free-agent closer, Raisel Iglesias, on a four-year deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal will be for $58 million, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
Iglesias joined the Angels last offseason in a trade from the Reds and had one of the best years of his pretty excellent career. He closed 34 of 39 saves with a 2.57 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 103 strikeouts against 12 walks. He got better as the season went on, blowing two of his first four chances and then closing down his final 13 save chances.
This is a huge win for the Angels on two fronts. First of all, if not for bringing back Iglesias, the back end of the bullpen was looking pretty thin. Righty Mike Mayers and lefty Aaron Loup will make great setup men for Iglesias, but the puzzle wouldn’t really fit well together without him as the final piece.
Secondly, the selection of closers in free agency this offseason is pretty thin. Kenley Jansen and Iglesias were far and away the two best options. There’s something to be said for familiarity with such a volatile position, too, so keeping Iglesias is a sound decision.
The Angels so far have added Noah Syndergaard and likely Michael Lorenzen to their rotation that already includes Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval and José Suarez. We know they’ve already pushed for top-end starters such as Max Scherzer, so maybe there’s room to add there still with someone such as Marcus Stroman.
Offensively, simply getting Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon back to full strength for a full season would be a huge upgrade and the Angels have been connected in rumors to several position players in free agency as well.
The Angels finished 77-85 last season.
