Los Angeles Angels Agree to One-Year, $5 Million Contract with Yoan Moncada

Yoan Moncada has landed an angelic deal…

The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with the 29-year-old Cuban professional baseball third baseman and free agent, per ESPN.

Yoan MoncadaThe move, first reported by The New York Post, probably rounds out the Angels’ lineup for the 2025 season.

Moncada notably plays the position previously occupied by Anthony Rendon, who has been a disappointment since signing a seven-year, $245 million contract in December 2019.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian indicated throughout the offseason that, moving forward, the organization can’t necessarily count on Rendon, who played in less than a third of the Angels’ games and produced only a .666 OPS over the past four seasons.

By adding Moncada, who has played strictly third base over the past seven seasons, Rendon no longer has a clear pathway for playing time. He can spell Moncada at third base on occasion and perhaps replace the left-handed-hitting Nolan Schanuel at first when the Angels face a tough lefty. If he is healthy and productive, the Angels will undoubtedly find a consistent place for him in the lineup, with the designated-hitter slot also an option. But with two years left on his contract, Rendon’s future is cloudier than ever.

Moncada, a switch-hitter, also has something to prove.

Once the jewel of the Boston Red Sox farm system, Moncada broke out in 2019 and turned in a solid season with the Chicago White Sox in 2021. But he has slashed just .236/.291/.387 while playing in only 208 games over the past three seasons.

Last year, for a White Sox team that lost a record 121 games, Moncada played in only 12, sitting out five months because of an adductor strain. He returned Sept. 18, taking one at-bat, then sat out the rest of the season.

The White Sox declined Moncada’s $25 million option, sending him into free agency.

Now, he represents the latest addition in an Angels offseason headlined by the trade for corner outfielder Jorge Soler and the signing of starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi.

Notably, Moncada also represents some necessary insurance for Rendon, who’s heading into his age-35 season and has been beset by injuries to his oblique, lower back, hamstring, shin, wrist, groin, hip and knee since 2021.

Raisel Iglesias Acquired by the Los Angeles Angels

Raisel Iglesias will be seeing angels next season…

The 30-year-old Cuban professional baseball pitcher, a closer for the Cincinnati Reds, has been acquired by the Los Angeles Angels.

Raisel Iglesias

The team acquired Iglesias in exchange for right-handed reliever Noe Ramirez and a player to be named later or cash considerations on Monday, the first day of the virtual winter meetings.

 

Iglesias saved 92 games from 2017 to 2019, but had arguably his best season in 2020, posting a 2.74 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP while striking out 31 batters and walking only five in 23 innings.

Iglesias, a right-hander, throws his four-seam fastball in the upper-90s and also mixes in a slider and a changeup. He’s the second acquisition made by new Angels general manager Perry Minasian, coming over five days after the team acquired another native Cuban, shortstop Jose Iglesias, from the Baltimore Orioles. That day, the Angels also non-tendered five relievers, including former closer Hansel Robles.

 

Raisel Iglesias and Jose Iglesias are not related but were born one day apart. They were teammates with the Reds in 2019.

Raisel Iglesias will make $9.125 million in the final season of his three-year, $24.125 million contract, but the Angels are also receiving unspecified cash considerations in the trade. By dealing Iglesias and non-tendering Archie BradleyBrian Goodwin and Curt Casali, among others, the Reds have saved nearly $20 million in salary commitments for 2021.

Reds general manager Nick Krall told reporters the team is trying to “reallocate resources” to address its pitching depth and find a starting shortstop.