9:45am: The 2 sides are in settlement on a one-year take care of a membership choice for the 2026 season, experiences Jon Heyman of the New York Put up.
9:14am: The Angels are closing in on a take care of free agent infielder Kevin Newman, report Will Sammon and Sam Blum of The Athletic. The Angels just lately introduced that shortstop Zach Neto might miss the beginning of the 2025 season following shoulder surgical procedure.
Newman, 31, had a pleasant yr in a utility position with the Diamondbacks in 2024. The previous Pirates first-rounder hit .278/.311/.375 (89 wRC+) with plus protection at each center infield spots. He additionally logged transient time at third base and within the outfield corners. He doesn’t present any energy (three homers, .097 ISO) or draw many walks (4.8%), however Newman additionally confirmed pesky contact expertise, fanning in solely 15.4% of his plate appearances. He’s a roughly common runner however has savvy sufficient instincts to have gone 30-for-35 in stolen base makes an attempt over the previous 4 seasons (85.7% success). Newman swiped eight baggage in every of the previous three seasons and peaked at a career-best 16 steals when he was given extra enjoying time with the Pirates in 2019.
Even within the occasion that Neto is prepared for Opening Day, Newman makes some sense as a pure bench choice for an Angels membership that’s missing any form of confirmed contributor. Former prime prospect Scott Kingery is at the moment in line to carry a bench position. The one different infield choices on the 40-man roster are Eric Wagaman, who debuted as a 27-year-old rookie in September, and former second-round decide Kyren Paris, who struggled immensely at Double-A, Triple-A and within the majors final season. Newman will add some mandatory depth and lift the staff’s flooring together with his monitor file of wonderful glovework.
Newman may also present the Halos with some depth within the occasion that oft-injured veteran Anthony Rendon once more requires an absence of size. Newman has been higher suited on the center infield spots than at third base, however the Halos might shift Luis Rengifo to the new nook if Rendon misses time and plug Newman in at second in his place.
Whereas Newman doesn’t have a powerful monitor file on the plate, he’s settled into a reasonably particular vary when it comes to offensive output over the previous three seasons. His 2024 output is an efficient approximation of what to anticipate. Courting again to 2022, he’s a .270/.313/.371 hitter in 873 plate appearances. It’s about 14% worse than common, by measure of wRC+, however when coupled with plus protection and above-average baserunning expertise it’s sufficient to make Newman a helpful position participant who might help any membership that’s brief on infield depth — an outline that at the moment suits the Angels to a tee.
