The Angels introduced that they’ve signed catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year deal. That pact reportedly comes with a $12MM assure for the Wasserman consumer. Proper-hander Guillo Zuñiga has been designated for project in a corresponding transfer. The Halos have additionally employed Sal Fasano, who was with Atlanta as catching coach till being fired final month, as an assistant pitching coach.
d’Arnaud, 36 in February, has been with Atlanta for the previous few years. Nonetheless, that membership declined an $8MM membership choice to preserve him round for the 2025, sending him to the open market final week. The veteran has shortly landed on his ft with a brand new deal at a barely decrease common annual worth however with an extra assured season.
His time with Atlanta has consisted of a sequence of offers, all with an AAV of $8MM. He signed a two-year, $16MM deal going into 2020, adopted by a two-year, $16MM extension signed late in 2021. Halfway via 2023, he and the membership agreed to a one-year, $8MM extension for 2024 with an $8MM membership choice for 2025.
Throughout that stretch, he has missed a while as a consequence of harm and his offense has been up-and-down, nevertheless it’s typically amounted to stable manufacturing. He bought into 384 video games over his 5 years with the membership, hitting 60 house runs and slashing .251/.312/.443 for a 106 wRC+. His protection was typically properly regarded, permitting him to supply 9.3 wins above substitute over that point, within the eyes of FanGraphs.
Regardless of his competent efficiency, Atlanta determined to maneuver on. Maybe that was as a consequence of budgetary constraints or the emergence of prospect Drake Baldwin, who’s knocking on the door. Both manner, that membership’s catching tandem is shifting. It has been d’Arnaud and Sean Murphy lately however Murphy will want a brand new associate, whether or not that’s Baldwin or another person.
The Angels shall be hoping that Atlanta’s loss shall be their achieve. They have already got a powerful catcher in Logan O’Hoppe, who doesn’t flip 25 years outdated till February and will be managed via the 2028 season, however d’Arnaud can act in a veteran/backup position.
The one different backstop on the Angels’ 40-man roster is Matt Thaiss, who’s out of choices. Common supervisor Perry Minasian mentioned as we speak that they’re nonetheless determining plans with Thaiss, per Sam Blum of The Athletic on X. Maybe Thaiss will transfer to a different place however the membership may additionally carry three catchers or make Thaiss out there in trades. He’s eligible for arbitration for the primary time this winter with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a wage of $1.3MM. The non-tender deadline is November 22, so maybe some extra readability on his standing will emerge between at times.
It’s doable that Minasian has been ready for his alternative to reconnect with d’Arnaud, as he has shortly gotten a deal accomplished shortly after the veteran grew to become out there. Minasian labored as a scout for the Blue Jays from 2009 to 2017. It was throughout that point that d’Arnaud, nonetheless a prospect, was traded to the Jays as a part of the December 2009 Roy Halladay blockbuster. He would later be traded to the Mets as a part of the December 2012 deal that introduced R.A. Dickey to Toronto.
Atlanta’s present basic supervisor Alex Anthopoulos was the GM for the Jays for each of these trades and in addition seemingly made it a precedence to reunite with d’Arnaud a number of years again. The overlapping careers of Minasian and Anthopoulos have apparently led to good relations extending into the current, as the 2 golf equipment have been frequent commerce companions of late. Since Minasian was employed in November of 2020, the 2 golf equipment have linked on the August 2022 Raisel Iglesias deal, the December 2023 David Fletcher commerce, the Jorge Soler deal from a number of weeks in the past and another minor swaps. Angels’ supervisor Ron Washington was additionally on Atlanta’s teaching employees earlier than becoming a member of the Halos.
Right this moment’s information isn’t a commerce nevertheless it provides to the observe document of interchange between the golf equipment, with the Angels buying each d’Arnaud and Fasano after they’d been let go from Atlanta. Fasano began his teaching profession in 2009 within the minor league system of the Jays when each Minasian and Anthopoulos have been there. Within the fall of 2017, across the similar time Anthopoulos was employed by Atlanta, Fasano bought a job as a catching coach with that group. He held that job till he was dismissed a number of weeks in the past, although he and d’Arnaud shall be reuniting with Minasian in Anaheim.
The transfer brings the Angels’ projected payroll to $174MM, per RosterResource. That’s above the $170MM they needed to begin 2024, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Proprietor Arte Moreno has mentioned that the payroll will go up subsequent yr, although it’s unclear precisely how excessive they plan to go. For golf equipment that missed out on d’Arnaud, the free agent market nonetheless options Danny Jansen, Kyle Higashioka, Carson Kelly and others.
Zuñiga, 26, was acquired from the Cardinals in February. He has 19 2/3 innings of main league expertise with a 5.03 earned run common. Within the minors, he has posted some first rate strikeout numbers however walks have often been a difficulty. He has thrown 113 2/3 innings within the minors over the previous three years with a 5.62 ERA, 23.9% strikeout price and 11.6% stroll price.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which may final per week, because the Angels work out whether or not to commerce him or put him on waivers. The waiver course of takes 48 hours, so a commerce would wish to come back collectively within the subsequent 5 days. His fastball averaged 96.9 miles per hour within the massive leagues this yr and he nonetheless has an choice season remaining, which may maybe intrigue different golf equipment across the league.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first relayed the $12MM assure for d’Arnaud (X hyperlink). Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register first famous the Zuñiga DFA (X hyperlink). Sam Blum of The Athletic relayed the Fasano rent (X hyperlink).
