Former Kansas City Royals Slugger Inks Deal with AL West Club
The Los Angeles Angels have signed former Kansas City Royals slugger Hunter Dozier to a minor league deal.
Per Jon Morosi of MLB.com:
Source: Hunter Dozier has agreed to a minor league deal with the Angels that includes an invitation to @MLB camp.
Now there's no guarantee that Dozier makes the roster but he should have an opportunity to compete for a spot in spring training.
He offers some defensive versatility which should make him appealing to manager Ron Washington. In 2023, he played left field, right field and first base, in addition to designated hitter. He also has 239 games of experience at third base.
All in all, Dozier has spent seven years in the big leagues, all with the Royals. He offers some real power when things are going right. He hit a league-best 10 triples in 2019 and added 26 homers and 84 RBI. He also hit 16 homers in the 2021 season but he's never been much of an average hitter.
He hit .279 in that breakout 2019 season but then hit .228, .216, .236 and .183 in successive years.
The Angels are a team in transition at the moment, having moved on from manager Phil Nevin and hiring Washington. In addition, they also saw Shohei Ohtani exit in free agency and they have to deal with the reality that Mike Trout isn't as reliable as he once was.
The Angels finished fourth in the American League West in 2023 and haven't done much this offseason, but they remain a contender for free agent pitcher Blake Snell.
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