Angels News: Halos Sign Former Rays World Series Hero to One-Year Deal
The Angels continued their busy offseason on Monday, adding even more depth to the outfield. Ken Rosenthal reported that the Angels added OF Brett Phillips on a one-year, major league deal.
Phillips will be the fourth outfielder on the Angels' roster, and provide depth behind a strong outfield of Mike Trout, Taylor Ward and the newly-acquired Hunter Renfroe. The deal is reported to be for $1.2 million, according to Jon Heyman.
Phillips has played for four teams over his six-year career. He's a career .188 hitter with 28 home runs and 93 RBIs, but is a great defender at all three outfield positions. He's spent most of his time in center field and left field, and is a perfect candidate to spend time in center to allow Trout to move to the corner outfield positions.
This move definitely puts the immediate futures of OFs Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak in question. Angels manager Phil Nevin has praised both this season, and even said he expects Adell to contribute in 2023. While that's still very possible, it doesn't seem like it'll be in the early part of the season.
It seems more likely Adell and Moniak will start the season in Triple-A, and try to work their way back up to the big leagues. They won't have any pressure on them to contribute early in the year, so maybe that's exactly what they need to get their careers back on track.