Angels Rumors: Insider Predicts Halos Decline Option on 2 Players This Offseason
2023 marked another year of futility for Angels baseball and sweeping changes will be made throughout the organization.
Shohei Ohtani is all but guaranteed to leave the franchise after another dismal year and a few veterans could join him due to their club options for next season.
Options that surely will be declined
Eduardo Escobar, 3B, Los Angeles Angels ($9 million club option with $500k buyout)
Aaron Loup, RP, Los Angeles Angels ($7.5 million club option with $2 million buyout)
Escobar had some productive seasons for Minnesota, Milwaukee, Arizona and the Mets before he joined the Angels for the 2023 season.
In Escobar's 59 games with Anaheim that production tapered off as he hit just .219 with none of the All-Star prowess he held just two short seasons ago.
The 34-year-old will almost certainly be too expensive at his current $9 million price tag for 2024 making a reunion at the Big A quite unlikely.
Loup's story is a similar one although the Angels brought in the reliever after a great season with the Mets.
After he pitched to a 0.95 ERA across 56.2 innings in Queens many Halo fans thought the veteran would solve the team's bullpen issues.
Loup's performance at Angels Stadium hasn't been close to those heights and this year marked a new low for the former long-time Blue Jay.
2023 may have been Loup's first season yet after he pitched to an ERA above 6 across 46 innings of work throughout the season.
The 35-year-old will be on the chopping block for his poor pitching this year and several more may be on the way.
Change is certain for every MLB team in the offseason but this year may be more stark than most for baseball in Orange County.
