Los Angeles Angels strengthen bullpen following departure of Shohei Ohtani.
The Angels agreed to a three-year, $33 million (44.2 billion won) contract with former Tampa Bay Rays bullpen Robert Stevenson on the 22nd. It is the second-highest amount of relief pitcher in the offseason after Josh Hader, who signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Houston Astros.
Stevenson is an eight-year MLB veteran who debuted with the Cincinnati Reds in 2016, traded to the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates last season and traded to Tampa Bay. He has a 17-20 record of 3 saves and a 4.64 ERA in 271 career appearances.
He signed a contract with a very high salary for his career record. The Angels had a low-ranked bullpen last season. He ranked 25th in the MLB with 31-37-43 saves and a 4.88 ERA.
Hader's maximum contract with Houston last weekend was $30 million after the 2023 season when the free agent market opened. The Atlanta Braves signed free agent Reynaldo Lopez, a three-year, $30 million contract with the Angels. Lopez announced after signing that he will switch to the 2024 season starting lineup.
Former Toronto Blue Jays Jordan Hicks was originally a bullpen pitcher, but he announced he would be a starter when he signed a four-year, $44 million contract with the SF Giants.
A bullpen pitcher usually has a one-year or two-year contract. The Cincinnati Reds are strengthening their bullpen by signing Emilio Pagan for two years, $16 million, and Nick Martinez for two years, $26 million. Joe Kelly, who handed Ohtani his jersey number 17 and got his wife a Porsche car as a gift, also signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The reason why bullpen pitchers have short contract periods is because they can sign contracts the easiest and cheapest in the free agent market. The role of bullpen pitchers in the postseason is also important, but they are limited to setup men and top closing pitchers.
This is evident in the San Diego Padres' five-year, $28 million contract with Yuki Matsui, a former Japanese professional baseball player, and a two-year contract with Ko Woo-seok, a former LG Twins player, for $4.5 million.
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