Cliff Pennington and Jarrod Dyson
While the Los Angeles Angels truly need a bat from the left side that could be productive, they may have to “settle” for a player who offers glove over bat skills.
On the infield, the Angels could bring back an old friend in Cliff Pennington. Pennington is a veteran of 10 major league seasons, hitting just .243/.310/.341 over that time with minimal power and speed.He’s only had one season of more than 200 plate appearances where he hit above .270. He’s never hit double-digit home runs or topped 30 stolen bases.
Pennington started at shortstop for three seasons before his ineffective bat was too much for the Oakland A’s to keep running out there. He spent the last two seasons with the Angels, hitting .232/.287/.320 with 6 home runs and 4 stolen bases over 405 plate appearances.
The downfall with Pennington is that he is coming into his age 34 season and has been making solid money the last few seasons (a combined $3.75 million over the last two years). He might want to get a seven figure deal to sign, which could be an issue for the Angels.
If the Los Angeles Angels were to focus on a defensive outfielder to back up Trout, Calhoun, and Upton, an excellent option still on the market would be Jarrod Dyson. Dyson spent last season with the Seattle Mariners after spending the first 11 years of his professional career in the Kansas City Royals organization.
Dyson struggled with a full-time job in 2017, but he shined once he lost the starting job, flashing his excellent defense and speed on the bases. While never accumulating 400 plate appearances in a single season, Dyson has totaled over 15 bWAR in his major league career, with roughly half of that value from his defense (much of his offensive value comes from speed).
Dyson has earned solid money over the last few seasons, and even though he will be in his age 33 season, he will likely want $2.5-3 million to sign.
Next: Expensive options