Per FanSided’s Robert Murray, the Los Angeles Angels are bringing back catcher Kurt Suzuki on a one-year, $1.75 million contract (pending physical). Suzuki spent the 2021 season behind the plate for the Angels as well.
Free-agent catcher Kurt Suzuki and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a one-year, $1.75 million contract, pending physical, according to sources familiar with the situation.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) March 12, 2022
Suzuki, 38, is nearing the end of his big league career and is one of the more well-respected backstops throughout the major leagues. He signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles in January of last season and became the 16th catcher in MLB history to record 10,000 career putouts behind the plate.
The former All-Star (2014) and World Series champion (2019) is a veteran of 15 seasons in the big leagues and has 139 home runs in more than 1,500 games at baseball’s highest level.
Last season, Suzuki played in 72 games for the Halos, hitting six home runs and posting a .224 batting average while catching 557 innings for the club. He will likely slot in behind Max Stassi at the position in 2022 as he did last year for the Angels.
The re-signing of Suzuki most likely pushes Matt Thaiss off of the big league roster heading into 2022. The clunky corner-infielder-turned-catcher was projected to backup Stassi in 2022 but will now most likely begin the season in Triple-A unless he is able to make the club as a backup infielder and third-string catcher.
The signing of Suzuki will add another much-needed veteran presence on this Angels team, joining Justin Upton as the two veteran position players with more than 10 years of MLB service time. While he may not play too much in the upcoming season, it’s the veteran presence and ability to work with the team’s pitchers that prompted the Angels to bring him back for (at least) one more season.
The Los Angeles Angels are bringing back veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki on another one-year contract, this time for $1.75 million. He will backup Max Stassi as he nears the end of his playing career.