OC Register: Raisel Iglesias rejects Angels’ qualifying offer

[AngelsWin.com]

The Angels are going to have to keep trying if they are going to keep closer Raisel Iglesias.

Iglesias rejected the team’s qualifying offer before Wednesday’s deadline, which was the expected outcome when the Angels put the one-year, $18.4 million deal on the table Nov. 7.

By rejecting the offer, Iglesias simply signaled that he’d prefer to continue monitoring the open market, most likely in search of a multiyear deal. He can still re-sign with the Angels.

Iglesias, who will be 32 next season, posted a 2.57 ERA with 34 saves for the Angels in 2021. He is the best reliever on the free-agent market this winter, so there will be plenty of competition for his services.

Although the Angels would have been happy to be guaranteed another year of Iglesias if he’d had accepted the offer, it would have created a budget crunch. They already spent $21 million for Noah Syndergaard, and $18.4 million for Iglesias would have made it more difficult to afford another top starting pitcher.

If they can sign Iglesias to a multi-year deal, they might be able to get him for $14 million to $16 million per year. And if the deal was spread over three or four years, they could backload it so he’d make even less in 2022.

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The Chicago White Sox just picked up Craig Kimbrel’s option for $16 million in 2022. White Sox closer Liam Hendriks has a three-year, $52-million deal. The buyout and the fourth year option are both worth $15 million, which most likely makes his deal a four-year contract with an average annual value of $13 million.

If Iglesias signs elsewhere, the Angels will receive a draft pick as compensation. They lost a pick by signing Syndergaard, who had been given the qualifying offer from the New York Mets.

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