OC Register: Angels fail to reach agreements with 3 arbitration-eligible players

[AngelsWin.com]

The Angels have failed to reach agreements with three of their eight arbitration-eligible players, another step toward potentially going to hearings with outfielder Hunter Renfroe, infielder Gio Urshela or infielder Luis Rengifo.

The Angels agreed with outfielder Taylor Ward ($2.75 million), left-hander Patrick Sandoval ($2.75M), first baseman Jared Walsh ($2.65M) and right-handers Jaime Barria ($1.05M) and Griffin Canning ($850,000).

Teams across the majors scrambled to reach deals with their arbitration-eligible players before Friday’s deadline to exchange salary figures for potential hearings.

There was no word on whether the Angels had gotten to the point of exchanging figures with any of the three players as of early Friday evening, leaving open the possibility that agreements could still be reached without hearings.

The Angels have had only one player go to an arbitration hearing in the past 11 years, outfielder Brian Goodwin in 2020. His hearing was the Angels’ first since pitcher Jered Weaver in 2011.

Teams generally try to avoid arbitration hearings because they can be awkward and create hard feelings between a player and a team. It could be especially awkward if the Angels go to hearings against Renfroe and Urshela, who were just acquired this winter.

Renfroe was projected to make around $11 million, after hitting .255 with 29 home runs and an .807 OPS with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022.

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Urshela was expected to make around $9 million. He hit .285 with 13 homers and a .767 OPS for the Minnesota Twins last season.

Both players are in their final season of arbitration before reaching free agency.

Rengifo, who is eligible for arbitration for the first time, was expected to make around $2.5 million. He had a breakthrough season in 2022, hitting .264 with 17 homers and a .724 OPS.

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