Angels agree to a deal with infielder Luis Valbuena
The Angels have agreed to a multiyear contract with veteran power-hitting infielder Luis Valbuena, according to a source who requested anonymity because the deal is not finalized. The deal is believed to contain an option for an additional season.
Valbuena must still undergo a physical examination; it’s unclear when that will take place. FoxSports.com reported additional contract language must be finalized.
Valbuena, 31, is a career .232 hitter with a .317 on-base percentage and .394 slugging percentage. More recently, he has demonstrated improved power, with at least a dozen homers in four consecutive seasons. He hit a career-high 25 two years ago, and 13 in 90 games last season as a Houston Astro.
His 2016 was cut short because of a significant hamstring injury, hampering his free-agent market. He recently played eight games in the Venezuelan winter league in an attempt to prove he was healthy.
The Venezuela native has hit right-handed pitching particularly well in recent seasons, and the Angels could deploy him as a platoon partner at third or first base — or both. First base could make particular sense, because incumbent C.J. Cron is a right-handed hitter. Cron has produced reverse splits in three major league seasons, but in small samples, and he is an inferior defender.
Third baseman Yunel Escobar is, too, a right-handed hitter with reverse splits last season, hitting right-handed pitching better. But he has hit more traditionally over his career, and he is a free agent after 2017.
The Angels could choose to trade Cron or Escobar, or they could use Valbuena as a utility man until third base opens in 2018. They pursued dealing Escobar last season and could not find a partner, then exercised his $7-million option.
The signing probably pushes Jefry Marte closer to a minor league assignment. In his first extended major league chance last year, Marte demonstrated similar skills as Valbuena, with worse defensive credentials.
Of note also is Albert Pujols’ situation. His December foot surgery to repair a painful plantar fascia put his opening-day availability into question. Even if he is fit to play early in the season, it’s likely to be almost exclusively as a designated hitter.
Twitter: @pedromoura
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