As the SF Giants continue to scour the market for bullpen upgrades, one name came off of the board on Thursday. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirmed that veteran pitcher Matt Moore has signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels for $7.5 million.
SF Giants News: Veteran left-handed pitcher pens one-year deal with the Angels
This is a move that could indirectly affect the Giants as well. The Angels, along with San Francisco, recently scouted another veteran bullpen arm in Zack Britton. However, this signing might take the Angels out of the market.
For Moore, he gets to remain in the AL West after putting together one of his best seasons in years. The lefty pitched for the Texas Rangers last year and he was stellar as he posted a 1.95 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 1.17 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, and a 2.18 SO/W ratio across 63 appearances.
It was his first season pitching exclusively out of the bullpen. A permanent move to the bullpen is a move that could extend Moore's career by years if he continues to flash the dominance he exhibited last year.
The 33-year-old has had some bumpy seasons prior to 2022. He was once regarded as the best prospect in baseball but struggled to realize those expectations before being shipped to the Giants at the 2016 trade deadline in a move that sent Matt Duffy and two prospects to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Moore's first season with San Francisco was solid as he helped them sneak into the playoffs in the final weekend of the season. He was stellar in his lone outing against the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS as he yielded just one earned run across eight innings against a tough lineup. Though, the Giants lost that series in four games.
He struggled in his second season with San Francisco and was shipped to Texas after the 2017 season. Since then, he had a stint pitching overseas and he has appeared for the Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies and returned to the Rangers.
This likely completes what was a very busy offseason for the Angels. They have added Tyler Anderson, Gio Urshela, Hunter Renfroe, and Brandon Drury to go along with Moore. Similar to the Giants, the Angels made a lot of moves that did not necessarily grab the headlines, but that raised the floor of the team.
Of course, it helps that the Angels have two of the best players in baseball in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Despite that, they still finished with a 73-89 record in 2022. These moves should help them improve upon last year's performance.