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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Angels continued their offseason-long pursuit of bullpen help Tuesday, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $9 million deal to bring back veteran left-hander Matt Moore, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The Moore agreement comes on the same day the Angels announced a three-year, $33 million deal with Robert Stephenson. He and Moore likely will serve as setup men for incumbent closer Carlos Estevez.
Moore, 34, posted a 2.66 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 12 walks in 44 innings with the Angels last season, then was placed on waivers and ultimately claimed by the Cleveland Guardians as part of the team’s aggressive attempts to shed salary and dip under the luxury tax threshold at the end of August.
Moore came up with the Tampa Bay Rays as a starting pitcher and finished ninth in American League Cy Young Award voting after his age-24 season in 2013. But he underwent Tommy John surgery the following year, struggled out of the rotation thereafter, missed almost all of the 2019 season because of knee surgery and spent 2020 pitching in Japan, helping the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks win the Japan Series title.
Moore returned to the United States and transitioned to a full-time reliever with the Texas Rangers in 2022, triggering a two-year stretch that saw him post a 2.20 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP with 143 strikeouts in 126 2/3 innings.
The Angels, who lost Shohei Ohtani to the crosstown rival Los Angeles Dodgers last month, haven’t made any substantive additions to their lineup or their rotation this offseason. But they have signed five relievers to major league deals, a list that includes Moore, Stephenson, Luis Garcia, Adam Cimber and Adam Kolarek.
“We had a hard time in the sixth, seventh, eighth inning [last year],” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said on a video conference earlier Tuesday. “I think our plus-minus in those three innings was minus-123. For us to win more games, and especially compete, we have to be better in those middle innings.”