The Angels have re-signed three players to minor league deals, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic. Outfielders Aaron Whitefield and Ryan Aguilar and lefty Kolton Ingram will return to the organization next year. All three have been invited to MLB Spring Training.
Aguilar, 28, made his MLB debut this year, getting a seven-game cup of coffee with the Angels wherein he hit .136/.231/.182. In 93 Triple-A games this season, he fared much better. He hit .271/.415/.491 for a wRC+ of 144 and also added 11 steals. He was designated for assignment and outrighted in September.
Whitefield, 26, appeared in three games for the 2020 Twins and five games for the Angels this year. Those eight games make up the entirety of his MLB experience to this point. He spent most of this year in Double-A, getting into 79 games and hitting .262/.343/.432, wRC+ of 104. He managed to swipe 29 bags in that time, despite only playing about a half season’s worth of games. He was outrighted off the club’s roster in May.
The Angels have an uncertain outfield mix at the moment, with Mike Trout and Taylor Ward set to take up center and right field again, respectively. Left field is more open, as Jo Adell has yet to cement himself as a viable big leaguer. He was given brief tastes of the majors in 2020 and 2021 but a larger tryout this year. In 88 games, he hit just .224/.264/.373 for a wRC+ of 77 while striking out in 37.5% of his plate appearances. Given that he’s still a work in progress, it makes sense for the Halos to add some outfield depth to their system.
As for Ingram, who turns 26 in a week, he has no major league experience, having topped out at Double-A so far. He threw 60 2/3 innings at that level this year over 50 appearances, registering a 2.67 ERA with a 47% ground ball rate, 30.8% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate. He’ll stick around as left-handed bullpen depth and try to continue building off a strong season in the minors.
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