“Angels sign Travis d'Arnaud to two-year deal”

The Angels announced they have signed catcher Travis d'Arnaud to a two-year contract. This pact reportedly includes a $12 million guarantee for the Wasserman customer. Right-handed Guillo Zuñiga was planned for a corresponding move. The Halos have also signed on Sal Fasanowho was an assistant pitching coach at Atlanta until his firing last month.

d'Arnaud, 36 in February, has been with Atlanta for several years. However, that club declined an $8 million club option to keep him through 2025 and sent him to the open market last week. With a new contract at a slightly lower average annual value but with an additional guaranteed season, the veteran has bounced back quickly.

His time with Atlanta consisted of a series of deals, all with an AAV of $8 million. He signed a two-year, $16 million contract through 2020, followed by a two-year, $16 million extension at the end of 2021. In mid-2023, he and the club agreed to a one-year, $8 million extension through 2024, an 8- Million dollar club option for 2025.

During that time he missed some time due to injury, and there were ups and downs on offense, but overall he delivered a solid performance. In his five years with the club, he played in 384 games, hit 60 home runs and slashed .251/.312/.443 for a 106 wRC+. His defense was generally well-respected, allowing him to achieve 9.3 wins above replacement in FanGraphs' eyes during that time.

Despite his competent performance, Atlanta decided to move on. Perhaps this was due to budget constraints or the emergence of new perspectives Drake Baldwinwho knocks on the door. Whatever the case, this club's catching tandem is changing. It was d'Arnaud and Sean Murphy But Murphy will need a new partner in his final years, be it Baldwin or someone else.

The Angels hope Atlanta's loss will be their gain. They already have a strong catcher Logan O'Hoppewho doesn't turn 25 until February and can be controlled through the 2028 season, but d'Arnaud can function in a veteran/backup role.

The only other backstop on the Angels' 40-man roster is Matt Thaisswho no longer has any options. General manager Perry Minasian said today that they are still working out plans with Thaiss, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic on He will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, with MLBTR's Matt Swartz giving him a salary of $1.3 million -dollar forecast. The non-tender period ends on November 22nd, so there may be more clarity on his status by then.

It's possible that Minasian was waiting for his opportunity to reconnect with d'Arnaud, as he quickly made a deal shortly after the veteran became available. Minasian worked as a scout for the Blue Jays from 2009 to 2017. During this time, d'Arnaud, still a prospect, was traded to the Jays in December 2009 Roy Halladay Blockbusters. He was later traded to the Mets as part of the deal in December 2012 RA Dickey to Toronto.

Atlanta's current general manager Alex Anthopoulos was the Jays' GM for both of these trades and also apparently valued a reunion with d'Arnaud a few years ago. The overlapping careers of Minasian and Anthopoulos have apparently resulted in good relations to the present day, as the two clubs have been frequent trading partners of late. Since Minasian was signed in November 2020, the two clubs merged in August 2022 Raisel Iglesias Deal, December 2023 David Fletcher trade, the Jorge Soler Deal from a few weeks ago and some other smaller swaps. Angels manager Ron Washington was also on Atlanta's coaching staff before joining the Halos.

Today's news isn't a trade, but it adds to the track record of trades between the clubs, as the Angels acquired both d'Arnaud and Fasano after they were released from Atlanta. Fasano began his coaching career in the Jays' minor league system in 2009, when both Minasian and Anthopoulos were there. In the fall of 2017, around the same time Anthopoulos was hired by Atlanta, Fasano landed a job as a catching coach with that organization. He held that job until he was fired a few weeks ago, although he and d'Arnaud will reunite with Minasian in Anaheim.

According to RosterResource, this move increases the Angels' projected payroll to $174 million. That's more than the $170 million they had at the start of 2024, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Owner Arte Moreno has announced that payroll will increase next year, although it is unclear exactly how high they want to be. For clubs that missed out on d'Arnaud, the free agent market still exists Danny Jansen, Kyle Higashioka, Carson Kelly and other.

Zuñiga, 26, was acquired from the Cardinals in February. He has 19 2/3 innings of major league experience with a 5.03 earned run average. He posted some decent strikeout numbers in the minors, but walks were occasionally a problem. He has thrown 113 2/3 innings in the minors over the last three years, with a 5.62 ERA, a 23.9% strikeout rate and an 11.6% walk rate.

He now enters DFA limbo, which could last a week, while the Angels consider whether to trade him or place him on waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so a trade must be completed within the next five days. His fastball averaged 96.9 mph in the major leagues this year and he still has an option season left, which might intrigue other clubs around the league.

ESPN's Jeff Passan was first to report the $12 million guarantee for d'Arnaud (X-Link). Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register first noticed the Zuñiga DFA (X-Link). Sam Blum of The Athletic relayed Fasano's signing (X-Link).