The second bullpen upgrade of the day is a big one
After bringing in Archie Bradley earlier in the day, the Angels made another significant upgrade to their bullpen on Thursday afternoon, as they reportedly reached an agreement on a contract with free agent reliever Ryan Tepera. According to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors, the deal is for two years and $14 million.
Right-hander Ryan Tepera has agreed to terms with the #Angels. Two years and $14MM, per source.
— Steve Adams (@Adams_Steve) March 17, 2022
Tepera split time with the Cubs and White Sox last year, and he quietly put up one of the better campaigns for a reliever in all of baseball. The 34-year-old righty logged 61.1 innings across 65 games in 2021, where he posted a 2.79 ERA and a 2.73 FIP while striking out 74 batters and walking 19. Over the last two seasons combined, he ranks 14th among all qualified relievers in fWAR, and his 71 ERA- over that time puts him 29 percent above the league average.
Newest #Angels reliever Ryan Tepera in 2021 with the Cubs & White Sox
61.1 IP (65 Games)
1.6 fWAR
2.79 ERA
2.73 FIP
19 BB
74 SO
0.88 WHIP
22 Holds— Halos Heaven (@halosheaven) March 17, 2022
As mentioned earlier, this is just the latest in a long line of moves that the Halos have made in an effort to significantly upgrade their bullpen. They signed Aaron Loup and re-signed Raisel Iglesias prior to the lockout, and in just the last few hours alone, they have supplemented that duo with both Bradley and now Tepera. Those four alongside holdovers Mike Mayers, Austin Warren and José Quijada look to form the bulk of the ‘pen for next year, and at least on paper, it looks like a group that should be able to lessen the pressure on a starting rotation that has more than its fair share of question marks associated with it.
The two-year deal that the Angels gave Tepera is the third multi-year contract the Angels have given to a pitcher this offseason (joining Iglesias and Loup), a fact that is made notable when you remember that they hadn’t even given out one such contract since all the way back in 2013 when they inked Joe Smith for three years.
General manager Perry Minasian looks to be committed to fixing the pitching staff in both 2022 and beyond, though, and with today’s moves, he appears to have built the best bullpen the club has seen in quite some time.