The Los Angeles Angels continue to add to their offense this offseason by picking up a hard-hitting utility man last night. According to ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan, LA inked Brandon Drury to a two-year, $17 million pact that will see the multi-position player join his third team in less than a year.
Utilityman Brandon Drury and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a two-year, $17 million contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Drury, 30, won the Silver Slugger at the utility position last year and is the third bat the Angels have acquired this winter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 21, 2022
Drury will swap his San Diego Padres jersey for an Angels uniform next season. The 30-year-old veteran started 2022 donning a Cincinnati Reds cap before being moved to San Diego ahead of last year’s trade deadline.
Drury had a breakout campaign last year, at least in the first half of the season. The former Arizona Diamondback hit .274, with 59 RBI, and set new career bests in home runs (20) and runs scored (62) before even getting moved out of Cincy. After 92 games with the Reds, Drury’s numbers took a bit of a bath in 46 games with the Padres. The Oregon native hit just .238 with eight home runs and 28 RBI in his short stint in southern California. Despite the slower second half, Drury did capture the Silver Slugger award for utility players.
The righty bat will join an Angels’ lineup already boosted by other key offseason acquisitions, Gio Urshela and Hunter Renfroe.
FanDuel Sportsbook has LA tied with the third-longest odds to win their division. The Angels sit knotted with the Texas Rangers at +1000 and behind the Houston Astros (-200) and Seattle Mariners (+300).
