Angels agree to four-year deal with Raisel Iglesias, per report

The Angels are in agreement on a four-year deal with star closer Raisel Iglesias, according to a report late Tuesday night from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal was the first to report that the two sides were closing in on a deal. The financial terms of the contract have not yet been disclosed.

Iglesias turned down the Angels’ one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer in November — a bold move by the 31-year-old reliever after the Angels boldly extended him the offer. His gamble paid off, though, as he instead wound up getting a long-term deal from the Angels, who acquired him from the Reds as Cincinnati sought to cut costs last December.

Iglesias had a stellar season in 2021, posting a 2.57 ERA with 34 saves, 103 strikeouts, and 12 walks over 70 innings. He tied for 11th in AL Cy Young voting. Iglesias has a 3.06 career ERA over seven seasons, six of which have been spent primarily in the bullpen.

While the Angels’ biggest task this offseason was addressing their starting rotation — they’ve done that to a degree by adding Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen, but there’s still work to do — they maintain some stability at the back of the bullpen with the retention of Iglesias. Time will tell whether their decision to sign him to a four-year contract will backfire, as it often does for teams who sign relievers to lucrative long-term deals.