Angels Free Agent Veteran Reliever Signs With AL West Rival

Valentina Martinez | Mar 15, 2025

Sep 6, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Hunter Strickland (61) throws to the plate during the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images / Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Former Los Angeles Angels reliever Hunter Strickland signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers earlier this week. The contract includes an invitation to the team's big league camp.

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Strickland spent the 2024 season with the Angels, and put up strong numbers. The 36-year-old produced a 3.31 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 24 walks across a career-high 73.1 innings. The right-hander recorded a strong 8.2 percent walk rate, but regressed in terms of his strikeout rate.

Last season was Strickland's second stint with the Angels. The reliever also spent part of the 2021 season with Anaheim after being traded by the Tampa Bay Rays in May.

Strickland made just nine appearances for the Angels in 2021, before he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for cash considerations. Strickland produced a 9.95 ERA during his first stint with the Angels.

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Strickland enters his 11th Major League season with the Rangers, but has spent time with the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cincinnati Reds.

The right-hander spent the first five years of his career in San Francisco. From 2014-18, Strickland recorded a 29.1 ERA with a 22.6 percent strikeout rate and an 8.4 percent walk rate in 226 innings pitched.

Now, Strickland will reunite with manager Bruce Bochy, who he played under with the Giants. The right-hander is a two-time World Series champion. He won one title with Bochy in San Francisco during the 2014 season, and won his second ring in 2019 with the Nationals.

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