Angels Are Proving to Have The Steal of the Offseason Thus Far in Free Agency

Perry Minasian getting ahead of the pitcher market seems to have paid off.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian worked quickly in free agency this year. He was responsible for the first real big move of the offseason, when he poached All-Star LHP Tyler Anderson from the Dodgers with a three-year deal worth $39 million.

Anderson had the $19.65 million qualifying offer on the table from the Dodgers, but he wanted the stability of a multi-year deal — and Minasian jumped on the opportunity to sign him.

At the time, the deal looked like a great move. A few weeks into free agency, however, it's starting to look like a steal.

On Thursday, the Rays signed starter/reliever Zach Eflin to a three-year, $40 million deal — so pretty much the same one that Anderson got from the Angels.

Earlier in free agency, the White Sox signed RHP Mike Clevinger to a one-year, $12 million deal. Also, the Tigers signed LHP Matt Boyd to a one-year, $10 million deal.

The value on the contracts hovered around the same mark, in the $10 to $13.3 million range. But Anderson was significantly better than all these guys in 2022.

Zach Eflin gets the same contract as Tyler Anderson.

Anderson was an All-Star in 2022 with a 2.57 ERA. Eflin had a 4.04 ERA as a starter/reliever.

#Angels deal is already looking like a steal between Eflin, Mike Clevinger ($12M) and Matt Boyd ($10M). #GoHalos https://t.co/FtLKEc9D9C

— Halos Today (@halos_today) December 2, 2022

Last season, Anderson went 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA in 178.2 innings. He also had a 1.00 WHIP, a 3.31 FIP and a 163 ERA+. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.

Now let's look at the other guys:

Zach Eflin: 3-5 record, 4.04 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 3.56 FIP and 101 ERA+ in 75.2 innings (13 starts in 20 appearances).

Mike Clevinger: 7-7 record, 4.33 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 2.35 FIP and 86 ERA+ in 114.1 innings.

Matt Boyd was a reliever in 2022 in limited action coming back from an injury. He went 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 13.1 innings (10 appearances). However, he was non-tendered by the Tigers after the 2021 season, when he went 3-8 with a 3.89 ERA as a starter before getting hurt.

Out of all these options, Anderson seems like by far the most known commodity and best option. He had the best year of his career in 2022, and was one of the more stable forces in the rotation on the best team in all of baseball.

Anderson will be 33-years-old come Opening Day next season. Clevinger and Boyd will both be 32, while Eflin will turn 29 in April. So, aside from Eflin, they're all about the same age.

A few weeks into free agency, the Angels' move for Anderson is looking better and better by the day. And when the top starters on the market go for record money, it's going to look even better.

Minasian deserves some credit for getting ahead of the market, and making this move for Anderson early on. It could look like a real steal over the course of the next few seasons.