Angels News: Hunter Renfroe Named Among Top 2023 Offseason Acquisitions

His presence has made a huge difference.

It was clear as day that after the disappointing 2022 season, the Los Angeles Angels need a culture change all around. Between a huge drop-off after a hot start to the year, all of the drama that came with Arte Moreno, and another missed postseason, the writing was on the wall.

Reports surfaced that multiple serious trade offers came for Shohei Ohtani but LA wanted to give it one more go in 2023 before he hit free agency to convince him to stay longterm. Their front office went against Moreno's wishes of offering their entire cap space to Trea Turner and instead opted to bring in multiple pieces to give their stars actual depth.

That decision has worked out quite nicely so far and Hunter Renfroe has been a huge reason why.

Hunter Renfroe drives in Taylor Ward to give the Angels a 5-4 lead!

(via @Angels)pic.twitter.com/V0tr9oivSB

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 20, 2023

$11 Million Well-Spent

Renfroe made it clear that when he agreed to a one-year deal with the Angels, he was placing himself in a situation where he would be betting on himself. Most 31-year-old's with his talent and resume wouldn't be okay with such a small deal but he envisions a longer future in a Halos uniform after this season.

And his play is certainly backing this up. Through 44 games, he is currently slashing .262/.317/.488 and already has ten homers on the year. His impact on defense has also been incredible and if you need a reminder, look no further than his game-saving throw earlier this week.

Hunter Renfroe just made one of the plays of the year so far for the Angels.

Huge play in that moment. pic.twitter.com/59bSZbJ1NK

— Brent Maguire (@bmags94) May 18, 2023

"It seems Renfroe has taken this whole “

Mike Trout lookalike

” thing pretty seriously. Renfroe and Trout are both 31 years old. One is 6-foot-1, 230 pounds. The other is 6-foot-2, 235 pounds. And yes, their faces look a lot alike, too. But Renfroe appears to have decided that since he's now patrolling the same outfield as the three-time AL MVP, he might as well play more like him, too. Trout has 20 extra-base hits so far this season (10 homers) and Renfroe has 19 (10 homers). Renfroe’s

hard-hit rate

is a career-high 48.1 percent, while his walk rate is up over last season and his strikeout rate is down."

(Via Bleacher Report)

It's been great to see Renfroe shine for us this season and we hope he continues getting the stage to do so!