Los Angeles Angels claim first baseman from A's

Jason Burke | Nov 1, 2024

Apr 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Oakland Athletics first baseman Ryan Noda (49) runs the bases on his solo home run in the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Angels have claimed first baseman Ryan Noda from the A's, according to the team.

The #Angels have claimed INF Ryan Noda off waivers from the Athletics.

— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) November 1, 2024

Noda, 28, will turn 29 right after Opening Day He was originally selected by the A's in the Rule 5 Draft heading into the 2023 season, and played a big role for the club that season, holding a 122 wRC+. He ended the year batting .229, but his 15.6% walk rate upped his on-base percentage to .364. He also added 16 homers and 2.1 fWAR.

2024 wasn't as kind to Noda, who struggled to begin the year, batting .128 through the first month, which led to the first baseman spending most of the rest of the year in Triple-A Las Vegas. Noda spent some time with the A's in September, but was optioned down to Double-A Midland since the RockHounds were in the postseason with other affiliates season's having ended.

One area that Noda will need to improve upon for better results moving forward is his high strikeout rate, which sat at 34.3% in 128 games in 2023 and 33.3% in 36 games this past season.

Noda can also roam the outfield, even getting into a few games as the Aviators' centerfielder, though he is more suited to right field, if he is on the outfield grass.

With the A's likely to give former top prospect Tyler Soderstrom a good-sized look at first base after he made some progress in 2024, and No. 2 prospect Nick Kurtz also manning the position, it was unlikely that Noda would have been able to find much playing time for the A's in 2025. Kurtz was the A's top selection in the 2024 Draft, going fourth overall.

In his time with the Oakland A's, Noda was always excited to be with "the boys." You could tell that being in the bigs means something to him, and that just being around his teammates brings him joy. He'll be motivated to earn a spot with his new club, though with Nolan Schanuel sitting as the team's first base option at the moment, the Angels may be inclined to give Noda a look in the outfield at some point next season.

Noda has two options remaining.