Late Saturday night marked the beginning of the free agency period Major League Baseball, and four Los Angeles Angels were among those filing. Pitchers Joel Pineiro, Fernando Rodney, and Horacio Ramirez, along with pinch hitter Russell Branyan are now free agents. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York has the complete list of free agents.
The Angels now have 38 players on their 40-man roster, heading into the first offseason for new general manager Jerry Dipoto, who was hired on Saturday. Dipoto was quick to point out the Angels don't need many moves to contend, that the roster only needed a few tweaks. "You also have a number of high-end all-star type performers in their prime years who are lining it up every day. Guys like Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana; I don't know if you're going to find too many teams that have that," Dipoto said on Saturday.
Pineiro signed a two-year, $16 million deal before the 2010 season, but was limited with disabled list in both of his seasons in Anaheim. Pineiro briefly lost his spot in the starting rotation after a midseason slump, and was 2-4 with a 7.11 ERA in 55 innings after the All-Star break in 2011.
Rodney signed a two-year, $11 million deal before the 2010 season, and was largely ineffective in his two years with the Angels. He had a 4.50 ERA in 39 games for the Halos in 2011 with more walks than strikeouts.
From the fantasy department: the Angels could in theory have a fifth free agent, if Vernon Wells decides to opt out of his contract. However, hitting .218/.248/.412 is not the type of platform year that Wells might try to secure a deal better than the three years and $63 million remaining on his contract.
MLB teams are allowed to sign free agents from other teams beginning Wednesday, November 2 at 9 p.m. PDT.
For more on the Angels, head to Halos Heaven.