When news broke that the Los Angeles Angels were releasing former first overall pick Mickey Moniak just before the opening day of the 2025 MLB season, it turned heads around the sport.

Why, fans wondered, would the Angels, who aren't expected to be very good this season, opt to release such a high-upside prospect so early in his career when they only owed him $2 million on the year following arbitration?

Well, while fans will debate that one for weeks, months, or the rest of the season – especially if Moniak goes off this season – the Angels loss is the Colorado Rockies' gain, as they've signed the outefielder to a new one-year deal that will at least be partially subsidized by the fine folks in Anaheim.

“Moniak, 26, also will receive termination pay from the Angels worth roughly $484,000, a source said. Moniak won his arbitration case against the Angels this winter, getting awarded a $2 million salary, though since those contracts are not guaranteed, Los Angeles only owes him 45 days of salary after releasing him,” Feinsand wrote.

“Moniak's deal with the Rockies will give him a guaranteed salary of $1.734 million, which was essentially the midpoint of his arbitration case with the Angels.”

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Originally drafted first overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016, Moniak didn't make it to the Phillies big league club until September of 2020, when he was promoted to the 40-man roster down the stretch. From there, he bounced around from the starting lineup to the bench and back to the minors before being traded to Los Angeles in August of 2022 in a deal for Noah Syndergaard.

In LA, Moniak received plenty of run but didn't do much with it, appearing in 228 games with 803 plate appearances but finished out his run with just 31 homers, 100 RBIs, and a batting average of .242, which is better than his marks in Philadelphia but not by much.

Now landing in Colorado as a depth addition ahead of opening day, Moniak might finally get a full season in the bigs to figure things out and highlight what kind of player he can be moving forward, be that a speedy utility man or a performer capable of doing even more with some additional development.