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The Los Angeles Angels have released outfielder Mickey Moniak, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on Tuesday.
The former first overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2016 MLB Draft, Moniak has never caught on in the Major Leagues like expected. He debuted with the Phillies in 2020 but never played in more than 85 games in a season until this past year with the Angels.
The Phillies dealt Moniak to the Angels in 2022 as part of the trade for pitcher Noah Syndergaard.
In 2024, his only season as a regular, Moniak slashed .219/.266/.380 with an OPS+ of only 81. He also had 14 home runs, 49 RBI and 114 strikeouts — interesting numbers considering they nearly match what he produced in 2023 in 39 fewer games. In 2023, he also slashed .280/.307/.495 with a 114 OPS+.
Yet even that level of production may have been misleading. He also struck out 35% of the time, making up for that with a .397 average on balls in play. That's partially a matter of luck. While he cut down on his strikeout rate in 2024 (27.3%), his BABIP plummeted to only .272.
His .173 average in 21 games this spring training likely didn't inspire much confidence from the Angels' brass either.
Given Moniak's lack of production in the majors, it's not a shock that the Angels released him. It is a little curious, however, considering Moniak is in his arbitration years and the Angels decided to offer him a contract rather than non-tender him.
“Because it’s so close to Opening Day, the collective-bargaining agreement stipulates a player would receive 45 days of pay out of the 186-day schedule — $483,970.97, to be precise, in Moniak’s case,” Passan explained.
This winter was Moniak's first in which he was arbitration eligible, so he had two offseasons left before hitting the open market. Now a free agent, Moniak will have to hope to catch on with a team in need of an additional outfielder in the days leading up to Opening Day.
