Angels Sign Alek Manoah to $1.95 Million Deal

The Los Angeles Angels have signed right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah to a one-year, fully guaranteed major league contract worth $1.95 million, the team announced on Tuesday. The 27-year-old former All-Star, who turns 28 in January, joins the Angels after being nontendered by the Atlanta Braves last month, providing the club with a low-risk addition to its starting rotation amid ongoing efforts to bolster its pitching staff.

Manoah's path to this deal reflects a sharp rise and prolonged struggles in his professional career. Selected 11th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2019 MLB Draft out of West Virginia University, he made his major league debut in May 2021. That rookie season, he posted a 3.22 ERA over 111 2/3 innings in 20 starts, finishing eighth in American League Rookie of the Year voting. His performance peaked in 2022, when he went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts, striking out 180 batters across 196 2/3 innings. That year, Manoah earned a spot on the AL All-Star team, where he struck out the side in his lone inning, and placed third in Cy Young Award voting.

However, control issues that had lingered early in his career worsened dramatically thereafter. In 2023,...