The Los Angeles Angels made another addition to their pitching staff ahead of the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla as they signed non-tendered free agent pitcher Alek Manoah to a one year big-league deal worth a guaranteed $1.95 million, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Manoah spent his first three seasons in the big leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays, with an amazing 2022 season that featured statistical feats such as 16 wins, 180 strikeouts and a 2.24 ERA. But in his past two seasons, Manoah has faced hard times and injuries that limited him to fewer starts. Manoah’s struggles had him sent down to the minor leagues for Toronto and for all of his appearances in 2025, he pitched for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, before being cut from the roster. The Atlanta Braves signed Manoah before non-tendering him, making him available for the Angels to sign in order to help fill a glaring gap in their rotation.

Manoah joins a staff filled with young arms and veterans as Grayson Rodriguez was the big piece acquired in a trade that sent Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles on Tue, Nov 18. Along with Jose Soriano and Yusei Kikuchi as returning members to the rotation, Manoah will look to fill an important role for a fledgling Halos pitching staff now under the leadership of Mike Maddux. Manoah has started 75 games in his big-league career so far, giving him more starts than both Rodriguez and Soriano. Manoah has faced the Angels a couple of times in his career, including an infamous start on July 29, 2023 when he threw a pitch that hit Ward squarely in the cheekbone that broke his orbital bone and ended his season. Manoah will hope to rediscover the magic that made him one of the best starters in baseball and will hopefully benefit from pitching in a ballpark with a marine layer factor in night games at Angel Stadium in hopefully giving up fewer home runs.

As for the next free agent moves for the Angels front office to explore, another starting pitcher might still be in the fold and signing that pitcher to a multi-year deal would be preferable to a veteran’s minimum. Also, exploring a potential signing of a new outfielder with veteran experience to fill the void left by Ward’s departure could happen as well along with searching for a temporary solution at third base following the news of Anthony Rendon’s contract buyout. For now, the Halos have another new starting pitcher with some big league experience who will report along with the other pitchers and catchers for spring training in a couple months’ time. Alek Manoah will have a chance to show what he’s got and whether he is worth the trouble of a big-league contract.