Sources: Angels getting Drury at 2 years, $17M

Utilityman Brandon Drury and the Los Angeles Angels agreed on a two-year, $17 million contract, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, adding the Silver Slugger winner to a lineup that already acquired outfielder Hunter Renfroe and infielder Gio Urshela this winter.

Drury, 30, won the award after a breakout 2022 in which he hit .263/.320/.492 with 28 home runs and 87 RBIs. Drury’s versatility is his hallmark, as he played all four infield positions and right field this year.

After signing a minor league deal with Cincinnati in March, Drury made the Reds’ Opening Day roster and proceeded to hit 20 home runs in 92 games, turning himself from afterthought into a coveted deadline trade target. San Diego landed him for teenaged shortstop Victor Acosta, and while Drury’s numbers dipped with the Padres, he was still an above-league-average hitter.

Before 2022, Drury had bounced around from Arizona to the New York Yankees to Toronto to the New York Mets. When given playing time, he showed power — 51 home runs in 1,589 career at-bats prior to this year — but a sub-.300 on-base percentage kept teams from giving him a full-time role.

The Reds had no such qualms, and the former 13th-round pick finally had the sort of season that made up for the low OBP. With the deal, he’ll nearly triple his previous career earnings of $5.7 million.

Los Angeles’ push for relevancy in the American League West comes off a season in which the Houston Astros won the World Series and Seattle Mariners ascended to their first playoff berth in two decades while the Angels finished 73-89. Adding Drury, Renfroe and Urshela to a lineup expected to include Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Taylor Ward and Jared Walsh should help the Angels’ offense, which finished 25th in MLB in runs scored this year.

Source: www.espn.com