Angels agree to contract with utility player Drury

*Photo from the East Village Times*

   One of the goals in Anaheim has been to stockpile the roster with quality depth. The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a two year, $17 million deal with IF Brandon Drury, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. The Angels have confirmed the deal.

   The deal comes at a good time for Drury, who is coming off a career best season. He took home a silver slugger last season while fitting in defensively all over the field, playing every position of the infield in 2022. He's been on 6 teams, and now, as an Oregon native, he'll remain on the west coast.

   Drury said of signing with the Angels that "My family and I have always been Angels fans. We're really familiar with the area going to Disneyland and Angels games all the time. So I really like being closer to home. And I feel like this team is so close to be going good. Phil Nevin is also one of my favorite coaches I've played for in all of baseball."

   Last season was spent with the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres for Drury. He had a breakout season, recording a .263 batting average, .492 slugging percentage, and .813 OPS, blasting 28 home runs with 87 RBI's in 138 games. He added one home run and 5 RBI's in the playoffs last year.

   Most of the damage Drury did at the plate in 2022 came against left handed pitching. He had a .299 average with 12 homers and a .955 OPS against lefties, compared to a .248 average with a .757 OPS and 16 home runs against righties. Drury leveled up in the NLCS after a stagnant wild card round and NLDS, hitting .400 with a homer and 5 RBI's in the NLCS for the Padres.

   Drury has 8 big league seasons under his belt with 6 different teams. In that time, he has amassed a .252 batting average, .302 on base percentage, and .434 slugging percentage, adding 277 RBI's and 79 home runs in 645 games. He has a .222 batting average with 8 RBI's and two home runs in 11 playoff games.

   By adding Drury, the Angels continue to shore up their corner infield, with Jared Walsh missing a large chunk of time last season due to injury and Anthony Rendon having played sparingly the last few seasons with injuries.

   Angels GM Perry Minasian said of signing Drury that "We’ve always liked him, and he’s one of those guys with versatility who hits the ball extremely hard. He’s a fit from a makeup standpoint and from a versatility standpoint. He can play third, second, first and even a little short and the outfield if we need him to."

   The signing of Drury is the latest move in an aggressive offseason for the Angels. Tyler Anderson and Carlos Estevez have been brought in on the pitching front, while Drury joins Gio Urshela and Hunter Renfroe as needed additions to the lineup.