Angels sign Ryan Tepera, Archie Bradley; acquire much needed bullpen assistance

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim inked two big-name relievers Thursday, signing right-handed pitchers Archie Bradley and Ryan Tepera to contracts for the upcoming season.

The two deals came hours apart Thursday, with Bradley's coming first at around 12:20 p.m, while Tepera was announced around 3 p.m.

Bradley, 29, is in his eighth season in the big leagues, spending time with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies prior to Thursday's deal.

In 2021, he made 53 appearances out of the Phillies bullpen, where he had 40 strikeouts in 51.0 innings pitched to the tune of a 3.71 ERA. It was the highest earned run total that Bradley has put up since moving to the bullpen in 2017, after a rough run as a starter for the Diamondbacks. It was also the lowest strikeout total in the time, thanks to a series of lower-body injuries that kept him out for a large portion of the season.

Over the course of his career, Bradley has a 3.89 ERA over 463.0 innings pitched, adding 465 Ks and 30 saves.

His deal is worth $3.75 million over the 2022 season.

Tepera on the other hand, 34, is coming off the best year of his career in which he split time between both Chicago franchises -- the Cubs and the White Sox.

He finished the year making 65 appearances, sporting a 2.79 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched.

His deal, spanning over both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, is said to be worth $14 million.

Prior to joining the Cubs in 2020, Tepera had spent his entire career with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Tepera's career numbers show a 3.48 ERA in 302 career appearances. He's pitched 297.1 innings with 308 strikeouts in his seven year career.

On top of these signings, the Angels also inked fellow reliever Cesar Valdez to a minor league contract Thursday with an invitation to Spring Training.

Valdez, 37, spent parts of the previous two seasons as the Baltimore Orioles closer. He was removed from the role during the 2021 season as hitters began to crush his below-average velocity offerings, finishing the season with 5.87 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 46.0 innings pitched.

His big league career began in 2010 with the Arizona Diamondbacks before spending considerable time in both the minor leagues and the Mexican Baseball League, before making an unlikely return in 2017.

He has a career 6.08 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 111.0 innings pitched.

The Angels appear to have put a largely consolidated effort into pitching this offseason, also signing left-handed reliever Aaron Loup -- coming off the best year of his career, starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard and re-signing All-MLB closer Raisel Iglesias. They also recently re-signed AJ Ramos to a minor league deal, who was a notably great bullpen option until injuries side-railed his career.

To clear room on the 40-man roster for Bradley, the Angels designated left-handed pitcher Packy Naughton for assignment. He was acquired by the Angels in 2020 as part of the trade that saw Brian Goodwin head to the Cincinnati Reds.

He made his MLB debut in 2021, where a limited sample size saw him end up 0-4 with a 6.35 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched. Naughton had trouble with both command -- walking 14 batters -- and the long ball -- allowing three home runs in just seven appearances.

Should be pass through waivers, Naughton will no longer be a part of the Halos 40-man roster, and sent to the minor leagues for further development.