The Angels are moving on from Robert Stephenson, closing the book on a deal that never came close to paying off.
On Friday, the club declined its $2.5 million option for the 2027 season, officially ending Stephenson’s run in Anaheim. That decision wipes the reliever off the Angels’ books after a stretch defined almost entirely by injuries.
Los Angeles signed Stephenson before the 2024 season to a three-year, $33 million contract after his strong finish with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023. For a team that has typically been cautious about handing out multi-year money, it was a notable commitment. It also turned into a costly one almost immediately.
Stephenson never threw a pitch for the Angels in 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of that year. The injury timeline carried into 2025, but he eventually made it back and logged 10 innings for the club in the second year of the contract. In that brief stint, he allowed just 10 baserunners, struck out 10 and gave up three runs.
There was at least some reason to think the Angels might get something useful out of the deal in 2026, but that never happened. Stephenson underwent another surgery last April to repair a ligament and flexor tendon in his elbow, and he did not pitch for Anaheim again.
In the end, the numbers tell the whole story: the Angels paid $33 million for 10 innings. Stephenson missed the first and third years of the agreement entirely, and his only action came in that short 2025 sample.
Because he spent at least 130 consecutive days on the injured list, the Angels were granted the conditional $2.5 million option for 2027. They passed on it, as expected, and now the new front office will have one more bullpen spot to address.
How aggressive the Angels get this offseason remains unclear. The club’s sale still needs to be finalized, and the search for a new general manager is ongoing. But after a 100-loss season - the first such mark in franchise history - there should be plenty of turnover coming to the Big A in 2027.
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