Brandon Drury agrees to 2-year, $17 million deal with Angels

Updated Dec. 22, 2022 6:00 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Infielder Brandon Drury has agreed to a $17 million, two-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

Right-hander Oliver Ortega was designated for assignment Thursday to make room on the Angels' 40-man roster for Drury, who hit a career-best 28 homers last season while playing for Cincinnati and San Diego. He won the Silver Slugger award as a utility player.

Drury played all four infield positions and right field last season, and he got his second taste of postseason experience during the Padres' run to the NLCS, where he batted .400 with a homer and five RBIs against Philadelphia.

Drury excelled last season against left-handers, recording a .955 OPS and 12 homers. He is a career .252 hitter with 79 homers and 277 RBIs.

His signing adds talent and depth to the Angels, who struggled offensively last season after several regulars went down with injuries. Los Angeles has also acquired infielder Gio Urshela and outfielder Hunter Renfroe in the offseason to bolster their organizational depth.

Drury could be the regular second baseman for the Angels, with Luis Rengifo and David Fletcher likely to play extensively at shortstop. All three players have positional flexibility, and the Halos also have up-and-coming shortstop Livan Soto, who batted .400 in his first 18 major league games last season.

The Angels are Drury's seventh major league team since reaching the majors with Arizona in 2015. The Oregon native also played for the Yankees, Blue Jays and Mets.

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