The Angels are near a deal with veteran infielder Kevin Newman, who could provide depth across the infield, a source confirmed Thursday.
Shortstop Zach Neto, third baseman Anthony Rendon and utility infielder Luis Rengifo will all be coming off injuries next season, and Newman could fill in for any of them.
The Angels previously added Scott Kingery, who has a similar profile.
Newman’s deal, first reported by The Athletic, would be a one-year deal with a club option, according to the New York Post.
The Angels have not announced the deal, which would require a corresponding 40-man roster move.
Newman, 31, is coming off a season in which he hit .278 with a .686 OPS for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played 55 games at shortstop, 44 games at second, 10 games at first and eight games at third.
Newman had a total of 10 defensive runs saved in 754⅓ innings in the infield this season, according to Sports Info Solutions. For comparison, Neto had 11 in 1,332⅔ innings.
Offensively, Newman has a .262 average and a .665 OPS in parts of seven big-league seasons, the first five with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the Pirates’ everyday shortstop in 2019, when he hit .308 with 12 homers and an .800 OPS. That was the only season in which his OPS was higher than .700.
The Angels need as many options as possible in the infield because of the injury concerns with their starters.
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Neto underwent shoulder surgery earlier this month. General manager Perry Minasian said it’s possible he would miss some of the start of the season.
Rendon has had constant injury issues throughout the past four years. He is expected to be healthy for the start of spring training.
Rengifo had wrist surgery that cost him the final two months of last season. He is also expected to be ready at the start of spring training.