Busy Angels bring on Renfroe in Brewers trade
The Los Angeles Angels acquired power-hitting outfielder Hunter Renfroe in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for three young pitchers Tuesday night.
Milwaukee received right-handers Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero, and minor league lefty Adam Seminaris.
Renfroe batted .255 with 29 home runs, 72 RBIs and an .807 OPS in 125 games this season, his first with the Brewers. He led major league right fielders with 11 assists and ranked 10th in the National League with a .492 slugging percentage.
“Obviously, it’s a productive player who’s done it year in and year out for a while,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said on a Zoom conference with reporters. “It’s a quality two-way guy. Not only can he produce on the offensive side, he’s a quality defender. He can really throw. Just the total package. We felt like he was a really good fit for us.”
Renfroe, who turns 31 in January, is eligible for arbitration again and likely to get a raise after earning a $7.65 million salary this year. He can become a free agent after next season.
He joins an Angels team looking for offense to support superstars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in a top-heavy lineup that struggled overall this year. Los Angeles went 73-89 and finished third in the AL West.
Los Angeles, whose postseason drought extends to 2014, has been busy in the early parts of this offseason. It acquired veteran infielder Gio Urshela from the Minnesota Twins and signed starting pitcher Tyler Anderson last week.
Milwaukee, with a limited budget, was second in the NL Central at 86-76 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017 after four consecutive appearances.
Renfroe was drafted 13th overall by San Diego in 2013 and spent his first four big league seasons with the Padres. But the Angels will mark his fifth team in five years, including Tampa Bay (2020) and Boston (2021).
Junk, 26, spent most of the season with Triple-A Salt Lake but made three appearances for the Angels, including two starts. He was 1-1 with a 6.48 ERA in 8⅓ innings.
The 25-year-old Peguero made 13 relief appearances for the Angels this season, compiling a 6.75 ERA in 17⅓ innings. He pitched in 38 games for Salt Lake.
Seminaris, 24, was selected by the Angels in the fifth round of the 2020 draft out of Long Beach State. He made a combined 21 starts and three relief appearances this year with High-A Tri-City, Double-A Rocket City and Triple-A Salt Lake, going 7-11 with a 3.54 ERA. He’s struck out 209 batters in 185 minor league innings.
“We are happy to welcome three quality young arms to our organization, two of which are already on the major league roster and have a chance to impact our team in 2023,” Milwaukee general manager Matt Arnold said. “The ability to add pitching depth to an already strong stable of big league arms is something we feel good about.”
Milwaukee has several outfield prospects who could fill Renfroe’s spot after playing in Triple-A this season.
Garrett Mitchell, a 2020 first-round draft pick, was called up late in the season and had an .832 OPS in 23 games. Sal Frelick, Esteury Ruiz and Joey Wiemer all spent at least part of the season at Triple-A Nashville. Ruiz was acquired from San Diego in the deal for All-Star closer Josh Hader just before the trade deadline.
“We are very thankful to Hunter for all of his contributions, both on and off the field,” Arnold said. “While he will certainly be missed, this is an opportunity for our group of exciting young outfielders to impact our major league team in the near future.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Mark Schlabach
Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and is expected to make a full recovery after doctors detected the disease in its early stages, the school announced Friday.
Freeze, 55, will continue coaching the Tigers while receiving treatment, Auburn officials said in a statement.
“Recently, Coach Freeze was diagnosed with an early form of prostate cancer,” the statement said. “Thankfully, it was detected early and his doctors have advised that it is very treatable and curable. He will continue his normal coaching duties and responsibilities, and with forthcoming proper treatment, is expected to make a full recovery.
“Coach Freeze is incredibly appreciative of our medical professionals and has asked that we use his experience as a reminder of the importance of prioritizing and scheduling annual health screenings.”
The Tigers are scheduled to start spring practice March 25.
Freeze’s teams went 11-14 (5-11 SEC) in his first two seasons, including a 5-7 campaign in 2024. With the additions of transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma), wide receivers Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and Horatio Fields (Wake Forest), offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech), and others, the Tigers are expected to be much improved this coming season.
At Liberty, Freeze coached from a hospital bed set up in the coaches’ box during the Flames’ 24-0 loss to Syracuse in his debut on Aug. 31, 2019. Freeze was recovering from surgery for a herniated disk in his back and a staph infection.
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Adam Rittenberg
Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler is leaving the school after six seasons to become quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Loeffler, 50, went 27-41 at Bowling Green but led the Falcons to bowl appearances in each of the past three seasons, posting a 16-10 record in MAC play during the span.
He will replace Doug Nussmeier, who left the Eagles with Kellen Moore to become the New Orleans Saints‘ offensive coordinator. Loeffler will work under new Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who had been the team’s passing game coordinator and associate head coach.
“Scot has been dedicated to not only BGSU Football, but to all our student-athletes and BGSU Athletics, as well as our Falcon Marching Band and spirit programs,” university president Rodney Rogers said in a statement. “He cares deeply about player development and student success, and we wish him all the best as he continues his coaching career in the NFL with the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles.”
Loeffler returns to the NFL for the first time since 2008, when he coached quarterbacks for the Detroit Lions. A former Michigan quarterback, Loeffler coached QBs at his alma mater from 2002 to 2007 and also with Central Michigan and Florida. He first became an offensive coordinator with Temple in 2011 and made coordinator stops with Auburn, Virginia Tech and Boston College before landing his first head-coaching opportunity at Bowling Green.
The coaching change means Bowling Green players now have a 30-day window to enter the NCAA transfer portal. The Falcons had already lost three All-MAC performers to the portal in December in running back Terion Stewart (Virginia Tech), offensive tackle Alex Wollschlaeger (Kentucky) and linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr. (Kansas). Bowling Green also is losing record-setting tight end Harold Fannin Jr. to the NFL draft.
Athletic director Derek van der Merwe will lead the search for Loeffler’s replacement. In a statement, Van der Merwe praised Loeffler for building “a very successful program in a challenging climate in collegiate sports.
“I am looking forward to this process of finding the next great leader for our program who embraces what it means to be a Falcon,” Van der Merwe added.
ESPN’s Max Olson contributed to this report.
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