Sounds Like the Angels Are Going to Land Matt Moore (UPDATE)

With the Michael Fulmer deal being so reasonable, with rumors that the Cubs might not be done, and with the Cubs scouting Zack Britton, I think we could safely say the Cubs could add a lefty reliever from here. There’s probably room in the budget, and there are still quality options out there in free agency.

The best of the bunch is likely Matt Moore, who’d fallen way off after his years as a top young starter, but reinvented himself last year in a major way as a dominant reliever for the Rangers. Realistically, though, I didn’t think he would be in the price range that the Cubs could or would accommodate at this point.

So I’m not surprised by this news, even if it’s disappointing:

I’m glad Moore didn’t wind up in the NL Central – or even the NL at all – but I’ll definitely be hoping he got a huge, multi-year contract. If his deal is very modest, as they often are this time of year, I will be all the more disappointed that the Cubs didn’t land him. Especially after Andrew Chafin also got only a very modest deal with the Diamondbacks (one year, a little over $6 million, and then a club option).

Will Smith and Brad Hand are among the quality lefties still out there looking for a job, and then you have Britton, who is more of a reclamation type after his years of injuries, but he would offer the highest upside.

UPDATE: It’s only a one-year deal for Moore, though it’s more than Chafin got:

I would not call that overly modest for Moore, only maybe a little less than I would’ve projected back in December. Not a bad get for him this time of year.