ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels released outfielder Mickey Moniak on Tuesday.
Moniak hit .219 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs last season for the Angels, who acquired the 2016 No. 1 overall pick from Philadelphia in August 2022 in a trade for pitcher Noah Syndergaard. In 2½ seasons with Los Angeles, Moniak batted .242 with 100 RBIs and a .709 OPS.
Moniak was expected to share the Angels' starting job in center field this season with Jo Adell, making his release a surprising development two days before the start of the regular season.
ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that Moniak gets around $480,000 of the $2 million salary he was awarded in arbitration over the winter.
Moniak's release appears to open a roster spot for Matthew Lugo, the 23-year-old outfielder acquired from Boston at last year's trade deadline in a deal for reliever Luis García. Lugo has never played in the majors.
Los Angeles also agreed with infielder Nicky Lopez on a one-year, $850,000 contract, designated left-handers José Quijada and Angel Perdomo for assignment and selected the contracts of shortstop Tim Anderson from Triple-A Salt Lake and right-hander Ryan Johnson from the Arizona Complex League Angels.
Anderson gets a $1.25 million salary while in the major leagues. The 31-year-old won the 2019 AL batting title and was an All-Star with the Chicago White Sox in 2021 and 2022.
He hit .214 with no homers, 9 RBIs and 4 stolen bases in 234 at-bats last year with the Miami Marlins, all career lows. Anderson didn't play between May 10 and May 21 because of lower back tightness. He was designated for assignment on July 2 and released three days later.
The Angels open the season Thursday on the road against the Chicago White Sox. Los Angeles has the majors' longest active streaks of nine straight losing seasons and 10 straight non-playoff seasons.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.