Chris Iannetta’s contract included a $5 million mutual option for 2013, but the 29-year-old catcher and the Angels have torn that up and agreed to a new three-year, $15.5 million deal that runs through 2015.
Iannetta fell out of favor in Colorado and was traded to the Angels last November for Tyler Chatwood. He missed three months in the middle of the season with a fractured wrist, but played well after returning with a .258 batting average, six homers, and a .741 OPS in 53 second-half games.
His overall numbers weren’t great, but that was to be expected once Iannetta was no longer calling Coors Field home for half his games and a solid defensive catcher with a .338 on-base percentage and a little pop is definitely starting-caliber.
Iannetta sticking around for the next three seasons is bad news for 24-year-old prospect Hank Conger’s chances of ever being the Angels’ starting catcher and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the former first-round pick shopped this offseason.
