Regular season baseball is just over the horizon but many free agents remain unsigned. Two of the most notable of those free agents are left-hander and designated hitter , both of whom are represented by the Boras Corporation. The Halos were to of those players back in December and reports that the Halos are still talking about both of them. In a , Heyman adds that the Mets also remain involved with Martinez, to whom they were last month. Its unclear if the Angels are making a serious push for a late signing or merely keeping tabs as the players linger on the open market into the middle of March, but they are one of the few clubs that make for a logical fit for a notable deal at this point. Many teams around the league have exhausted their respective budgets by this stage of the calendar, with some of them Georgii Merkulov Jersey having concerns around luxury tax payments or uncertainty around TV revenue streams. But the Angels are below their previous levels of spending, both in terms of pure payroll expenditures and competitive balance tax calculations. currently lists their payroll at $174MM and their CBT number at $189MM for 2024. Per , the Halos had an Opening Day payroll of $212MM last year, $38MM above where they are now. The base threshold of the CBT is $237MM this year, which gives the club $48MM of space if they want to stay below the tax, which is a line they hovered around last year. Owner Arte Moreno has that the club is planning on operating with a lower payroll this year, but without specifics about exactly where they want to end up. Given the gaps between last years spending and this years, its po sible to envision another signing coming together while still fulfilling his plan of reduced overall expenditures. Many observers wondered if the club would look to mount a rebuild in the post- era, but general manager Perry Minasian at the start of the offseason that the club would not be doing that and was actually planning an aggre sive offseason. Thus far, the club has directed most of its efforts to the bullpen, signing , , , and . On the position player side, their most notable addition was signing , who they will only have to pay the league minimum since the Yankees are still on the hook for his contract. Their most significant rotation addition was a $1MM signing of , who has already been optioned to the minors. Adding Martinez would be a clear upgrade to the clubs lineup, as he has a long track record of effective hitting and is coming off a 33-home run campaign with the Dodgers. The roster fit is a little awkward since Martinez is primarily a DH at this point, having only played 12 innings in the field over the last two years combined. The Angels technically have an open DH spot with Ohtanis departure but may want to use that for their various aging or injury-prone players. Both and are the clubs two highest-paid players and each has mi sed significant time in the past few years as they have pushed into their 30s. Giving them occasional DH time and keeping them fresh might be preferable to locking up the DH spot with Martinez. Similar logic could apply to other players in their 30s like or Hicks. has suggested that Martinez turned down an offer of $14MM from the Giants while looking for either a two-year deal, a salary near $20MM or both. The Angels could accommodate that without reaching last years spending levels, though they would have to weigh the benefits of adding his bat to the lineup against the reduced ability to rest their other players, as well as the financial cost. Snell would certainly cost more but its much easier to imagine him fitting onto the roster. The Halos have a rotation of , , , and . Everyone in that group can still be optioned apart from Anderson, while Silseth has just 81 major league innings under his belt. At this late stage in the offseason, Snell would likely have to mi s the opening of the schedule anyway and injuries may have popped up by the time hes fully stretched out. Even if he cant be expected to repeat last years Cy Young-winning season that finished with a 2.25 ERA, hes one of the best pitchers in the league and would upgrade any rotation. The lefty reportedly turned down an offer of $150MM over six years from the Yankees, average annual value of $25MM, with Snell looking for either a salary in the $30MM range or a longer pact. shows that Andersons three-year, $39MM is the largest the Angels have given to a starting pitcher since 2012, both in terms of years and guaranteed dollars. Despite that apparent distaste to giving lengthy free agent pacts to pitchers, its po sible to imagine the two sides coming together. Snell is reportedly open to a shorter pact with higher AAVs and opt-outs, similar to those signed by fellow Boras clients and . That type of deal is difficult for a club that has already spent a huge chunk of its budget or has tax bills to think about. The Yankees, for instance, would have to pay $33MM in taxes in order to give Snell a contract with a $30MM AAV this year. As mentioned above, the Halos have plenty of spending capacity before they even reach last years payroll or come close to the CBT line. Snell rejected a qualifying offer from the Padres so signing him would also cost the Angels their second-highest pick in this summers draft as well as $500K of their international bonus pool. Until a deal comes together, the rotation will project to be that fivesome of Detmers, Sandoval, Anderson, Canning and Silseth. The club has been stretching out some other guys, such as and , but they are apparently behind the front five. that Wantz and Soriano will stay stretched out for now but wont earn a rotation spot unle s theres an injury to one of the other five guys. As for the Mets, they have been connected to Martinez previously, but with the caveat that they were leaning towards giving at-bats to younger players like or . Those two could split the third base job and the DH slot, with perhaps filling in at third on defense from time to time while could perhaps take some plate appearances as the DH. Both of Baty and Vientos are optionable and could therefore be sent to the minors, but it makes sense that the Mets would want to give them some run at the big league level. Vientos has hit just .205/.255 /.354 in the majors but has slashed .290/.369/.554 at Triple-A over the last two years. Similarly, Baty has hit .210/.272/.325 in the big leagues but .311/.405/.554 in the minors over the past two years. Since neither of them have much left to prove on the farm and the Mets are planning a sort of bridge year in 2024, theres logic to letting them face big league pitchers to see if either takes a step forward. Signing Martinez would also come with a hefty financial cost, as the Mets are set to be third-time payors of the CBT and are above the fourth tier of penalization. That means they face a 110% tax on any money they add to their books. Giving Martinez $15MM for this year, just as an example, would also involve paying $16.5MM in taxes and a total expense of $31.5MM. If the club is willing to consider such an expenditure, it would lengthen the lineup as they walk a tightrope in 2024. They mostly limited themselves to one-year deals this offseason as they look to field a competitive team but without sacrificing too much of their future flexibility. Signing Martinez could lengthen their lineup here in 2024 but would also come with the opportunity cost of having le s playing time for guys like Baty and Vientos, as well as the aforementioned financial elements. In addition to the Angels, Snell has continued to garner interest from other clubs, with the Giants to him earlier this month. The Yankees may revisit their talks with Snell if they get bad news regarding s , though has suggested they may be more likely to trade for due to his lower salary and tax hit. Martinez was to the Marlins, in addition to the talks with the Mets and Angels. Boston Bruins Jersey