Angels Add Former Fourth Overall Pick Dillon Tate on Minor League Deal

The Los Angeles Angels have signed veteran right-hander Dillon Tate to a minor league contract, the team confirmed Thursday. The 32-year-old former Blue Jays reliever is expected to report to the club’s Arizona complex for a ramp-up period in rookie ball before heading to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Tate hit free agency after Toronto designated him for assignment and outrighted him off the 40-man roster at the end of the 2025 season. He had a strange year with the Blue Jays — bouncing between Triple-A Buffalo and the big league club, getting DFA’d then brought back. Over six late-season appearances with Toronto, he posted a 4.26 ERA. But his Triple-A numbers were genuinely good: a 2.06 ERA across 39.1 innings with a respectable 22.8% strikeout rate, though his 12% walk rate raised eyebrows.

For a guy who was taken fourth overall by the Texas Rangers in the 2015 draft, Tate’s career has been a winding road. He never pitched for the Rangers. Texas flipped him to the Yankees in 2016, who dealt him to Baltimore two years later. He made his MLB debut with the Orioles in 2019 and spent the bulk of his big league career there before the Blue Jays claimed him off waivers in September 2024.

Why this matters for the Angels bullpen

Los Angeles currently ranks 24th in MLB with a 4.62 ERA from their relievers. That number has improved to 3.21 over the last month, but control remains a real problem. The Angels have the second-highest walk rate in baseball. Tate has never been a control artist himself, but he’s an experienced arm who can eat innings when needed.

Across parts of six big league seasons, Tate owns a 7-14 record with a 4.09 ERA over 222 innings. Not flashy, but solid enough to hang around. The Angels are basically parking him in the minors until they need an extra body — and with how bullpens get beaten up over a 162-game season, that day will come eventually.

Tate is expected to be a call-up option later in the season once he builds up arm strength in Arizona. The Angels aren’t rushing him. They’re not breaking news with this signing. But teams need depth, and Tate provides exactly that.