Two weeks into the offseason, no team has been busier than the Los Angeles Angels. Owner Arte Moreno gave the front office "marching orders" to build a contender in 2025 after the team lost a franchise-record 99 games in 2024, and that has led to them picking up Jorge Soler in a salary dump trade and signing Kyle Hendricks and Travis d'Arnaud as free agents. Payroll is going up after the Angels ranked 13th in Opening Day payroll this past season.
"The economics for us are pretty good," Moreno said earlier this month about the team's reworked local television contract (via the Los Angeles Times). "... 100%, we are raising our payroll."
You needn't try hard to understand GM Perry Minasian's early offseason moves. Soler at two years and $13 million apiece is more affordable than a free agent like, say, Teoscar Hernández or Anthony Santander, and there's a nonzero chance Soler outperforms them in 2025. Hendricks at $2.5 million is nothing. That move is all upside. If he pitches well, it's a bargain. If he doesn't, you cut him and move on. The Angels will have to hit on a few lottery tickets like that to contend next year.
The d'Arnaud move is interesting because young catcher Logan O'Hoppe is one of the club's best players. That said, he started 5-6 consecutive days (days, not games) behind the plate at times this summer, and that's not something that can continue. The Angels need to reduce O'Hoppe's workload a tad and d'Arnaud is maybe the best backup catcher in baseball. Two years at $6 million a pop for d'Arnaud is more than reasonable when a glove-only backup like Austin Hedges got $4 million for 2025 a week ago.
As bad as the Angels were in 2024, there is some young talent on the roster. O'Hoppe is one of the best young catchers in baseball. Shortstop Zach Neto just had a 5.1 WAR season (though he could miss the start of 2025 with shoulder surgery). First baseman Nolan Schanuel had a .373 on-base percentage in the second half. José Soriano's transition from reliever to start went splendidly. Squint your eyes and you can see the makings of next contending Angels team taking shape.
Here, look at this Taylor Ward home run on Sept. 15:
It's a late-season game against a division rival and Angel Stadium is empty. I get it, Shohei Ohtani is gone and Mike Trout was hurt, but the Angels have no juice. They must re-energize their fan base. There is something to be said for being respectable and just giving folks a reason to pay attention. It has never been easier to get to the postseason. Closing some roster holes with Soler and d'Arnaud and the like can go a long way both in the standings and at the turnstiles.
Like it or not, Angels fans, Moreno will not authorize a full rebuild, and I'm not sure what one would look like anyway with Trout not yet willing to waive his no-trade clause. The Angels already have good young players at catcher (O'Hoppe) and shortstop (Neto), two premium and hard-to-fill positions. When you start a rebuild, those two positions are pretty high on the to-do list. The Angels have them taken care of already. Short of a full-scale rebuild, this is the next best thing.
With that in mind, here's what else the Angels need to do this offseason to take more steps toward respectability and maybe even a postseason berth in 2025.
Add more pitching
To get Soler, the Angels traded righty Griffin Canning, who wasn't especially good in 2024 (5.19 ERA) but did make 31 starts and throw 171 ⅔ innings. You can't expect Hendricks to replace that all on his own. Not at this point in his career, anyway. At the moment, the Angels' rotation looks something like this:
- LHP Tyler Anderson
- RHP José Soriano
LHP Patrick Sandoval(will miss most or all of 2025 with Tommy John surgery)- LHP Reid Detmers
- RHP Kyle Hendricks
- RHP Jack Kochanowicz
- RHP Davis Daniel
- LHP Sam Aldegheri
There is clearly room for another veteran starter in there. Maybe even two considering how poorly Detmers pitched in 2024, even after being demoted to Triple-A. ESPN reported earlier this week that the Angels are expected to shop in the "midtier pitching market," though it could be difficult to win a bidding war for, say, Nick Pivetta or Luis Severino. The Angels might have to overpay free agents to seal the deal. (Was any other team giving soon-to-be 36-year-old d'Arnaud two guaranteed years?)
The Angels took on Soler in a salary dump trade and that might be their best bet to add a veteran innings guy. The Philadelphia Phillies would probably give Taijuan Walker away. The New York Yankees will no doubt listen if you show interest in Marcus Stroman. The St. Louis Cardinals are trimming payroll. Give them a call about Sonny Gray. The Seattle Mariners may not have much spending room this offseason. Are they open to moving Luis Castillo? Why not ask?
The need for pitching extends to the bullpen too. Robert Stephenson, last offseason's big free-agent signing, is expected back from Tommy John surgery at midseason. Until then, the Angels need to give closer Ben Joyce some more help. Going into 2025 with righty Ryan Zeferjahn and lefty Brock Burke as the top two setup options is suboptimal. Minasian needs to dig up another starter and a reliever or three. Pitching will likely be his priority the rest of the winter.
Bring in one more bat
The sad reality is the Angels have to expect Trout to miss time at this point in his career. He's played only 266 of 648 possible games since 2021 and, in 2024, a pair of meniscus surgeries limited him to just 29 games. The most disheartening thing is that it's a different injury every year. It's not one chronic injury that keeps sending Trout to the injured list. This year it was the meniscus. Last year it was his hamate. Four years ago it was his calf. So on and so forth.
Also, the Angels can no longer have any reasonable expectation of Anthony Rendon staying healthy. He has not played even 60 games since 2019 (to be fair, he played 52 of 60 games in 2020). Luis Rengifo is a good player and versatile, and chances are he will have to step in and cover third base for an extended stretch in 2025. The best predictor of future injury is past injury and Rendon (and Trout) has plenty of past injuries at this point. The Angels have to be prepared for to be without those two at some point.
One more quality bat feels like a must this offseason, with second base and right field the obvious spots to add one. Former top prospects Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak are slotted into a right field platoon at the moment and Rengifo is penciled in at second. Rengifo is versatile enough to move around as needed and there will undoubtedly be plenty of playing time for Adell and Moniak throughout the season. Would the Angels roll the dice on Gleyber Torres at second? What about a trade for Cedric Mullins?
The current projected lineup looks something like this:
- SS Zach Neto, RHB
- CF Mike Trout, RHB
- 1B Nolan Schanuel, LHB
- DH Jorge Soler, RHB
- LF Taylor Ward, RHB
- C Logan O'Hoppe, RHB
- 3B Anthony Rendon, RHB
- 2B Luis Rengifo, SHB
- RF Jo Adell, RHB and Mickey Moniak, LHB
One more bona fide middle-of-the-order bat, someone to push Ward down to the No. 6 spot and O'Hoppe down to No. 7, would be ideal. Preferably a lefty bat too. Managers talk about "lanes" for their late-inning relievers and that 1-7 stretch of the lineup is a great big lane for a quality righty reliever. Mix in a lefty with some pop, and that's a respectable group with some upside if Trout can stay on the field and the kids like O'Hoppe, Neto, and Schanuel continue to take steps forward.
Keep throwing darts
Hendricks had a 5.92 ERA in 2024 and the Angels are not oblivious to this. That's why they gave him a $2.5 million contract and not $12.5 million. Hendricks is a low-cost roll of the dice, nothing more, and the Angels should roll the dice a few more times. Is Yoán Moncada open to being a bench guy/Rendon injury replacement? Joey Gallo is only 30 and can still hit a ball as far as anyone, in addition to playing both the outfield and first base. Veteran setup men Kendall Graveman and Lou Trivino missed 2024 with injuries. See if they'll take minor-league contracts and showcase themselves in spring training. The Angels need to be better to be respectable in 2025. They also need to get a little lucky. Keep sifting through the sand and maybe you'll stumble onto some gold.
