2025 MLB Season Recap: Los Angeles Angels

The Pitching

The Good

The offensive numbers for the Angels this season were among some of the weirdest ones one might ever see in Major League Baseball. Los Angeles (AL) finished top five in the Majors in home runs but near the bottom in runs scored.

There are reasons for that, and I’ll get more into that in the next section. But, it’s important to note that this was a big season for several players, including Jo Adell.

Adell, a former first-round pick marred by swing-and-miss troubles throughout his pro career, had his breakout campaign. The 26-year-old hit a team-high 37 home runs, officially translating the plus power he showed dating back to his high school days into good use. And while he still whiffed at a rate (28.5%) below the league average, it was his best as an MLB player.

He finished 2025 with a career-high .236 average.

Taylor Ward, also a part of a very power-heavy outfield alongside Jorge Soler, also played a big role in driving in runs. Despite finishing tied for ninth in strikeouts (48) with RISP, Ward drove in a team-high 103 runs and belted 36 home runs. He also set career-highs in home runs and pitches per plate appearance (4.21).

Mike Trout, meanwhile, played 130 games this season. Normally, that’s nothing to get excited about. But for Trout, it was his most in a season since 2019. Trout was besieged with injuries over the years. It was an interesting season for Trout, to say the least. He struck out a career-worst 32% across his plate appearances.

But on the other hand, Trout took his walks and hit 26 home runs in what was a relatively injury-free campaign.

Lastly, Zach Neto missed the first month of 2025 and still managed to put up career-best numbers in his third Major League season. Neto finished with 26 home runs and a .793 OPS, buoyed largely by his 56 extra-base hits over 128 games. It was a strong overall campaign for the young shortstop who missed time early on thanks to shoulder surgery recovery.

Moving on to the pitching, Yusei Kikuchi didn’t hit the 200-strikeout plateau again. However, he averaged almost a punch out per inning and earned an All-Star nod. The Angels also received strong returns from heavy sinkerballer Jose Soriano, who led the American League in HR/9 (0.6).

Those numbers from Soriano were a welcome sight for an Angels team that struggled to keep the ball in the yard.

The Bad

Let’s get back to the Angels’ offense for a second. The Angels hit a lot of home runs as noted above. However, most of those home runs were with no runners on base. Los Angeles (AL) finished with the third-most solo shots this season, behind only the Dodgers and Yankees:

Now, it’s hard to complain when home runs are coming in bunches. It is, however, a problem when the solo home run becomes the primary supply for scoring runs. The Angels finished the year with the third-worst OBP (.298) in the Majors, as well as with the most strikeouts in the league.

It was a particularly arduous season for Logan O’Hoppe, who finished 2025 with the lowest on-base percentage (.258) among players with 350+ plate appearances, plus a wOBA (.273) in the bottom 10 of the league.

Aside from O’Hoppe, Jorge Soler, Luis Rengifo, and rookie Christian Moore all had sub-.300 OBP numbers last season.

As for the pitching, it was far from ideal.

Los Angeles (AL) pitchers conceded the second-most home runs (223) in the league this season, behind only the Rockies. Four of Los Angeles’ pitchers gave up 20+ home runs: Jack Kochanowicz, Kyle Hendricks, Tyler Anderson, and Yusei Kikuchi. Anderson had the highest HR/9 of the bunch, which put him in undesirable territory.

Some of this shouldn’t be a surprise, given that several of their pitchers like to work up in the zone. Anderson, for example, leans heavily on his four-seamer/changeup combo to keep hitters off balance. Eight of Anderson’s conceded home runs came off the changeup, which will get action up and down in the zone.

Home runs weren’t limited to those four, either. Relievers Ryan Zeferjahn and Connor Brogdon both gave up 10+ home runs this season. Caden Dana, who spent most of 2025 in the Minors, gave up nine over 32.1 IP.

The Angels did receive steady late-inning work from Kenley Jansen. However, Ben Joyce — arguably the heir apparent closer — only pitched in five games before he went down to shoulder inflammation. Surgery ended his season in May.

Early Projected Lineup for 2026

• C: Logan O’Hoppe/Travis d’Arnaud
• 1B: Nolan Schanuel
• 2B: Christian Moore
• 3B: Oswald Peraza
• SS: Zach Neto
• OF: Taylor Ward (LF), Jo Adell (CF), Jorge Soler (RF)
• DH: Mike Trout
• SP: Jose Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi, Mitch Farris, Caden Dana, Jach Kochanowicz
• RP: Ben Joyce, Ryan Zeferjahn, Sam Bachman, Reid Detmers, Cody Lawyerson, Robert Stephenson, Brock Burke, Jose Fermin

The Angels took care of who would manage in 2026, as former catcher Kurt Suzuki was hired on a one-year deal to replace Ron Washington. However, that’s far from the only order of business this winter.

Los Angeles will need to make a decision on Taylor Ward, who can hit the free agent pool next winter. Ward’s been a popular name in trade rumors in past winters.

But more importantly, the Angels will need to look at pitching help. Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks are free agents, leaving a young group of pitchers as tentative replacements. While it’s likely pitchers like Dana, Kochanowicz, as well as Sam Aldegheri or even George Klassen to see Major League time in 2026, veteran depth arms should be a focus.

Aside from that, the Angels have pieces to work with. Their current and future infield is mostly set. If Christian Moore can take a step forward in 2026, it would mean one more piece of the puzzle falls into place.