The Angels Have Gone Backwards This Offseason

In 2025 the Angels finished last in the AL West with a record of 72-90. This was actually a 9 win improvement from the disastrous 2024 season, but a far cry from competing for a playoff spot. This despite incredible luck on the injury front that kept the starting rotation in place well into the second half of the season.

Realistically, to earn a postseason berth, the Angels needed to flip their record around. In the Wild Card era teams typically need at least 88 wins to reach October, even with the expanded bracket. In short, the Angels needed to add a minimum of 15 wins this off season.

So far, there have been more subtractions than additions this year.

Free agency takes a toll on every roster. For the Angels, it led to the departure of over 300 solid innings by the starting rotation.

Tyler Anderson pitched 136.1 innings of slightly better and MLB average ball last season, good for 2 bWAR. 2025 was the final year of a 3 year, $39 million free agent deal.

Fellow gray beard Kyle Hendricks contributed 164.2 innings and 1.7 bWAR. Hendricks was a below average pitcher, but he posted time and again and gave the Angels some stability in the rotation. He played on a modest one year salary of $2.5 million last season.

Trades can also take a hit on a roster. Taylor Ward was an obvious trade candidate given his powerful bat and impending free agency. In his first off season move, Angels general manager shipped Ward, his 36 home runs last season, and his estimated $13 million salary to Baltimore. Taylor contributed 2.7 bWAR last year thanks to his bat being 16% more potent than league average.

Grayson Rodriguez was once a high profile pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles system. That upside is why Minasian took him as the return for Taylor Ward. However, Grayson has yet to have a healthy and productive MLB campaign.

In 2023 Rodriguez broke into the majors and like most youngsters struggled a bit. Still, 122 innings of pitching that was 6% under MLB average wasn't bad for a rookie. In 2024 his results improved but an injury shut him down for the year after 116.2 innings. He did not pitch at all in 2025.

Alek Manoah was an All Star in 2022 and looked like a breakout star. Underperformance and injury have derailed that. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons Manoah managed just 111.2 innings while pitching 21% worse than league average. He was rocked for 20 home runs over that time and did not pitch at the MLB level at all in 2025. With only 38.2 innings in the minors last year, Manoah did not put up inspiring results.

Taylor Ward has not been replaced at all. Perhaps the team is expecting prospect Nelson Rada to cover center while they pray Trout stays healthy enough to play left field. Perhaps there's a lower tier signing like Austin Hays in the works. Big names like Cody Bellinger are not coming to fill the power void.

One could argue the collective signings of Kirby Yates, Drew Pomeranz, and Jordan Romano mitigate the free agent departure of Kenley Jansen. The dollars are nearly the same. Jansen was quality, the other trio is quantity; although I do have hopes with Yates reuniting with pitching guru Mike Maddux.

At best Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah are on pitch and innings limits in 2025. There's no way they replace the 300 innings lost between Anderson and Hendricks. Most likely one or both misses significant time with injury and the Angels minor league depth is tested considerably.

The one statistical category the Angels did well in last year was home runs. Perhaps Trout turns back the clock, Soler stays healthy, and Adell's power surge is sustainable. But that is a lot of things that need to go right to absorb the loss of Ward's bat.

All in all, nearly $30 million was moved between Anderson, Ward, and Hendricks with none of it being reinvested into the roster. Those holes could very well lead the team back to a 2024 record, or its first 100+ loss season in franchise history.