What We Learned From the 2025 Los Angeles Angels’ Season

Many had written off both Detmers and Adell, or at least adjusted their expectations in a major way. Both were former top prospects who had struggled for multiple years and came into 2025 looking like it would be their last chance.

Jo Adell showed what the best version of Jo Adell looks like, launching 37 home runs and impacting the baseball more consistently. The strikeouts were still high but manageable, especially if he continues to offer the level of power we saw.

Putting Adell in center was not fair to him, which is why his WAR sank to a 1.2 fWAR. But the Angels might finally have something here. A younger Jorge Soler, if you will.

In my opinion, Reid Detmers moving to the bullpen was what lead to his breakout. We saw his velocity jump two ticks on the fastball and slider, which made the combo much more lethal.

I wouldn’t say that is just a theory, either. His fastball had a seven percent increase in whiff rate and the slider saw a three percent increase while the movement profiles also improved.

The Angels say Detmers is heading back to the rotation next season, but I think he’s better suited for a bullpen role.

Why rock the boat? The bullpen needs his arm, and what we saw from him this season cannot be replicated across five to six inning outings. A move to the rotation feels forced and risky to me.

Roster Construction and Team Building Need an Overhaul

General Manager Perry Minasian took over in 2020 and has yet to learn anything from the litany of mistakes he’s made. I won’t recap all of the bizarre moves, those have been covered extensively, but his approach will need to change for the on field results to change.

My biggest concern is how prospects are handled year after year. Rushing young players through the minors without giving them a chance to find success, struggle, adjust, and learn how to be a pro before throttling them into a major-league lineup is unfair to the prospects, the team, and the fans.

There is a reason you don’t see other teams adopting this strategy, especially outside of the top 10 prospects in the game. The results have not been favorable, either. Zach Neto is about the only success story.

The way Minasian has handled veterans also leads to head scratching.

Not only is signing Kevin Newman, Tim Anderson, Hendricks, Chris Taylor and others strange, but not trading Taylor Ward in a career year, when he should be gone after next season, is the exact strategy that has led to their minor-league system being near the bottom.

The process does not work. We now have a few years of sample size, and the results continue to be the same. Look in the mirror, realize you were wrong, and change how you go about your job.

Third Base Remains a Problem With No Fix in Sight

I would assume Anthony Rendon has played his last game in an Angeles uniform. At the time of signing, Rendon looked like a great fit for the Angeles. But the deal, which technically ends after next season, will go down as one of the worst in major-league history, as Rendon never played more than 60 games in a season.

Yoan Moncada was brought in and performed pretty well, but like most years in his career, injury limited him to under 100 games. Luis Rengifo filled in by slashing .238/.287/.335, good for a 73 wRC+ with subpar defense and now will hit the free agent market.

Oswald Peraza, formerly a Yankees top prospect, was brought over in a change-of-scenery attempt but posted a .512 OPS and has now shown enough to reasonably believe he is not a major-league option.

Denzer Guzman, a 21 year-old with a .700 OPS in the minors, was added to the roster and has some experience at third but is nowhere near ready to be a legitimate option.

I’m not sure where the Angeles go from here. They don’t have the farm system to trade for a third baseman, and the free-agent market either has players who will go elsewhere, like Bregman and Suarez, or more Moncada types.

Munetaka Murakami is coming over from Japan, but he comes with his own list of concerns.

Zach Neto Established Himself as the Future at Short

When the Angeles rushed Neto to the majors in 2023, I was afraid he would turn out like many of the other prospects that were rushed before, and after, him. However, he continues to improve each season and showed his 30/30 potential at age 24.

Neto finished the year slashing .257/.319/.474 with 26 home runs and stolen bases and a 116 wRC+. I thought he was even better than the numbers show, and a cold streak late in the season brought the season numbers down, but there’s a very good player for the Angels to build around.

He’s going to strikeout more than you would like, but he’s also growing into his power and posted career-best 91 mph average exit velocity and an impressive 14% barrel rate. If he can improve against non-fastballs, which usually takes some time for young players, I think the Angeles have an All-Star-level player.

Defensively, Neto is much better than his -7 OAA suggests. He’s one of those players that defensive runs saves values but OAA doesn’t. I’ll side with the old eye test on this one and tell you he absolutely can stay at short.

I think he has the range and instincts to be an asset defensively even if the numbers might suggest otherwise.

Final Thoughts

I truly do not want to be this negative, but it is hard not to be. Outside of the Rockies, I’m not sure there’s a team that operates in a more bizarre fashion. How does this team get better? The farm system is weak and mishandled, and their trades/signings flop time and time again.

Until there is a change in operation, I do not see a path to the playoffs. It is going to take a true teardown and rebuild in order to reset, but I do not see that happening as long as Trout is still on the team.

I wish I could spin this situation in a different way, but I think Angeles fans understand how bleak it truly is. I’m sorry halo fans, but it is going to be another long winter.