ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 22: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels looks on from the dugout ahead of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 22, 2023 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
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Another year, another disappointment for the Los Angeles Angels. They finished in last place in the American League West for the second year in a row with a 72-90 mark, and it has now been 10 years since they last finished above .500.
It remains astonishing that they’ve never won a playoff game during the Mike Trout Era. The legendary three-time MVP isn’t what he once was, but since he debuted in 2011, they’ve only reached the postseason once, getting swept by the Kansas City Royals in 2014. It’s even more incredible when you consider they also had Shohei Ohtani and Albert Pujols during much of that span as well.
Trout finally moved off of center field last season, and it’s no coincidence that he surpassed 500 plate appearances for the first time since 2019. Playing 106 games as the designated hitter and 22 in right field kept him reasonably healthy. His 121 OPS+ was the lowest of his career, but it still means his offense was 21% above league average.
Trout isn’t a superstar anymore, but he isn’t the problem either. Their best player is shortstop Zach Neto, who led the team with 5.1 WAR (Baseball-Reference version). Jo Adell, Nolan Schanuel, and Taylor Ward were above-average hitters as well, but the lineup drops off significantly after them.
They especially need help at second base and third base. Rookie Christian Moore was supposed to be part of the solution, but he batted just .198/.284/.370 in 53 games. If they can find a left-handed hitter, that would help balance out the lineup because Schanuel is their only lefty swinger currently penciled in as a starter.
They also need to bolster their depth. 20 players had fewer than 250 plate appearances for the Angels last year, and none of them had an OPS+ above 90. Only one of them featured an OPS north of .618, and only two had a batting average above .205.
Pitching is an even bigger priority for the Angels. They have two solid, if unspectacular starters returning. Yusei Kikuchi was their lone All-Star last year, but he led the league with 180 hits allowed and had an elevated 1.42 WHIP. José Soriano only gave up 12 home runs in 169 innings, but his WHIP was 1.40.
Their third and fourth starters from 2025 won’t be back. Kyle Hendricks is retiring and Tyler Anderson is a free agent. Their fifth starter was Jack Kochanowicz, who started 23 games with a 6.81 ERA and 1.75 WHIP. That underscored their lack of depth or developmental pipeline.
Realistically, they need to add three starters to make themselves competitive, which is hard to do in one offseason. It’s even more difficult when considering that their only reliever with more than 15 innings and a WHIP below 1.20 was Kenley Jansen, who is a 38-year-old free agent.
Building the pitching staff is going to be at least a two-year process. Even more importantly, they need to fix their broken minor-league system. Nearly all of the players they have successfully brought up in recent years have been first-round picks out of college who were as close as possible to MLB ready, including Neto, Schanuel, and Moore. They have no track record of developing prospects whatsoever.
Trout has five years remaining on his 12-year, $426.5 million contract. According to the JAWS metric frequently used to evaluate Hall of Fame credentials, he’s the fifth-best center fielder of all time, trailing Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Mickey Mantle, and placing above Ken Griffey Jr. and Joe DiMaggio. It would be a travesty if the Angels can’t put him in position to win a playoff game even once in his career. They’ve got a lot of work to do, and time is running out.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danepstein/2025/11/17/how-to-dig-the-angels-out-of-the-doldrums/
