Angels Players Reveal Their Goals for 2024 Season, All Centered Around Winning
The Los Angeles Angels haven't made the postseason since 2014. Ten years later, they're hoping to finally bring an end to that streak.
Despite the lower expectations and lesser attention on the team following the loss of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, players in the Angels' clubhouse have their sights set on a successful season in Anaheim — one that would be the first in quite some time.
The Angels' last winning season came in 2015, three years before Ohtani debuted with the club. Their last postseason win came in 2009.
This offseason, the Angels have made upgrades to their bullpen, but haven't made any major additions to replace the loss of Ohtani in the rotation or lineup.
And yet, a quiet confidence seeps through the walls at the Angels' complex in Tempe, Arizona.
Halos Today recently caught up with a handful of players in the Angels' clubhouse and spoke about their goals for the 2024 season. There was one consistent message in each conversation.
"A big goal for us is we want to make the playoffs," 22-year-old Nolan Schanuel said to Halos Today. "So obviously we’re gonna take it one day at a time, but that’s the overall goal."
Schanuel was expected to be the leadoff hitter for the Angels this season, but manager Ron Washington changed his mind and said he would be moving him to the second spot in the lineup. Either way, he'll look to the make the same impact he made on the Halos in his 29 games in 2023, when he hit .275 with an OPS+ of 103.
Another young player who made his debut in 2023, Zach Neto, offered a similar sentiment.
"Just making sure we get to play in October," the 23-year-old Neto said to Halos Today. "That’s the biggest thing."
Neto, like Schanuel, made his debut in 2023. He'll be manning the shortstop position and hitting ninth in the lineup, something he adamantly told Washington he wanted to do.
Neto and Schanuel are two of the youngest players expected to be on the active roster, but there are tons of veterans who joined the team on minor league deals looking to make whatever impact they can.
Hunter Dozier, who's had a strong start to spring going 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs, made his goals clear to Halos Today.
“My goal is to make the team for sure," Dozier said. "And then if I do, then help win."
Dozier said the overarching feeling in the clubhouse is a hunger to win.
"We’re all talking, we want to win," Dozier said. "So however I can help this team win, I’ll do it. I’ll buy in. I think we’re all kind of buying in. So it should be a fun year."
Dozier spent the last 10 years in the Kansas City Royals' organization, the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2013 draft. He made his debut in 2016, a year after the Royals won the World Series, but didn't experience a winning season in Kansas City.
He's hoping to change that in Anaheim, and is already relishing his time on a new club.
"I’m really enjoying it," Dozier said. "The guys are great. Coaching staff’s really good. So far it’s been a blast being here."
Another veteran, outfielder Jake Marisnick, got straight to the point when Halos Today asked him his goal for the 2024 season.
"Win a championship."
Marisnick was with the Houston Astros when they won the World Series in 2017, but wasn't on any of the postseason rosters. He's bounced around over the last few years, playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and New York Mets since 2020. This team, however, feels different.
"The energy in here is really positive. Everybody's kind of pushing in the right direction. And that's something you don't always feel when you go into a team," Marisnick said. "I've been around a little bit in the last couple years, this feels different. Just the general vibe around the team and the way the message is being sent across here is really good."
Then there's Matt Moore, a veteran reliever who was with the Angels for a majority of the 2023 season before playing with the Cleveland Guardians and Miami Marlins to close out the season.
Moore said it was "cool" to be with the Marlins when they clinched a postseason spot, but made it clear he wants to do that with the Halos.
"Just seeing this club into the playoffs," Moore said to Halos Today regarding his goal for the season. "Doing whatever I can on a daily basis to help that become a reality."
Moore, a veteran who's played for eight teams in his career, also talked about the positive energy in the Angels' clubhouse.
"Ron (Washington) seems like he brings a little bit of a game plan with him. And that’s something with me as a player that I can kind of lean on a little bit," Moore said. "It’s been fun camp so far. It’s only been a week in here but the energy’s good."
It's one thing for the young players to talk about this positive energy in the clubhouse, but when veterans who have been with multiple organizations talk about it, it really means something.
On paper, the Angels appears to be the fourth-best team in a loaded AL West behind the Astros, Seattle Mariners and reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers.
However, this team has all the confidence in the world that they can make a surprise run in the AL West.
"Winning. We all want to do it. We all know that we can around here," Dozier said. "So I think it’s time."
Can this team make the playoffs in 2024?
A confident Schanuel had a two-word answer:
"Of course."
