Could the Angels and Mets Join Forces to Create a Playoff Team?

The Angels and Mets have combined to spend an insane amount of money on 22 wins and 41 losses. Both teams have good players but problems closing out games. As the two large market teams open a three game set in Anaheim, let's see if we could cobble together a contender.

For the sake of objectivity I will use bWAR as the baseline to award imaginary roster spots but in the case where WAR is equal or close to it, I will look at attributes to make a determination.

Juan Soto, Mike Trout, and Jo Adell are the outfield.

Juan Soto has been injured for part of the year but he is active and doing what he does best. His slash line of .327/.422/.545 is night and day better than the automatic out patrolling left field for the Angels. This is an easy call.

Mike Trout is crushing the ball. He has already smoked 10 home runs and provided 1.9 WAR of value. Another easy call.

By WAR, Bret Baty is leading Jo Adell. Baty is 0.0 while Adell is -0.2. Baty is the better defender while Adell is the far better batter. This one could go either way, but I'm going with Adell by a hair simply because he showed the ability to be an impact bat and mediocre defender last year.

Oswald Peraza, Zach Neto, Vaughn Grissom, and Nolan Schanuel are the infield.

Surprisingly this is a clean sweep for the Angels but it has context. All World shortstop Francisco Lindor is on the IL and off to a slow start. If healthy and playing at his usual level, that is a coin flip. But with Neto healthy and outproducing Lindor in WAR and at the plate, Neto gets the nod.

Peraza is crushing the ball and is already good for 0.8 WAR thanks to an OPS+ of 132. Meanwhile, Bo Bichette is worth -0.2 WAR at third in Queens.

Vaughn Grissom is off to a good start after missing some time early. His 0.2 WAR is the mirror image of Marcus Semien's -0.2 WAR plus Grissom's age implies he has untapped upside.

Somebody has to man first base and there really is not a great option. Nolan Schanuel's WAR of 0.0 is better than Mark Vientos -0.3, though, so Schanuel gets the nod.

Francisco Alvarez and Travis d'Arnaud are the catchers.

Logan O'Hoppe leads these teams with 0.6 WAR but his is out with an injury. Alvarez and d'Arnaud are veterans who are more valuable behind the plate than at the dish but Alvarez is a very respectable hitter currently sporting an OPS+ of 95.

Jose Soriano, Clay Holmes, Nolan McLean, Jack Kochanowicz, and Reid Detmers is a great rotation.

While we have been rightfully fascinated by Soriano, the Mets have gotten a great start to 2026 from Clay Holmes. The righty has a 1.75 ERA through 6 games and 36 innings. He's been consistently good to great.

Nolan McLean is a name that will continue to grow. He pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic and has an impressive 2.55 ERA in 35.1 innings. Again, consistently good to great.

Jack Kochanowicz is taking a big step forward this season and Reid Detmers transition back to the rotation is going well.

Now to cobble together a bullpen.

Huascar Brazoban leads all reliever with 0.6 WAR. Honestly, WAR is far from my favorite metric when it comes to pitchers, particularly relievers, but Brazoban is the guy I most trust with a lead. He is the high leverage guy.

Tobias Meyer of the Mets and Brent Suter of the Angels both have WAR's of 0.4 and are in. Each team features a guy with 0.3 WAR in Sam Bachman and Brooks Raley.

Jose Fermin is good for 0.1 WAR and Mitch Farris 0.2. Two more Angels are in. Chase Silseth also has 0.3 and is the last guy in.

Does the team make the playoffs?

Please let me know what you think. Offensively there is a ton of power and a Soto/Trout heart of the order would give pitchers nightmares. The team's rotation is good enough to win most nights. Put this team in the AL West and they have a legitimate shot to challenge Seattle for the division but could win a Wild Card.

Please email me or comment on the social media pages? How far could a hypothetical Mets/Angels hybrid team go in 2026?

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