Do The Angels Have A Direction?

Major League Baseball in the modern era is a lot like Texas Hold 'Em. Players are either all in or unapolgetically sitting on the sidelines until they have a stronger hand.

Even the most casual of baseball fans knows the Dodgers, Mets, and a host of others are all in. More astute fans know the Cardinals, A's, and several more are trading in their cards for some they hope work better down the line.

Stuck somewhere in the middle are the Angels. So far the biggest free agent additions have been middle relievers and in two trades the Angels sent out more established talent than they received. Neither player brought in figures to have a huge impact on 2026. Grayson Rodriguez due to an innings limit and Josh Lowe because he simply has not been a quality Major League player in over two seasons.

The Angels have not taken steps to win.

There have been reasonable opportunities to add players at positions of dire need and the Angels have not capitalized. Perhaps this is due to the uncertainty of the outcome of the Tyler Skaggs trial and/or the seemingly perpetual turmoil with the local television contract. But even with those issues up in the air, the team's payroll is $80 million less than in 2025.

Third base is an obvious opportunity for the Angels to upgrade and there was a myriad of options on the market. Korean Gold Glover Sung-mun Song signed for a very low $16 million over 4 years. He will make the same per year as Drew Pomeranz will make this year for the Angels.

Meanwhile, Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami settled for 2 years $34 from the White Sox which was well below forecast. The best all around player of the group Kazuma Okamoto was linked to the club but ultimately signed with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Meanwhile, there also is no clear starter at second base and the rotation is in need of veteran stability. A bench of Vaughn Grissom and Oswald Peraza carries plenty of potential but no proven level of MLB production. Then there's the bullpen and general lack of organization depth. Oh, and center field. The list keeps growing.

This is not a good roster as of today nor do I think a spending spree will change much. Let's say the team adds the best remaining third baseman in Eugenio Suarez, the best remaining center fielder in Harrison Bader, and a quality starter like Chris Bassitt. Would that have them competitive with Seattle, Houston and Texas? Possibly until the first injury happened.

Nor have they cashed in their best trade chips.

For years the Angels have trotted out an expensive lineup and gotten no results for it. Disastrous contracts like Vernon Wells, Josh Hamilton, and now Anthony Rendon have been an anchor to the franchise. Meanwhile big money investments in Albert Pujols and Mike Trout have yielded poor results on the dollar. So perhaps the team wants to wait until they have a better hand. If that is the case, then why not trade players who can bring back good returns?

Jo Adell popped 37 home runs last year and can play a decent right field. Teams like the Royals and Mets have been openly looking to trade for an outfielder all off season and power is always in demand. The Reds and Pirates made sense as well. Jo has 2 years of club control left and the team isn't winning in 2026, so why not cash in that chip?

Reid Detmers has 3 years of club control left. He's tossed a no hitter and saved a game. I'm not sure how other teams see him, but either way he's valuable and will be gone before the Angels win again.

Jose Soriano also has three years remaining and also an injury history. He's been healthy the last few years, but in today's pitching market his affordability and upside have value.

The big dog would be Zach Neto. Personally I'd love to build around him but if the Angels are truly rebuilding, he'd bring in the biggest haul. Another year of steady production would not hurt his case, but if the Angels wanted to rebuild this would be the trade that would hurt now but potentially be huge later.

The trades the Angels have executed were on a much lower level. Taylor Ward is a free agent after 2026 and was projected to cost north of $12 million. Brock Burke was a steady middle reliever, but isn't an All Star.

Perhaps a plan will become apparent.

Pitchers and catcher report in about three weeks. By then perhaps the team will have added enough pieces Angels fans can put on rose colored glasses and squint just right and see a team that might be decent. Perhaps by then Angels fans will be short on favorites to watch.

The Angels have seen the flop, so to speak. They know how much the Skaggs settlement will set them back and they know how much they will pay Anthony Rendon in 2026. There's still the turn and the river to come, meaning the lack of a TV deal could sink the Angels budget.

One overall trend has been no long term contracts and now it looks like no contracts past 2026. Arte seems pretty intent there will be a lockout in 2027 and I'm incline to agree. But with no baseball after this year, it would be nice to either put the chips in on a 2026 run or start getting new cards for 2028 and beyond.