The Angels have had a quiet offseason. It can be argued their biggest move was restructuring Anthony Rendon‘s final year under contract, with the two parties deferring his $38MM salary over five years. In terms of adding to the roster, the club signed Jordan Romano, Drew Pomeranz, Kirby Yates, and recently Brent Suter for the bullpen. They’ve also bought low on Alek Manoah, Grayson Rodriguez, and Josh Lowe (the latter two by trade) and re-signed Yoan Moncada to play third base.
With Moncada being a returning player, the Angels’ infield hasn’t seen much of an upgrade. Perhaps that’s due to financial uncertainty. The club recently terminated its contract with Main Street Sports and may consider turning over their broadcasts to MLB – generally a less-lucrative arrangement. Whatever the reason, the team’s infield still has some question marks, especially at second base. What options do the Angels have at present? Let’s take a look at the possibilities:
Moore is the incumbent at the keystone after Luis Rengifo, who led Angels second basemen with 260 plate appearances last year, became a free agent. He was the club’s first-round draft pick in 2024 and will get plenty of opportunities on that basis alone. That said, Moore struggled mightily at the plate in his debut season in 2025. In 184 PA across 53 games, he batted .198/.284/.370 and graded out 18% below average by wRC+. His 10.3% walk rate was a positive, but that was outweighed by a 33.7% strikeout rate. Moore also has room for improvement on defense, with Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average both taking a negative view of his work at the keystone. The key for him in 2026 will be making more consistent contact and getting on base so he can take advantage of his 78th-percentile speed.
Grissom was acquired from the Red Sox two months ago. He owns a career line of .255/.309/.346 with an 82 wRC+ in 350 PA for the Braves and Red Sox from 2022-24. Unfortunately, he didn’t play at all in the majors in 2025, instead spending the year at Triple-A. While he was above-average there and posted good strikeout and walk numbers, time is running out for him to prove himself at the big-league level. Grissom’s defense at second base is on par with Moore’s (-3 DRS and -8 OAA in 613 innings), so he’ll need to outhit Moore to compete with the recent draftee for playing time. Grissom is out of options and comes with five additional years of team control.
Peraza is a former Yankees prospect who has yet to make an impression in the majors outside of a late-season callup in 2022. In 524 PA from 2022-25, Peraza has batted just .189/.260/.282 with a 54 wRC+. He has also struck out at a 27.1% clip in his career, including 34.7% of the time in 95 PA with the Angels in 2025. He has only played 205 career innings at second base, although DRS and OAA both see him as slightly above average. Apart from his range, Peraza also has 81st-percentile arm strength, so the Angels might take advantage by playing him across the infield. Of course, he’ll need to cut back on the strikeouts and get on base more frequently to justify a bigger role than “defensive replacement.”
Guzman was an international signing in 2021 and made his big-league debut at the end of last year, albeit for just 43 PA. He batted .247/.343/.426 with a 119 wRC+ across Double-A and Triple-A in 2025, showing decent power with 17 home runs. Paris was the Angels’ second-round draft pick in 2019 and has made 245 PA in the majors from 2023-25. He is a steady defender but hasn’t shown anything with the bat, with a career wRC+ of 50 and an extremely high 42.1% strikeout rate in 140 PA last year. Even as depth pieces, Guzman and Paris are lower on the pecking order than Grissom and Peraza. Both have at least one option remaining, so they’re likely ticketed for Triple-A.
Minor-League Signings
Trey Mancini and Jeimer Candelario are in the organization on minor-league deals and will likely attend big-league Spring Training. Both are veterans with minimal track records in recent years. Mancini was out of baseball entirely in 2024 and spent 2025 with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate, hitting 10% better than average by wRC+ in 335 PA. His last productive big-league season was in 2022 (105 wRC+). Candelario was released by the Reds mid-way through last year after seeing his offense crater compared to the heights of his 2023 campaign. In 554 PA since the start of 2024, he owns a wRC+ of just 76 and has struggled badly to get on base. Candelario is limited to the infield corners and Mancini to just first base, so their ceilings are essentially as backups if Moncada or Nolan Schanuel get injured.
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images
I miss Chone Figgins. He was a fun player!
He was!
Until he signed with the Mariners. One of the worse signings in team history.
Amazing how both Figgins and Adrian Beltre signed with the Mariners and didn’t do squat.
I immediately thought of the much maligned Beltre deal – and checked his numbers and surprisingly found he wasn’t half bad. He just wasn’t as elite as he was after or as good as he was before. Certainly serviceable tho.
I thought if the Richie Sexson deal too. One good year and then a few blech ones. M
Man those “albatross” monetary numbers from back then are so adorable in retrospect aren’t they?
“Adorable”? Do you skip to work?
Don’t forget Richie Sexson!!
Chone Figgins was fun. Unfortunately, I was a 14 year old kid in 2002 when the Angels upset my Giants in the World Series. Even though they’ve won 3 since then, the kid inside me will never forgive anyone from that roster, illogical as it may be.
The Angels ineptitude as a franchise brings me a tiny bit of happiness every year.
I’m with ya buddy. Giants fan since ’65 and was in right field for Game 6 in 2002 when Dusty prematurely gave Russ Ortiz a game ball, firing up the Angels’ bench and Scott Spezio broke our hearts with a homer that landed five rows in front of me. No, the three championships since haven’t lessened the sting much and I too take some pleasure in the Angels sucking ever since.
They haven’t sucked every year since 2002. Nice try though
As an Amgels fan, I would like to say that while I hate the Dodgers, they have matched the 3 chips your Giants won in the 2010s. I will root for the Dodgers’ 4th just so that you won’t sleep at night
You’re absolutely right Dolemite. They won 3 titles about 10 years later. I get wanting 2002 as well, but with the 3 they recently got are you that worried?
Remove that stone in your chest and replace it with a heart.
Whereas I still smile at the memory of Bonds booting the ball round the outfield in Game Six.
“Scrappy” Dave Eckstein!
I”d say contact the White Sox concerning 2nd baseman Lenyn Sosa who hit .264/.293/.434 with 22 HR’s and 75 RBI, and has played all 4 infield positions. The Sox have Meidroth at 2nd, Montgomery at SS, Murakami at 1st and Vargas at 3rd. But they also have 3 future stars in BIlliy Carlson, Caleb Bonemer and soon to be drafted #1 Roch Kochlowski, all who all play SS and Carlson and Bonemer can play 2nd and 3rd, so the only 2 players assured of playing in the INF is Montgomery and Murakami. Sosa is a glove first infielder, but also swings a big bat with power. He would be a better addition that anyone they list in this article, especially former White Sox Moncada.
💩 Sox get some pitching n Tigers dont run away w division, they may be playing some semi meaningful baseball after the break ( vs the usual development n spoiler role they been playing for better part of the decade )
WSox could trade Benintendi and Sosa to Angels for Adell and a 11-20 prospect of their choice. Maybe throw in 5-7 million
The White Sox would give Benintendi to the Angels for a bag of balls, if the Angels picked up his remaining 2 years of his contract ($32 million), the Sox would throw in Sosa as a bonus. Benintendi coincidently has the honor of being the BIGGEST contract ever given to a Free Agent in their entire history. And all it was, $75 million for 5 years. He’s a contact hitter, but he’s no longer an outfielder with his defense skills. The Sox have no use for him anymore and don’t be surprised if he’s not DFA’d before the end of the season when they start bringing up younger OF’s from their farm system.
Was taking Soler back? The Angels could get Sosa without the pain…
That trade will not happen.
FYI
WSox – L. Sosa is not a good defender. Bat first
Agreed to an extent, last year was his first season where he had double digit errors playing 2nd base with 10.
Speaking of White Sox, the Angels are gonna need someone to play 3B because Moncada is not gonna do a lot of that.
And to think, Moncada was the BIG RETURN from Boston in the Sale trade. The White Sox got fleeced on that one. Moncada has never acted like he even wants to play baseball.
Sosa is not a glove first infielder, he’s actually pretty terrible at defense. He’s bat first all the way but doesn’t walk at all
How do you build a pitching staff with such awful infield and outfield defense?
How does anyone think Perry knows what he’s doing?
With that pitching n offense, they should have glove first defenders all over the diamond ( kinda like the cubs but a few of their gloves can hit too )
Looking at this posting, a poll should be done on whether the Angels will end up with more wins than the White Sox. I believe the Angels are worse.
I think so.
I think angels will struggle to win 66+ games
💩 Sox will get to 69 w out too much problem. Maybe 72ish
Guaranteed they lose more games the White Sox. The Sox should have a chance at 70+ wins, and I doubt the Angels have a team that can win 70, Trout or no Trout.
Angels will finish higher due to their offense. It’s another .500 goal season for them.
As a Sox fan I would bet on the Angels to win more games this year. It should be close. An interesting bet.
I’m hoping that Andy Schatzley can help here.
It seems that, despite having Wash as the manager, the defense was not being coached well. A lot of mental errors, too, not just physical ones.
@halo11fan. The defense got better. Soler not in the outfield, adell in right, trout in left. Lowe/siri in center. The infield is probably a push unless madrigal makes the team.
Rex.. How did it get better?
Rengifo was their best infielder and Ward was their best outfielder. and that’s not saying much.
Lowe is a bad outfielder. -7.9 last year. Adell was negative 5.8 in LF, negative 9.6 in CF.
Siri is fine, but if he plays, this team is even worse than I thought.
@halo11fan. We talked about this before lowe had a bad year because of the triple a park. A rays writer was saying everyone’s numbers took a hit because the ball would get lost in the lights . The outfield got better with adell playing in right where he belongs. My guess siri and lowe will platoon or maybe they sit soler some days.
He’s never had a positive outs above average in his life at last year his range factor was 30%.
Adell does belong in a corner outfield spot.
I guess it does matter who will play where, but the defense was horrible last year, and even if it somehow improves, it won’t get better than horrible.
Soler is now going to get a lot more reps in the outfield, Lowe is not as good as Ward. So that leaves second base. You really think Grissom is going to start over Moore? Minasian is gone next year unless players like Moore, Schanuel, O’Hoppe get a lot better. Moore is going to play.
@halo11fan. He’s better at CF than adell. That’s what im factoring in. Adell is a decent RF. Wouldn’t surprise me if they just trade soler and eat the money. The DH spot needs to be open for trout. Lowe was the best available for the price. I think they covered the loss of burke. I think grissom is starting at 2nd til moancada gets hurt. He will slide to 3rd, and moore will get called up. At the end of day. I dont think its worse than last year. Will they finish in last place yes just hoping they get a lucky bounce, instead of getting struck by lightning.
That’s a very Lowe bar and Adell looks to be the CF?
@halo11fan. It looks like trout in left. Siri/lowe in cf. Adell in right. They can probably get teodosio in the minors if not they have meckler. Wouldn’t surprise me if they just unload soler they can canderlario play dh/3b when moancada gets hurt. Either way I said slightly better and it is probably sitting at 29th. Will half the team be hurt by the second month of the season and they sign sano probably. Hopefully if anyone is hitting below .100 they cut them, and they might because they’re mostly cheap million dollar deals.
Where are you getting this information?
Roster resource has Soler in LF, Adell in CF and Lowe in RF..
The only hope that our outfield defense is better is to hope Adell’s hip injury last March affected his defense. And I don’t know if that’s a hope or a prayer.
If Candelario has gotten in shape and motivated, I don’t see him being a backup to Moncada. Both are a low bar.
At least Moncada has shown he can hit the last few years. Can’t really defend or stay healthy though
Moncado can hit. 124OPS+ against RH pitchers.
He can’t hit LH pitchers. He can’t play 3rd base. He’s a platoon DH, who will be playing third.
Yikes. Do they have a single starter who’s even an average defender?
No… Unless you include Trout, who wont play much defense, they don’t have a single defender who would rank reasonably below average or is likely to become an average fielder.
Grissom has to win that job this spring.
Pencil in Moncada at 3rd and Grissom at 2nd.
A bench of D’Arnaud, Siri, Madrigal and Mancini isn’t great but therr is some intrigue. All those guys can hit. The Angels lineup and their bench will lack left-handed hitting but that is the team they put together.
Moore, Paris, Peraza, Candelario, Guzman — nice to have depth on the farm.
With his 86 career OPS+ that Madrigal can sure hit.
When the White Sox drafted Madrigal 4th overall in 2018, I was sure he was going to be a career .300+ hitter and from day one he struggled.
He is a good hitter — its a difficult case, his career trajectory has taken a rocky road.
He had a starting job as a rookie, hit .300 over in his first 300 PAs, lost a season to injury, was traded to the Cubs and resigned to a platoon / bench role.
Lost all his momentum, maybe lost a little confidence in his ability but he can hit.
When you take a guy out of his modality as a leader, when he is in fact a leader, he can lose the edge, and it was that edge that kept him locked in.
He may never get it back in a part-time role. Only 29, only takes one season of steady playijg time to get it rolling. Unfortunately, getting an everyday job in an MLB lineup is very difficult. Grissom too deserves a look.
I think thr Angels could move Adell for an SP, run Grissom in the OF, and see what Madrigal can do at 2B.
I don’t think Siri, Madrigal, or Mancini are making the opening day roster.
I think all three should be on the team, and Paris and Moore should be in AAA. Outright Peraza.
Siri can hit the long ball, he is a good replacement for Adell if there was a team interested in two years of Adell and I imagine there is. I think Adell could bring back a good player or two in trade and I think Siri and Mancini are the key pieces to the Angels making that trade.
If the Angels trade Adell in the off-season, likely a better trade on the table than the one they get at the trade deadline.
So, nothin’ much!
This roster is like toilet paper.
Hopefully they have a top 5 farm
Oops. They dont have Nada / a future
Some teams have to be bad. They’re one of them.
The Angels are the most poorly run team in the majors. More so than the usual suspects, because if they could produce anyone good. They have the finances and willingness to spend to keep them in Anaheim. They rush all of their prospects and the only ones that have really worked out in that fast track way is Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto who both had to learn in the majors. The Angels don’t draft or develop well and have an affinity for signing former big names after they are completely washed, and now they are signing managers to one year prove it deals. It beats all I have ever seen.
They are still on Schanuel’s swing. Why the hell wasn’t this done in the minors?
Neto is a fine player who can’t go to his left. I don’t mind him coming up too soon, what I do mind is the Angels have not drafted a shortstop to replace him.
1) He’s not a good shortstop.
2) Why would he stick around when he becomes a free agent?
3) With this HORRIBLE farm system, are the Angels likely to be good prior to him becoming a free agent?
Please sell the team so us remaining Angels fans can go cheer on a team that will be competitive…
We deserve better.
And get Los Angeles out of the team name.
No one outside of LA wants to have the name attached to their team.
Make it California again.
Unlike the perenially mediocre teams like the Braves, all the Angels need is a new owner.
Who could they trade to the Astros for either Walker or Paredes?
They have nothing the Astros need or want in my opinion. Nothing in the minor leagues either.
Walker had a worse OPS+ than Schanuel, and is owed $40M over the next 2 years. Believe it or not, Schanuel is the better bet right now.
I like Paredes a lot, but Paredes is a perfect fit for Daikin Park. And the Astros have enough uncertainty of their own where they should hang on to him.
Walker was hurt last year. That said, the Astros would trade Walker for Rendon. They owe him 60 million dollars and they would love to trade him.
Wow, they all suck…
At least they’re strong at shortstop with Neto. He’s about all they got.
Nolan Schanuel isn’t too shabby. I’m hoping Moore will take over 2B. He has a lot of upside.
It’s obvious the Angels are not interested in fielding a competitive team. Just rip the band aid off, Arte. If you’re not selling the Team, you should. At least fire Perry who has taken this Team backwards during his tenure. Play the kids. You can dump Soler now. He’s just taking a roster space. Trade Soriano for a CF (Duran?). that you can build around. Trade one of Dana or Aldegheri for Baty, Shaw, or Barger. Throw in another player if need be. Put the one you don’t trade in the rotation. F these one year deals. Get some controllable players with potential.
You’re not getting any of those players for those players.
Nope
Oh Boy. Stick to your day job brother. You don’t know anything about running a team. SMH.
Yeah shake your head. I can hear it rattling. By the way, that was a duma$$ movie that only fool would like. And I ain’t your brother, pal.
@Angel That rattling was you heard was you shaking your piggy bank empty to buy some common sense.
I feel like the Angels may be a bit better than given credit for offensively.
Lowe/Adell/Trout/Soler
Moncada/Neto/Moore/Schnauel
O’Hoppe
Is it great? No, but Neto is becoming a fantastic hitter, and Lowe was a good addition.
Is Adell stepping up? What do Trout and Soler have left? All fair questions.
As for 2b? I do think that’s Moore’s job to lose. Grissom can be a solid middle IF backup, and they have other guys there for the bench. If Schanuel had more pop they’d be better off. Maybe Jeimer can find himself again and be a solid corner backup. D’Arnaud is a solid backup C, too.
Defense, welp, but I don’t offense is so dire.
Salzilla – “I feel like the Angels may be a bit better than given credit for offensively.”
Feel? It’s not about feelings. It’s about facts. The Angels got worse. The team hit .228 in 2025 and everyone they’ve acquired hits worse than that.
Adell is not stepping up. He’s had several years to do so and he still can’t hit MLB pitching.
Trout will be fine if he doesn’t get hurt.
And we still have no pitching.
Anyway, I appreciate your optimism but I believe we went backwards this off season. With our lack of pitching and hitting, I don’t see how we win more games than last year. How am I wrong?
Baseball is more about feelings than the modern era likes to give credit for. Feeling are what makes team click together, feelings are what makes historic runs and comebacks. Stats are nice, but they never ever tell the full story.
Grayson Rodriguez was a sneaky good addition. I like Josh Lowe, they really do have a budding star in Neto. Moore could be very good. They added some vets to that bullpen. Personally, I think they’re better. I’m not a fan, so just an outside observation.
Salzilla – “Baseball is more about feelings than the modern era likes to give credit for.”
Actually, no. But you weren’t talking about baseball feelings. You were talking about your own feelings, which is what I was responding to. Your feelings don’t make the facts go away. The facts are the team can’t hit and they can’t pitch. Both are needed to win games. So while I appreciate your warm fuzzies, this team is not better than the actual facts that define it.
Being negative does nothing for you, nor your team.
Salzilla – I get it, but being blindly optimistic doesn’t help you see reality or help the team to the playoffs either. Cheers.
Trey Mancini…meatballaaaaa meatballllll
Quiet offseason again. Two trades, a pile of DFA moves, and not a single impact free agent added. It’s the Arte Moreno routine we’ve been stuck with for eight years.
The Orioles trade for Grayson Rodriguez was the one move that actually made sense. Young arm, real upside.
The Rays trade for Josh Lowe gets a thumbs down. Bad trade Tampa doesn’t give away players they believe in, and the Angels once again bet on a “maybe he bounces back” project.
And the nonstop DFA carousel That’s been the Angels’ offseason identity for almost a decade. Lots of movement, not a lot of improvement.
Between deferring Rendon’s contract and the well‑deserved payout in the Tyler Skaggs case, the Angels weren’t putting real money into the roster anyway. Different year, same patterns, same results. Arte Moreno. Needs to walk away from this game the worst owner in baseball he sure has thick skin.
The Rays have actually made some bad trades recently, so their “don’t trade with them” aura has been stolen by the Brewers.
Their Paredes for Morel move doesn’t look so hot.
Civale for Manzardo, not good.
The Eflin and Arozarena trades haven’t panned out, either.
And to be honest, J Lowe for Lux is kind of head scratcher, too, when they started the winter with B Lowe.at 2B.
Don’t forget Joe Ryan for a Nelson Cruz rental
The only way the Angels get out of this situation, trade Trout and eat most of his remaining $190+ million dollar salary, and get what they can from a teams farm system. And with his injury history, they might not get much back, even if they eat most of it.
Perhaps trading Mike Trout to his favorite team growing up in New Jersey makes the most sense. The Phillies could use an outfielder and are looking to jettison what’s left of Nick Castellanos’ contract. Perhaps the Angels can also inquire about either 3B Alec Bohm or 2B Bryson Stott to help with their infield situation.
I’m not sure how the rest of the money could be worked out but Trout would have a chance to to win a World Series in Philadelphia before he and his favorite team’s window to accomplish that feat runs out. Trout has only been in the postseason once as an Angel, way back in 2014 when they were wept 3-0 by the eventual AL Champ Royals in the ALDS.
Trout has been an Angel teammate of fellow future HOF superstars Albert Pujols and Shohei Ohtani with only one brief playoff appearance to show for it. That could change with a trade to the Phillies were he might accomplish far more with a different pair of future HOF teammates in Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto, to say nothing of 3x All-Stars Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner.
Trout has been the ultimate fantasy player for much of his MLB career. I’d like to see another fantasy become a reality with Trout finishing his remarkable career in a homecoming that might result in a championship fairy tale ending for himself and the Phillies.
@Mr. Aaron Please please I beg you STOP with Trout going to Philadelphia. He loves being on the Angels and living in Newport Beach during the season.. Trout is a very loyal person. Besides who want want to put themselves in that situation with insufferable heat during the summer and those insufferable fans. NO THANKS. Life is too short.
Mike Trout still resides in Jersey during much of the offseason. He can call it home during the baseball season and potentially win a championship with the Phillies instead of just watching his Eagles hoist trophies.
Barring an earthquake or tidal wave, his Newport Beach mansion will still be there as a part time residence and his full-time retirement home assuming he can still navigate its 9,000 square feet following his assortment of injuries.
If Trout insists on playing closer to Newport Beach perhaps he can request a trade to the Dodgers where he’s most likely to win a championship or three.
Arte Moreno owes him as much and perhaps whatever remains of his salary could be deferred by the Dodgers until his children and grandchildren are ready for retirement.
For Trout’s sake, I hope he never has to play a day for the Phillies.
He has five seasons to make the playoffs with the Angels, and to me, if he plays out his career as an Angel, its an epic achievement.
Great. Then Mike Trout can have the honor of zero postseason victories on his HOF resume and join many of the greats of yesteryear when it was more difficult getting playoff PA’s because there were only two teams that survived a long regular season, the NL and AL pennant winners who immediately faced each other in the World Series.
As a long time Chicago baseball fan since the early 1960’s I had the honor of watching HOfers like Ernie Banks and Ron Santo. Neither ever had an opportunity to appear in a postseason game. My dad watched White Sox great Luke Appling suffer the same fate decades before.
In the modern era with expanded playoffs and free agency it’s a much rarer feat to see a HOFer with zero playoff wins. I’d hate to see an all-time great like Mike Trout left out. 🙂
@Aaron, You’d make a good Cubs fan.
Ive been a fan of Trout since day one. Jose Canseco, Ricky Henderson, and I’d say Mike Trout are my favorite players of all-time.
I dont see the poor Mike Trout story, move to Philly and get to the playoffs with Bryce Harper and Trea Turner.
“yeah for Mikey!” (Philly Fanatic does a cartwheel)
Angels are Mike Trout’s team, five more seasons, keep in shape, put in the work, eat healthy, the Angels can get him to the playoffs, and if they don’t, kept the faith in myself and my team all the way until the end.
The problem is not Trout, it’s Moreno. Angels can afford a diminished Trout and the fans will show up if they’re competitive – a risk the owner refuses to take.
I think they have been waiting out a 35M / year snafu in Rendon. They saw it as too much red tape to overcome by spending more.
It is a damn shame they couldnt put together some better prospects in the draft. I think Bremner is going to develop into a nice starter.
They need to go heavy with college players in this years draft, skip the prep players and draft a load of college players with some NCAA seasoning.
Christian Moore is going to be the everyday 2B.
A lot of hand wringing over his performance last year, but everyone seems to skip over the fact that he was just 22 years old. Moore should have been in AA/AAA working on his game.
Still, Moore’s numbers were very similar to Mayer’s, and it’s generally accepted that Marcelo will be fine.
The fact that his walk rate was 2nd highest among 22 year olds (behind only Nick Kurtz) indicates that he understands the strike zone.
The next step, therefore, is to learn what pitches in the zone he can handle so that he can improve his contact rate.
After all, his K% in the SEC was 20.2%, so the potential is there to at least improve his numbers. Maybe. We shall see.
Let’s not forget that the Angels hitting coaches last year were not the best mentors in developing a proper approach at the plate!
Moore needs to improve, no doubt, but at his age, I’m willing to give him that chance.
Good points. I agree. Moore’s job too lose.
Grissom is a better hitter than Moore. Doesnt have the power upside but he gets on base. Madrigal a better hitter than Moore also.
Figure it out in AAA. Hit a ton, get the confidence rolling and a spot opens up for Moore certainly but he’s better off starting the year in Salt Lake City.
Madrigal probably better off getting at bats in AAA too if he isnt getting everyday at bats. He needs the game reps.
Grissom has hit well in the minors so the potential is certainly there.
Things never clicked in Boston for whatever reason, but hopefully a change of scenery helps!
The team is coming off 99 and 90 loss seasons and the roster seems weaker after this off season. I like the new one-year-contract coaching staff, but they better be freakin’ miracle workers to turn this clown car around.
Ramon Urias playing 2B (where he’s quite good defensively) is their best bet, he’s very underrated and would add 1.0 WAR by my estimation.
Top trade targets to play 2B vs RHP:
Daniel Schneeman
David Hamilton
Outside of that, Rengifo & Estrada both make sense as everyday options at 2B.
Reading the article just reaffirms that the team isn’t play off bound. But let’s take a look at the big picture.
1. The team didn’t spend. This is recognition and affirmation that the team accepts that they can’t compete with the roster that they have, even with the upgrades that were available on the market. There are just too many holes to fill and not enough dollars in Arte’s wallet.
2. Pick ups during the off season are based on “hope”. You don’t recruit to win based on hope. Many, of the pick ups have something to prove. These players are trade chips at the deadline. To flip for youth.
3. This team is rebuilding despite what is being projected by the Angel’s management. The problem is that the team is way behind.
4. The team hasn’t made serious efforts to pull in a #1 or #2 starter. So, getting a playoff birth isn’t a priority.
5. The hitting philosophy that appears to be prevalent is an all or nothing approach at the plate. It isn’t team oriented, it’s all about trying to put the ball in the seats, regardless of strike outs and the need to move base runners. It’s amazing that some of these coaches have jobs. Anything can happen when you make contact. Just look at all the team errors and balls that this team didn’t get to last year.
6. Fielding skills seem to be taking a back seat to power skills. Look deeper into the stats and you’ll see this to be a fact. The baseball philosophy has changed in the organization from one that valued defense over power to power over defense.
7. Angel fans want a team that wins. Winning takes good pitching and defense. The recipe is completely wrong at the moment.
8. Firing and hiring different GMs, coaches, etc. Every 1-4 years is a reflection of inept ownership. You can’t change the course of a franchise in 4-5 years when a GM and coaches inherit a decimated minor league system.
9. Seriously, it’s clear that the team has no clear goals from a fans perspective and the fact that fans have to read between the lines is ridiculous. Ownership is afraid of lost revenue, GMs that know baseball are forced to follow ownership direction on how to run the team, etc., ultimately compromising the direction that they want to go because let’s face it, their job is always on the line in Anaheim.
10. As a fan, it is frustrating watching the dysfunction. A team that has fallen from greatness that just looks lost.
My recommendation, have a meeting, layout the 5-10 year plan, put it in motion and don’t deviate. It’s really that simple.
NEWS FLASH- The Angels currently doesn’t have a TV Contract and had to pay out Over $100M as the result of a law suit. They don’t have the $$$$ to make big signings. MAYBE they will get lightning in a bottle and have decent season and things will get better. See I said the same thing your power point presentation laid out in the fraction of the time.
Insurance paid for the lawsuit. Don’t just put out false information without knowing the facts.
If he is healthy, the Angels have a solid #2 (& possibly a #1) SP in Grayson Rodriguez. They’re most recent Draft included multiple college arms. Hopefully a couple of them move relatively fast (’27 or ’28).
2026 Angels Rotation It Might Be the Best We’ve Had in a Decade
1. Yusei Kikuchi — LHP
2. José Soriano — RHP
3. Grayson Rodriguez — RHP
4. Reid Detmers — LHP
5. Jack Kochanowicz — RHP
On paper, this is the strongest, Angels rotation we’ve rolled out in the last 10 years.
cross our fingers, everyone stays healthy
@JB I agree, but t’s not a foregone conclusion that they will be good.
1. Kikuchi – I think this is one of the more certainties. Kikuchi will be Kikuchi. Not great, but not bad, somewhere around a
4 ERA’;.
2. Soriano – Last year he was great on the road, ERA under 3, but horrible at home with a ERA near 6. If he can pitch like he does on the road, he would be an All Star.
3. Rodriguex – Great stuff, but coming off injury. We don’t know if velocity and movement are the same post injury.
4. Detmers – He started last year and was horrible to begin. When he was moved to the bullpen, he pitched with confidence and was attacking hitters. Now he will be moving back to the starter role and will need to take it down a notch rather than empty the tank in an inning. .
5. Mahoah – I think he will probably be the starter over Jack K. A couple of years ago, I would have loved to have this guy, but how much does he weigh currently.. If we get a 360 lb guy, he isn’t going to be very good.
Moore will be 2b unless he has an awful spring.
@Bob If The Angels could only find a young 3B with potential. We could have a good young infield at all 4 positions for a long time.
Denzer Guzman is supposed to be that guy, but as you know he’s only 21 and needs more development.
I haven’t heard Luis Rengifo’s name connected with ANY team this whole off season. I guess it’s “Back Off Boogaloo” with Luis.
Right his market has seen almost non existent strange considering he’s a gg finalist this year
Christian Moore should’ve spent his 1st full professional season at AA. He “probably” would be ready to compete for the opening day roster if the organization would’ve shown just a little patience. But no,they rushed him to the Majors when he absolutely wasn’t ready. That he struggled the way he did shouldn’t have been a shock to anyone.
He’s gonna go on a tear and go back to Tennessee form it’s over for em
Peraza should make the roster as the main utility Infielder. I can see Candelario making it as a 1B/3B option as they don’t really have a backup for Schanuel. I don’t see Moore and Grissom both breaking camp with the team, either or but not both
People are forgetting Vaughn can play first base he’s gonna be a sleeper move imo his bat is starting to come around
Grissom played 12 games at First Base in Worcester, that doesn’t necessarily translate to “can play First Base”, it just means he’s played First Base. I hope the kid sticks with the Angels. He never really got a shot in Boston and was stuck being the guy acquired for Chris Sale