ORLANDO — The Angels aren’t planning on stopping at the two starters they’ve added this winter.
“I’d like to add more,” general manager Perry Minasian said from the Winter Meetings on Monday. “We’d like to continue.”
Minasian said the average big league team used more than 13 starters last season, so there’s no reason to stop with the two they’ve added this winter: Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah.
That’s particularly true because Rodriguez and Manoah are both, as Minasian admits, gambles.
Neither has pitched in the majors since 2024. Rodriguez was injured all of last season. Manoah pitched 10 games in the minors last season.
“There’s an element of risk,” Minasian said. “We understand that. But we felt it was worth the gamble knowing where (Manoah) is, what he’s doing. We have a plan. We’ve got to get his delivery back in place. It’s changed over the last year and a half. He’s in a healthy, way more beneficial place when it comes to health. He had more than just arm stuff in Toronto. We’ve got a good handle on that. He’s motivated.”
Manoah, who turns 28 in January, was one of the sport’s most promising young pitchers. He was an All-Star in 2022, when he posted a 2.24 ERA over 196 ⅔ innings. Since then, he’s struggled with injuries and poor control.
Although Manoah still can be optioned, Minasian said he’s expecting him to be on the team, as a reliever if he doesn’t crack the rotation. The other starters are right-handers José Soriano and Rodriguez and left-handers Yusei Kikuchi and Reid Detmers.
“He’s going to have to go out and earn it,” Minasian said. “If he’s the Alek Manoah that we’ve seen in the past, then I imagine he’d be in the rotation. With that being said, we definitely are looking for ways to improve the rotation.”
The Angels still have money to afford an established starter, because Rodriguez will make around the big league minimum and Manoah will make less than $2 million, and they saved about $14 million by trading Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles for Rodriguez.
RENDON’S STATUS
Minasian said there’s “nothing to talk about” with regard to a report that the team is negotiating some sort of arrangement that would end Anthony Rendon’s time in an Angels uniform.
“He’s rehabbing,” Minasian said. “We’ll see where that goes.”
If the Angels are able to work out something with Rendon, it could free up some more money to spend elsewhere on the roster for 2026.
Rendon, 35, has missed most of the last five seasons with various injuries. He had hip surgery earlier this year and missed the entire season. He has one season left on his seven-year, $245-million deal.
Rendon is set to be paid $38 million in 2026. The MLB Players’ Association will not allow the total remaining present-day value to be reduced, so any sort of restructuring would spread out that money, with Rendon getting interest. The average annual value used for the luxury tax calculation won’t change.
It’s also still possible that nothing happens, because there are so many parties — including MLB and the union — who have to agree on a restructuring.
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki — a former teammate of Rendon with both the Angels and Washington Nationals — said he’s been in touch with him, but he’s not sure what’s going to happen.
“Obviously I’ve seen the stories out there,” Suzuki said. “Until the higher ups tell me otherwise, I’m gonna be expecting him at spring training, until told otherwise.”
COACHING STAFF FINISHED
The Angels completed their coaching staff by hiring Darryl Scott as assistant pitching coach, Dom Chiti as bullpen coach and Derek Florko as the third hitting coach.
Chiti and Florko were both already working in the Angels minor league system. Chiti was the Angels’ major league bullpen coach in 2021. Florko has been in the Angels system since 2018.
Scott has worked in various capacities in the Colorado Rockies’ system since 2009. He’s been on the big league staff since 2020.
They join first-year manager Kurt Suzuki’s staff, which also includes bench coach John Gibbons, pitching coach Mike Maddux, hitting coach Brady Anderson, assistant hitting coach John Mabry, third base coach Keith Johnson, first base coach Adam Eaton, infield coach Andy Schatzley and catching coach Max Stassi.
Anderson is the most intriguing selection because the longtime big league outfielder has never had a job as a hitting coach for a big league organization. He worked in the Baltimore Orioles front office for several years. Minasian, who had not spoken about the hire before Monday, said Anderson had worked with players individually.
“I’ve always had a ton of respect for him and his baseball acumen and just the kind of person he is,” he said. “And when you talk to players that were with him in Baltimore and what he did for that group, you talked to the manager, you talk to the coaches, you talk to the people that were around the team, he was very impactful with them, becoming as good as they were in that run. And someone we feel like is going to do an excellent job for us.”
NOTES
Minasian said the Angels are undecided if they need to go after an established closer. It’s still possible they could use either Robert Stephenson or Ben Joyce — who are both coming off significant injuries — or acquire a reliever who hasn’t been a closer and put him in that role. …
Right-hander Chase Silseth will pitch out of the bullpen in 2026, Minasian. Silseth will be out of options. …
First-round pick Tyler Bremner will be invited to big league spring training, Minasian said. Bremner, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft, was shut down as a precaution in instructional league, but he’s now ready to go, Minasian said. …
Albert Pujols, who works as a special assistant with the Angels, said he still plans to be in spring training at some point, either before or after the World Baseball Classic. Pujols is managing the Dominican Republic team. Pujols also said that Angels right-hander José Soriano is one of the candidates to be on the Dominican WBC roster. …
Pujols interviewed with the Angels and Padres for their managerial openings. At one point he was believed to be the favorite for the Angels job that ultimately went to Suzuki. “It went great, I think,” Pujols said of the interview process with the two teams. “I prepared myself really well and obviously my opportunity didn’t camp this year. Now my focus turns to the World Baseball Classic.”