Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Angels

The Angels were the most active team in the first few weeks of the offseason. They added a mid-rotation starter and a new designated hitter to upgrade the middle third of the lineup. They went oddly quiet after that, leaving them to enter the season with a roster that again seems too thin to hang in the race all year.

Major League Signings

• LHP Yusei Kikuchi: Three years, $63MM
• C Travis d’Arnaud: Two years, $12MM
• RHP Kenley Jansen: One year, $10MM
• 3B Yoán Moncada: One year, $5MM
• SS Kevin Newman: One year, $2.75MM (including buyout of ’26 club option)
• RHP Kyle Hendricks: One year, $2.5MM

2025 spending: $47.25MM
Total spending: $95.25MM

Option Decisions

• None

Trades and Claims

• Acquired DH Jorge Soler from Braves for RHP Griffin Canning
• Claimed 1B Ryan Noda off waivers from A’s
• Acquired 2B Scott Kingery from Phillies for cash (later designated for assignment)
• Traded C Matt Thaiss to Cubs for cash
• Selected LHP Garrett McDaniels from Dodgers in Rule 5 draft
• Acquired C Chuckie Robinson from White Sox for cash
• Traded RHP Davis Daniel to Braves for minor league LHP Mitch Farris
• Claimed RHP Michael Petersen off waivers from Blue Jays
• Acquired LHP Angel Perdomo from Braves for cash or a player to be named later

Notable Minor League Signings

• Shaun Anderson, Tim Anderson, Travis Blankenhorn, Connor Brogdon, J.D. Davis, Victor González, Dakota Hudson, Carter Kieboom, Sebastian Rivero, Yolmer Sánchez, Bryce Teodosio

Extensions

• None

Notable Losses

• Griffin Canning, Patrick Sandoval (non-tendered), Brandon Drury, Matt Thaiss, Hunter Strickland, Kevin Pillar, Matt Moore, Adam Cimber (remains unsigned), Davis Daniel, Eric Wagaman (non-tendered), Jordyn Adams (non-tendered), Roansy Contreras (lost via waivers), Guillo Zuñiga (released), Kenny Rosenberg (released), Ryan Miller (released)

The Angels finished 63-99 under first-year manager Ron Washington, narrowly avoiding what would have been their first 100-loss campaign. Only the White Sox, Rockies and Marlins had a worse run differential. They have the longest active playoff drought in MLB at 10 years.

Shortly after the season ended, owner Arte Moreno told Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register that he expected to compete for a playoff spot in 2025. “(General manager Perry Minasian’s) marching orders are we need to build a team that can compete for a playoff spot. When you get to playoffs, anything can happen,” Moreno said. The owner indicated he was prepared to raise payroll to make that happen. The Angels had cut spending by more than $40MM over the 2023-24 offseason.

Expecting to add 20+ wins within one offseason, even with a payroll spike, is unrealistic. Still, the Angels began the winter with a sense of urgency that reflected a real desire to improve in the short term. They pulled off the first major trade of the offseason within hours of the World Series concluding. The Angels took the remaining two years and $26MM on Jorge Soler’s contract off the Braves’ hands. Los Angeles sent Griffin Canning, whom they were presumably planning to non-tender, the other way. Atlanta subsequently cut Canning themselves, confirming that was purely a salary dump on their part.