Know Your Enemy: Los Angeles Angels
Might the Halos be dangerous in 2026? Nah.
The Los Angeles Angels haven’t had a winning season since Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto led the Halos to back-to-back winning seasons in 2014 (98-64) and 2015 (85-77). They have one playoff appearance in Mike Trout’s now 15-year career, and haven’t won a playoff game since the year they drafted him.
In other words, the Angels are bad and have been for a long time. Worse, there’s really no end in sight, despite some improvements over the winter.
Additions
Alek Manoah, RHP
Grayson Rodriguez, RHS
Jordan Romano, RHR
Kirby Yates, RHR
Drew Pomeranz, LHR
Vaughn Grissom, IF
Josh Lowe, OF
Subtractions
Taylor Ward, OF
Anthony Rendon, 3B
Luis Rengifo, IF
LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B/DH
Kyle Hendricks, RHS
Kenley Jansen, RHR
Key Injury Notes
This all starts with Mike Trout, who has played under 50% of the Angels’ games since the start of the 2021 season. He’s now 34 years old, and his performance has faded from elite to simply good, including a career low 120 wRC+ in 2025.
Yoan Moncada is also a frequent visitor to the ILand, playing no more than 92 games in a season since he played 104 in 2022.
Rodriguez’s health will be of note until it’s not. He missed all of 2025 with both a lat injury and bone chips in his elbow, and has suffered ‘dead arm’ this spring after making four Cactus League starts. He’s a potential major part of the club’s rotation.
If he can get in 25-30 starts and at least repeat his performance level from 2023 in Baltimore, it’s a huge boost for Halos staff who produced the third-fewest starter innings in baseball last season, and the worst results from a runs allowed standpoint in the American League.
Newly-acquired outfielder Josh Lowe has been on the IL six times over three full seasons, all in the last two. There’s been nothing major to rob him of massive portions of any season, though, it’s more a group of freak or nagging problems.
Payroll
$175M / 26-man
$178M / 40-man
Including a buyout of Rendon’s contract, the Angels rank No. 18 in projected payroll for 2026, third in the division, about $18 million higher than Seattle, $80 million higher than the Athletics, and just under the Rangers’ $185 million range.
The current projected commitment is the least the Angels have spent since 2015. They totaled over $200 million to open 2025 and finished with a CBT number over $220 million.
Whether this means there’s room for significant additions or not remains to be seen, but their payroll health has grown, and the buyout of Rendon will help them starting next season.
Top Prospects
Tyler Bremner, RHP
Ryan Johnson, RHP
Johnny Slawinski, LHP
George Klassen, RHP
Like many others, I’m not a fan at all of how the Angels have gone about the draft, and the results support the masses, not the club. They got cute in 2021, selecting 20 pitchers in the 20-round draft, and have very little to show for it.
They did get SS Zach Neto in Round 1 in 2022, but over-drafted Nolan Schanuel in 2023 with the likes of Kyle Teel, Bryce Eldridge, Colt Emerson, Thomas White, and Kevin McGonigle on the board.
The jury is still out on their last two classes, though technically they already have two major leaguers from that draft in 2B Christian Moore and Johnson, but the farm is anything but well-stocked and may have just one top 150 prospect (Bremner) — where Johnson still qualifies.
Bremner could be a quick study as a strike-throwing power arm with a plus fastball and the best changeup in the draft, though he’s yet to take on the kind of workload that might suggest he can skate to the majors this season. We know the Angels like to rush players, so who knows on that front.
I believe Bremner’s ceiling will go only as far as his breaking ball can take him. There are some similarities here to Mariners first-round pick Emerson Hancock (2020).
Outfielder Nelson Rada, right-handers Chris Cortez and George Klassen, infielder Denzer Guzman, and lefty Sam Aldegheri have a chance to help this season, with Cortez perhaps the most likely to break through early as a pro as a power reliever, assuming the Angels transition him back to his college role.
Analysis
In 2025, LAA ranked No. 28 in runs allowed and No. 25 in runs scored. They did nothing well, including defense (-45 DRS, No. 30, -54 OAA, No. 30), and their 72-90 win-loss record was probably lucky (65-97 pythag).
There are things to like about the club’s acquisitions over the winter from a progress standpoint, but it’s difficult to believe in the overall roster enough to suggest a playoff run.
The bullpen should be deeper and better, and with some health luck, the rotation has a better chance to compete with the strong rotations in the division. The rotation depth is already in trouble, however, as there are questions about 60% of the projected opening day, from injury (Rodriguez) to performance (Rodriguez, Manoah, Reid Detmers in his return from the bullpen).
The projection systems like the Angels for around 72-75 wins, and I’d suggest a ceiling around 80-83. Even at 83 wins, they’re not a legitimate Wild Card contender, and the chances they reach that ceiling are dependent on a lot of injury luck and production from a large group of unproven talent.
Again in 2026, the Angels are likely to end up closer to the cellar in the west than to the top of the division, and the smart bet right now is a last-place finish.
