Los Angeles Angels 2024 offseason preview: As the rebuild continues, what should the Angels do about Mike Trout?

Fred Zinkie
As always, the offseason for the Angels begins with the matter of Mike Trout. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
As always, the offseason for the Angels begins with the matter of Mike Trout. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images) (Gene Wang via Getty Images)

2024 season: Eliminated on Sept. 11, last in AL West

Let's take a look at the season that was for the 2024 Los Angeles Angels, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for 2025.

Read more: 2024 MLB offseason previews: White Sox, Rockies and Marlins

Amid a disappointing season, a few young players provided hope for the Angels’ future. Shortstop Zach Neto made significant strides in his sophomore season, reaching the 20-20 plateau and getting on base at a solid rate. The 23-year-old also cemented his status as a reliable fielder at one of the most important defensive positions.

Logan O’Hoppe continued to be a dangerous power hitter and accomplished something important for a young catcher: proving that he can handle a heavy workload. Angels fans can rest easy knowing their team has a No. 1 catcher for several seasons. The play of Nolan Schanuel was also a bright spot, especially in the second half, when he flashed the on-base skills that prompted the Angels to select him in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft.

On the pitching side, Tyler Anderson enjoyed a bounce-back season, even though the advanced stats doubted him along the way. After being a productive reliever in his rookie year, José Soriano brought his elite fastball velocity to the rotation and showed that he can be a reliable starter. And Ben Joyce emerged as a weapon in the bullpen, regularly wowing fans with his eye-popping radar gun readings.

As has been the case in many recent seasons, the list of things that went wrong starts with the health of Mike Trout. The 33-year-old opened the season with 10 homers in 29 games before requiring surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee. He appeared in just one rehab game in July before he was shut down again and sent for a second surgery. The 29 contests logged by Trout marked a career low, and he’ll finish 2024 having played in just 41% of Angels games across the past four seasons.

Once again this year, Anthony Rendon joined Trout as big-name Los Angeles veterans who continue to be plagued by injuries. The 34-year-old has played in less than half of the Angels’ games during each of his five seasons with the club. This season, he also logged career-worst numbers when in the lineup. Rendon has two years remaining on his seven-year contract that’s scheduled to pay him $38 million per season, according to Spotrac.com.

Brandon Drury completes the Angels’ list of disappointing position players, as he completely fell off at the plate. After tallying 54 homers across 2022 and ‘23, Drury will finish 2024 with a single-digit home run total. Overall, he was one of baseball’s worst offensive players this year.

The disappointments weren’t limited to position players, either. Patrick Sandoval, the team’s Opening Day starter, logged a 5.08 ERA before undergoing surgery on a torn UCL in June. After establishing himself as a mid-rotation starter during 2022 and ‘23, Reid Detmers opened this season with a 6.14 ERA across 12 starts before being optioned to the minors on June 1. Robert Stephenson signed a lucrative, three-year contract last offseason and was supposed to anchor the bullpen; he didn’t make a single appearance before eventually undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The offseason decisions for general manager Perry Minasian undoubtedly start with Trout. The 33-year-old is widely regarded as the best player of his generation, and trading him away, especially one year after seeing Shohei Ohtani go north to the Dodgers, would require the organization to swallow its pride.

But Trout doesn’t really fit with this team anymore. This roster primarily consists of young, ascending players who are likely a couple of years away from contending. Trout, who is signed for six more seasons, is an aging veteran who struggles to stay on the field, has played in three career postseason games and has endured nine consecutive losing seasons in Anaheim. Trout is owed $35,450,000 per year for the next six seasons, and the logical move would be for the Angels to eat some of that salary and trade him to a contending team. Then again, logic is only part of the process when dealing with a future Hall of Famer and an underachieving franchise that is currently buried in the Dodgers’ shadow. Trout also has a no-trade clause in his contract, which makes him a big part of the process with this decision.

Beyond Trout, the Angels are set for 2025 at several positions. O’Hoppe has them covered behind the plate, Schanuel has taken control of first base, and Neto is the man at shortstop. Taylor Ward is set in left field, and although Jo Adell has yet to reach his vast potential, he likely did enough this year to remain the team’s right fielder. Luis Rengifo can continue to use his versatile glove to bounce between second and third base, which is especially important when factoring in Rendon’s unreliability.

Whether through free agency or the trade market, Minasian would be wise to look for a center fielder who can provide more offense than Mickey Moniak. And though Rengifo can play several positions, he can play only one at a time, which makes it a priority to add an infielder as Drury departs via free agency.

The Angels also need to add a starting pitcher. Anderson and Soriano can hold down two rotation spots, and though they didn’t pitch well this year, Griffin Canning and Detmers are options for the back of the rotation. It doesn’t make sense to add a high-end starter to a team that isn’t ready to contend, but an innings-eater such as Kyle Gibson, Martín Pérez or Jose Quintana would make the team more respectable without breaking the bank.

Adding to the reality that the Angels are nowhere close to competing is the fact that most publications rank their prospect pool near the bottom of baseball. Still, there are two notable prospects who could debut next year.

Caden Dana is a right-handed starter who checks plenty of boxes. He has great size, a mid-90s fastball and an effective slider. He showed steady improvement in the minors this year and, surprisingly, made his big-league debut in August, which opens the door for him to factor into the 2025 Opening Day lineup.

Christian Moore, the eighth pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, is off to a great start in his minor-league career and might follow the path of Schanuel by reaching the majors earlier than expected. Minasian could sign a veteran infielder to a short-term contract, which would open the door for Moore by the second half of 2025.

There are good things happening within the organization, but the Angels aren’t ready to compete for a postseason berth. They have started to assemble some key pieces for the future, but more work needs to be done before Minasian can grab a couple of free agents and call his team a contender. For this organization, success in 2025 will be measured by continued growth from the likes of Neto, Schanuel, O’Hoppe, Joyce and Adell. Getting Detmers back on track will be essential as well.

Fantasy managers can relate to Minasian’s challenge of figuring out what to do with Trout. The guess here is that his durability concerns cause the former No. 1 overall fantasy pick to fall outside the top 100 selections. Still, Trout will be irresistible as a boom-or-bust option in the middle rounds.

Neto will be the first Angel to come off the board in 2025 fantasy drafts, likely in the range of pick Nos. 70-100. Meanwhile, Ward, O’Hoppe, Joyce and Soriano will be late-round targets in standard formats.

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