Portrait 2026: Angels of Los Angeles

The 2026 Major League Baseball season will begin shortly. At Passion MLB, as has been the case for years, we are setting the stage for the season by introducing the 30 teams of Major League Baseball.

Today, the Angels are on the menu.

2025 Season

Last week, Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno caused quite a stir when he claimed that the team's fans are not “too concerned about winning.”

This came after a 2025 season that added to their 11-year playoff drought, the longest such streak in Major League Baseball. In addition, the California team has not finished above .500 in its last ten seasons.

Mike Trout played 130 games, but he didn't perform well. Additions and departures This winter, the Angels acquired Grayson Rodriguez from the Baltimore Orioles and Alek Manoah, formerly of the Toronto Blue Jays. Both were top prospects in the not-so-distant past, but let's just say we have much higher hopes for Rodriguez to turn things around. In addition to the two aforementioned pitchers, the Angels also acquired Josh Lowe, Drew Pomeranz, Kirby Yates, Jordan Romano, Vaughn Grissom, and Brent Suter.

Conversely, pitchers Brock Burke, Kenley Jansen, Luis Garcia, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Urena, and Andrew Chafin are not returning to the warm California sun. Among position players, Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo have also departed.

Strengths and weaknesses

Although he played 130 games in 2025, having missed a lot of time due to injuries in previous seasons, Mike Trout is definitely not the player he once was.

The problem with the Angels' lineup in general is that, Trout included, they simply don't have many pillars within the team.

Mike Trout wants to go back to center field full-time because he thinks it's better for his body

Presented by @amazon pic.twitter.com/zIlA6X2J3b

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 27, 2026

That said, Los Angeles still has some potentially solid pieces, such as shortstop Zach Neto and first baseman Nolan Schanuel, who are both under 26 years old.

The situation on the pitching side is somewhat similar, with some guys who could put up solid numbers, but no one seems to be able to take the lead.

On the bright side for the Angels: we won't be seeing Anthony Rendon all season. What a relief.

Expectations for the 2026 season

For the Angels to be successful this season, all the pieces of the puzzle will have to fall into place at the right time. That will take a lot of luck, and we don't expect it to happen.

In any case, it doesn't matter, because according to Moreno, fans don't care about winning. An organization in disarray.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.