Welcome to our annual off season series where we get to pretend to run the franchise and fill out the following season’s roster. Unlike in recent years, we have no idea who will run the team, so the title has changed.
Rules:
Yes, there are rules and let’s go over them now. First off, in looking at the Angels recent payroll but allowing for a small Kroenke bonus, we will set payroll at $210 million. Spotrac currently projects the Angels to have $117 million in payroll but that is missing the Anthony Rendon payout. So, for this exercise the Angels have $125 million on the books and you have $85 million to spend before non tenders.
You must use salaries from either MLBTR’s projections or from FanGraphs projections when available. If not, be realistic when signing players outside of the Top 50.
Use the estimated salaries from MLBTR when non tendering players.
Trades must be run through baseballtradevalues.com or taken from there to show they are fair and realistic. If you need one run for you, please reach out to me and I will try to run it for you.
So, with that being said, here’s what I would do:
Non tender Josh Lowe and Tyler Heineman
Undoing a horrible trade by Perry and kicking nice guy with no bat Heineman adds $5.1 million to my war chest. Both guys will be available on minors deals if I really want them back. But neither will provide value for the 2027 team.
New spend $90.1 million.
Trade Reid Detmers to the Cubs for Ethan Conrad, Kane Kepley, and Caden Sorrell
If you were wondering if I was going to continue the rebuild, this should answer it. Last season the Angels had a deal in place to send Detmers to the Cubs but balked at the inclusion of pitcher Jaxon Wiggins. I went deeper into that deal and proposed this one On SI this week and I still believe in it.
Conrad is an on base machine already in AA and likely mans a corner outfield spot starting in 2028. He is part of the Nimmala, Munroe, Cozart core that is on the horizon.
Kepley is an absolute burner with a high contact/low power profile. Sorrell is the opposite, a kid with huge power, a huge arm, and a tendency to swing too often. Both will start in High A and add skillsets to the Jarren Advincula, Jaxon Willits, Garret Wright group that is following the Trash Pandas.
MLB Pipeline has updated their prospect rankings more recently than FanGraphs and peg all three as 50 grade prospects, which would mean that according to them the Angels 1-10 are graded 50 or above.
New spend $97.6 million.
Trade Nolan Schanuel to the Diamondbacks for Kayson Cunningham and Mitch Bratt
If you trade Detmers, you keep trading. Nolan Schanuel is the perfect fit on a D’backs team that is competitive, financially restricted a bit, and in need of a first baseman. Yes, I’ve also floated this trade in an article so it will not surprise many of you.
Cunningham is a dynamic prospect who is 20 years old, has a lights out hit tool, and plus speed. Tim Mcllvaine clearly emphasized contact rate in this year’s draft and Cunningham fits that mold to a T. He destroyed A ball to the tune of a .381/.471/.506 line for 43 games then more than held his own in 63 High A games slashing .252/.360/.391. The kid racked up a very solid 27 doubles to go with 6 dingers.
Mitch Bratt is my first contribution to the MLB staff. A solid back end starter who is more about control and command than raw stuff, he has four decent offerings and a career minor league WHIP of 1.159. He’s no Detmers, but he’s better than this version of Grayson Rodriguez and cost controlled for half a decade.
New spend: $100.6 million.
Trade Zach Neto to the Tigers for Bryce Ranier, Colt Keith, and Kerry Carpenter
See a trend here? The Angels rebuild is complete but I do add two MLB pieces here for 2027 and beyond. So this is where the piece takes a decided turn. Zach Neto is a stud but the Angels need a ton of pieces and a lot of help on the farm.
In this trade, we add Colt Keith who can fill either of the second base or third base black holes on the roster. Keith only struck out 84 times in 140 games last year, which is a godsend on the Halos. He’s a surefire bet to be an average hitter with decent OBP, and is cost controlled for six years.
We are also adding Kerry Carpenter who is coming off a rough year but carries a career OPS+ of 122 and is passable in right field. You can do worse as a placeholder.
But the real get is Bryce Ranier, a 19 year old shortstop with light tower power and a cannon for an arm on a 6 foot 3 frame that is only going to continue to fill out. A first round pick in 2024, he is another huge upside addition to the Angels farm.
Congrats, the Angels now have a top 5-10 farm system. And by swapping out Neto’s $9.8 million for Carpenter’s $4.1 million I now have $105.3 million to spend.
Sign Kaima Taira 3 years $42 Million
The kid is only 26 and has wicked stuff. He might be a starter, he might be a closer, but he’s something good and I need a bit of everything. In reality the Angels will need to overpay him, but I’m using FanGraphs projections here.
Yes, another player I wrote about, Taira throws seven pitches that work off his high 90s heater that touches 100. Scouts tout his fastball as elite with his spitter, cutter, and slider all average or above. He’s a big time addition to this staff.
New spend: $91.3 million.
Sign Luis Arraez 3 years $48 Million
Did I mention the Angels have a strikeout problem? By signing the hardest guy in baseball to K, the Angels fix that problem at the keystone. With Arraez replacing the group the Angels trotted out in 2026, this move alone will drop about 150 K’s from the lineup. That is not hyperbole, I’ve done the math.
Hopefully his defense holds up because it has not always been great. If not, first base will be open soon.
New spend $75.3 million.
Sign Clay Holmes 3 years $45 Million
If you trade Detmers you have to add at least a quality replacement for him. Taira might be even better, but we don’t know. In the meantime, Holmes offers solid stability in the rotation while the team figures out what they have in Taira. I think any series that sees Walbert Urena, Holmes, Yusei Kikuchi is one the team has a chance to win.
FanGraphs projects the 34 year old to put up 154 innings with a 4.24 ERA. Again, he’s not Detmers but rotation stability is huge so I can keep developing the yutes. And if he gets old quickly, Holmes was once an elite reliever and can go back to the bullpen in the final year of the deal.
New spend $60.3 million
Sign Ty France 2 years $24 million
I think this number is low, but FanGraphs predicts it to be true. Yes, France has been mediocre to bad for most of his career. But, yes, he made some mechanical adjustments at the end of 2025 so his breakout 2026 might not be a huge outlier when all is said and done. I’m looking to equal or hopefully improve Schanuel’s 111 wRC+ which is lower than France’s two year average.
Look, I’m banking on France to regress here but I just hope he doesn’t fall apart. If he turns back into the 93 wRC+ guy he was in 2025 at least it is a short term deal. But if he keeps it around 115, I’ve added some pop and a legit prospect to go with my fifth starter.
New spend: $48.3 million
Sign Alex Vesia 2 years $16 million
The entire bullpen needs a remake and let’s start with a dominant lefty from up the 5 with a huge K rate and decent enough splits against righties to make him effective in high leverage spots. This moves Samy Natera Jr. down the leverage ladder while he develops.
New spend: $40.3 million
Sign Evan Phillips 1 year $6.8 million
A complete remake. Let Phillips handle the closing duties like he did for so many years up in LA. He is fully back from a 2025 TJ surgery but coming off a year he spent trying to get healthy. Again, I think the projection is low but Phillips brings the type of veteran presence and high strikeout ability the Angels need.
Ben Joyce can learn from him if he manages to stay healthy, but that is no lock.
New spend: $33.5 million
Sign Carson Kelly 2 years $20 million
Counting on Moises Ballesteros to catch over 100 games would be foolish at best. Getting a well rounded catcher who is also a potent bat off the bench is key to both the Angels winning and Mo Baller’s development. Kelly would likely prefer to start but if he’s getting paid starter’s money he won’t complain.
Kelly absolutely crushes left handed pitching with a career .267/.353/.469 line, which could lead him to DH against southpaws. He also only struck out 70 times in 120 games, which is fewer than Logan O’Hoppe would in about a week.
New spend: $23.5 million
Sign JoJo Romero 1 year 6 million
The bullpen makeover continues, this time with a ground ball specialist who reinvented himself as more of a sinker/sweeper guy a couple of years ago and has gotten great results. JoJo is solid, can be used against both righties and lefties, and pushes the young guys down a run on the leverage chart.
New spend: $17.5 million
Sign Tyrone Taylor 1 year $7 million
My annual suggestion to sign Taylor. In this case, he platoons in center with Wade Meckler to provide a duo of speedsters up the middle who crush opposite handed pitching. Taylor can also defensively sub in later in games for Cunningham and give Trout some days off his feet in left field.
New spend: $10 million
Sign Maurico Dubon 2 years $20 million
Shortstop and depth are still light. In Dubon I get a two year Band-Aid until hopefully Arjun Nimmala or one of the High A guys is ready. Dubon’s defense is elite so even if his bat craters back to subpar he is still quite valuable. And I’ve added quite a few ground ball specialists to the pitching staff who will greatly appreciate Dubon’s glove at shortstop on most night.
Cutting some players loose.
This is getting crazy long, but I cut 5 guys from the active roster that currently sits at 37, so that got me down to 32 rostered players. I then added 13 players which got me to 45. So some dudes have to go. Bye, bye Vaughn Grissom, Mitch Ferris, Ryan Watson, Gustavo Campero, and Logan Porter.
Rotation: Walbert Urena, Kaima Taira, Clay Holmes, Yusei Kikuchi, and Mitch Bratt
AAA depth: Grayson Rodriguez (still has an option), Ryan Johnson, George Klassen, Caden Dana
Bullpen: Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, JoJo Romero, Ben Joyce, Samy Natera Jr., Tayler Saucedo, Sam Bachman, Jose Fermin.
AAA depth: Nicolo Pinazzi, Bett Kerry
Lineup vs. Righties:
Luis Arraez – 2B
Colt Keith – 3B
Ty France – 1B
Mike Trout – LF
Moises Ballesteros – C
Kerry Carpenter – RF
Maurico Dubon – SS
Carson Kelly – DH
Wade Meckler – CF
Lineup vs. Lefties:
Tyrone Taylor – CF
Luis Arraez – 2B
Mike Trout – DH
Carson Kelly – C
Colt Keith – 3B
Kerry Carpenter – RF
Ty France – 1B
Jose Siri – LF
Oswald Peraza – SS
Here you go, it is probably one bat too light due to a lack of a true DH but if the team is playing well they might be able to add one at the deadline. In the meantime, the K problem has been reduced substantially, the farm is top 5ish in the game, none of these deals are long term, and the bullpen will hold the lead for once.
