Welcome to the last Weekend Links of the 2026 regular season. This has really been a remarkable year in Angels history and in many ways a surreal experience for me personally.
Congratulations to the Southern League champion Rocket City Trash Pandas. This team has been a joy to watch the last couple of months and gives us several reasons to hope for a brighter future. The team caught fire down the stretch, largely fueled by trade deadline pickups Arjun Nimmal and Jacob Cozart.
But it was the steady production of Jake Munroe that earned him Baseball America Angels Prospect of the Year honors. Credit to whoever helped him with his swing adjustment because it is paying off big time. Could we actually have a decent third baseman in the future? (That’s a legitimate question, Turk’s Teeth)
Meanwhile, the Angels are quickly closing on their first 100 loss season. There’s been a lot of debate about whether or not that matters down here, but a 100 loss season would be the perfect cap to Arte Moreno’s tenure as owner.
It had been awhile since I had a good Arte rant. I enjoyed the hell out of writing that.
And if anybody has paid attention, I’m all about embracing the tank and getting every small advantage possible in the rebuild.
Ok, so I finally have what feels like some insider stuff. Nothing major, but here goes and I have not shared this (in print form) anywhere else. So on Sunday before the game I joined a little pow wow in the dugout with just a handful of writers (Rhett, Sam, Fletcher, a couple random dudes) and Kurt Suzuki. Really informal, we talked about football to NIL to Kurt in the minors. He’s just an amazing guy, super nice, and although I don’t think he’s a good manager I really wish him well in whatever he does next. It was fun and only serves to set up the good stuff.
Kurt leaves as does everyone but me, Rhett, and Sam. Two high up Angels communications people stayed with us, one with a “Vice President of” to begin his title. It was not on the record nor was it expressed to be off the record. But here’s the rundown:
- Molly knew about the sale 2 weeks before it was announced. She kept it to herself, hence the Mozeliak front office moves the day before the announcement. I saw Molly the night before the sale was announced and we exchanged quick hello’s. Not much interaction but she acted the same as ever. I will not be playing poker against Molly.
- Kurt has been given far more autonomy in the last month or so. He was also a guy who wanted more data/analytics and to make the coaching changes. No indication he is staying (or going) but some context to his tenure.
- Molly wants to stay on but that has yet to be determined. Inside the building she is viewed favorably and my guy used the “turning a battleship around” phrase and pointed to Molly as being the driving force behind the internal changes this year.
- No idea what the future holds for Mo.
So back to the rebuild. Ryan Johnson, is he a legitimate rotation piece moving forward?
It seems like the rebuild has more questions than answers right now. Several players were likely playing for their roster spots this last week.
What to do with Grayson Rodriguez? What do do with Oswald Peraza? And is Denzer Guzman finally showing us his true capabilities or just loves Sacramento?
From around baseball:
The Brewers have won 100 games for the first time in franchise history. The Brew Crew does it right on many fronts. Drafts and develops well, then spends its revenue sharing money on payroll. I think they are the MLB team I most admire.
And who had money on the White Sox making the playoffs at the beginning of the season? Congrats to them on their turnaround. Again, another reason for Angels fans to have some hope.
Speaking of great guys, Jo Adell is one and it is awesome to see him playoff bound.
Enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. The NL Wild Card seeding could come down to Sunday and is the best reason to watch baseball. I’m going to do my favorite thing in the world and be a dad this weekend. I’m not sure what me and my little guy will do but we’ve had a lot of family and friends around lately and it will be nice to get some one on one time.
