The Los Angeles Angels are in the middle of what’s already been a very busy offseason. They’ve gone out and traded for Jorge Soler and have also signed Kyle Hendricks to a one year deal. Their most recent addition of catcher Travis d’Arnaud to compliment Logan O’Hoppe shows that Perry Minasian is trying to put together a successful team for 2025.
Veteran Leadership
The Angels still have a bunch of veteran players who can lead this group. Mike Trout headlines the group of vets, and if healthy the Angels chances of success are obviously much higher. He had 10 home runs in 29 games last season before injury, and the 33-year old will look to play his first full season since 2019.
Another big question mark but still a veteran nonetheless is Anthony Rendon. The 34-year old, if healthy, can provide valuable leadership being a former World Series champion. Since joining the Angels he has not played more than 60 games in a single season.
Newly acquired Jorge Soler can provide a big impact for the Angels. The projected fourth hitter, he’ll have multiple opportunities to rack up his RBI total in Anaheim. In a park that had the seventh most home runs hit in it in 2024, Soler will fit in great.
In the rotation there’s two veterans that can provide valuable leadership to the entire young pitching staff. Tyler Anderson was above league average with a 110 ERA+, and earned his second All Star appearance in 2024. He recorded a 3.81 ERA in 179.1 innings pitched and was a solid left hander in 2025 for Los Angeles.
Kyle Hendricks, another new addition to the Angels roster this offseason like Anderson is 34-years old. He also can provide great veteran leadership to this group as he’ll look to return back to his 2023 form. If Hendricks can put it together, it will be a huge boost to this middle of the rotation.
Travis d’Arnaud as mentioned before is a new complement to Logan O’Hoppe. The former World Series champion can provide great leadership to a blossoming catcher in the league. After a very strong 2024 campaign from O’Hoppe, this is a great catcher to pair alongside him.
Multiple Players Look to Enter Their Primes
There are multiple players that are around the age where you’d expect them to be entering their primes. They’re guys who have had some service time under their belts, but not nearly as much time as those veterans. If these players could put together a season at the top of their game, the Angels can take a big step forward.
Taylor Ward is the FanGraphs projected leadoff hitter for the Angels in 2025. Ward has been an above average hitter in the last four seasons, and he should look to make his first All Star appearance in his eighth season.
Luis Rengifo is another name to look out for in 2025. In 2024, he only played 79 games but hit for a slashline of .300/.347/.417 for an OPS of .763. Injuries riddled his season and were an annoyance especially when some thought the Angels would like to move Rengifo for a beneficial return. Rengifo comes into this season now still on the Angels, and looks to stay healthy to be a key contributor in his seventh season.
Young Major League Core Should Be Much Improved
The Angels have notoriously fast tracked a good amount of their top prospects in recent years, and they’re now starting to develop further into great everyday major leaguers. Most of these players now find themselves in their mid-twenties, where they look to take steps forward being more used to a big league environment.
Zach Neto may be the first name that comes to mind when thinking of this group. He’s 23-years old going into his third season with the Angels, where he’s expected to make massive strides in 2025. In 2024, Neto was an above league average hitter with a 113 OPS+, and managed to hit 23 home runs while stealing 30 bases.
Another name in the lineup that had a solid 2024 that looks to make strides in 2025 is catcher Logan O’Hoppe. We touched on O’Hoppe before when talking about the Travis d’Arnaud signing, but he is an incredibly solid young backstop at just 24 years-old. He was just around a league average hitter in 2024, but his hard-hit metrics looked solid compared to the rest of the league.
O’Hoppe ranked in the 100th percentile for sweet-spot percentage, the 81st percentile for barrel rate, and the 79th percentile for hard-hit rate. It’s not shocking that O’Hoppe was able to collect 20 home runs this season, he hits the ball incredibly hard.
After those two names the next one to look at to make improvements in 2025, is 2023 first round draft pick Nolan Schanuel. The first baseman and Florida Atlantic alum in his 176 games played at the major league level has maintained an OPS+ right around league average. He’s held his own, but 2025 can be his year to really showcase his true skill and breakout.
While Schanuel won’t hit for much power, he’s an extremely disciplined hitter who’s able to hit for contact at a high level. Schanuel ranks within the lower 90th percentiles for chase and whiff rate, as well as walking at a 17% rate in 2024. Incredible plate discipline from a player in his first full major league season.
Perhaps the biggest question mark out of all the young talent on this Angels roster is Jo Adell. He at times shows flashes of what could be a solid player and has incredible bat speed, but he’s just not consistently putting it together. In 2024 he hit .207 with a .682 OPS in 405 at bats.
Out of the rotation there are two young pitchers that look to take steps forward in 2025. Jose Soriano is the projected starting pitcher #1 for 2025, and the 26-year old has great stuff for that role. He averages 98 MPH on the fastball and ranks in the 97th percentile for ground ball rate at 60.1%.
After recording a 3.42 ERA in 113 innings pitched last year, he’ll look to develop into a possible ace for this Angels rotation. The other arm in this rotation that looks to take a step forward is 25-year old Reid Detmers. He’ll look to anchor the back end of this rotation and continue to improve upon his already good swing-and-miss numbers.Â
The bullpen itself is very young, with the oldest arm in the bullpen being Jose Quijada at 29-years old. It’s headlined by its youngest arm and closer: Ben Joyce. The flamethrower made a name for himself at the University of Tennessee, and possesses a 99.9 MPH fastball on average. He compliments the heater with a sinker, slider, and changeup.
Impacts from the Farm
The Angels have an interesting lineup constructed, and it could have some prospects to help add some depth. Right handed pitcher Caden Dana and second baseman Christian Moore immediately come to mind. The top two prospects in the system according to MLB Pipeline, should be pieces of this Angels team sooner rather than later.
Moore can come up and provide infield depth and Dana should get some more big league innings under his belt. At just 20-years old we’ll see how the Angels monitor those innings though. Left hander Samuel Aldegheri can also provide more depth to the pitching staff.
The Angels #12 overall prospect Matthew Lugo is an interesting piece to look. In 2024 he hit .287 on the year with a .954 OPS and is currently in AAA. He hit 17 home runs and stole 16 bases as well. After recently being traded from Boston he can be an additional outfield piece for depth.
From veterans to the farm the Angels are adding depth. On paper it seems they can definitely take a step forward in 2025 with a little bit of luck on their side. Regardless of the outcome, the fanbase should feel good at least about efforts being made to improve this team.
Statistics provided from Baseball Savant, Baseball Reference, and StatCast. Projections provided by FanGraphs RosterResource.