The Angels are tied for the worst record in baseball, and are definitely headed for their 11th consecutive losing season. There was already speculation that GM Perry Minasian was on the hot seat as 2026 was the last guaranteed year of his contract, but the ax fell dramatically earlier than expected, as Minasian was fired in late June and replaced by longtime Cardinals front office manager John Mozeliak. Although Mozeliak’s official title is “baseball coordinator,” he is actually the interim general manager who will be in charge through at least the remainder of the 2026 season.
Mozeliak’s arrival adds a new wrinkle to the Angels’ playoff plans, and the prospect of a change in franchise direction. Owner Arte Moreno’s heavy hand in baseball ops decisions is considered the driving force behind the Halos’ lack of success, leaving the team in disarray regardless of who sits in the GM chair. Moreno’s insistence that the team is not far from contention has left the Angels long in the middle of a rebuild, yet the owner’s alleged commitment to winning has been undermined by the Angels’ liability limit (that is, viewing the luxury tax limit as a hard line), and the lack of investment or commitment to a strong minor league pipeline.
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams put it bluntly in a subscriber-only episode back in May, “why can’t the Angels accept the truth” about the state of their franchise? Mozeliak’s hiring may be some kind of acknowledgment of the move, and how Los Angeles approaches the deadline may dictate the organization’s next move.
Record: 38-59 (0% playoff chance, via FanGraphs)
Sell Mode
Free agents are coming: Kirby Yates, Brent Suter, Jorge Soler, Yoan Moncada, Travis d’Arnaud, Adam Frazier, Anthony Rendon
Of this group, Yates and Suter are the only ones who are healthy and having productive seasons. Yates’ season debut was delayed until May 8 due to knee inflammation, but he has a 3.00 ERA, a 32.6% strikeout rate, and an 8.1% walk rate over 21 innings as part of Anaheim’s shutout committee. Suter’s 4.64 ERA is inflated by some bad luck (60.9% strand rate, .327 BABIP), but the southpaw is close to the norm for his career.
Yates is only owed the remainder of the $5MM salary, which will have $1.5MM remaining at the deadline, and Suter is only owed $550K for the rest of the season. Any of these veterans are easy leads for any of the many contenders looking for bullpen help, and there’s very little reason Yates or Suter should still be in Los Angeles uniforms after the August 3 trade deadline. While these two are top chips for the Angels, they won’t get much return as shortstops, even if Yates has experience in high-level situations.
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