The Los Angeles Angels may be staring at a real opening this winter, but the bullpen is still the piece that could keep the whole thing from clicking.
ESPN pegged that relief corps as the club’s biggest 2026 disappointment, and it’s easy to see why. The Angels have already tried one path after another to patch the back end of games, and neither has given them much to feel good about.
The first approach leaned on veteran reclamation projects with checkered injury histories. Jordan Romano, Drew Pomeranz, and Kirby Yates were supposed to help steady things, but injuries and poor performance quickly became the story.
Romano, despite being released at the end of April, still leads the team in saves for much of the season with four. Ben Joyce recently passed him after picking up his fifth save of the year.
When that veteran-heavy gamble fell flat, Los Angeles pivoted to younger, less proven arms and filled in the rest with journeymen such as Shaun Anderson. That group has been less chaotic, but it still hasn’t looked like a reliable answer.
The numbers show some progress, though not enough to call the job finished. The Angels’ bullpen opened the year with a 24th-ranked 4.61 ERA in the first half. Since the All-Star Break, that same unit has posted a 3.76 ERA, good for 13th.
There are at least a few pieces worth building around. Samy Natera Jr. and Jose Fermin have emerged as legitimate options.
Joyce, if he can stay healthy, has the kind of stuff that could make him dominant. Sam Bachman, on the other hand, hasn’t found the same level of success.
Still, the larger picture is clear: this bullpen needs help. The Angels are going to have to spend this offseason, and if John Mozeliak is still running the show, the priority should be bringing in experienced relievers who have stayed healthy and handled high-leverage work before.
The young arms may matter a lot going forward, but they can’t be the whole plan. The Angels need veterans who can raise the floor and give the bullpen a chance to become more than just passable. If Los Angeles wants to compete as soon as possible, this can’t be the group that gets overlooked again.
In Other News...
Angels May Have Found A Bullpen Answer Nobody Saw Coming
Ryan Watson arrived in Anaheim in early August as a waiver claim from the Red Sox, the kind of low-profile move that usually only matters if a club is trying to patch together the back end of a bullpen. For the Angels, though, the pickup has turned into something more than a depth add. In 16 appearances since joining the team, Watson has given them steady late-inning work and quickly become one of the more effective arms in a relief mix that has struggled for much of the season.
The appeal is obvious for a club searching for reliable outs after the starters hand over the lead. Watson has trimmed his numbers sharply since the move, posting a 1.88 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, and he has earned a bigger role in the process. The larger question for the Angels is whether this is the start of a real bullpen answer or just a late-season burst from a pitcher who was barely on the radar a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Still Have One Roster Problem New Ownership Could Finally Address
Catching has quietly been one of the Angels nagging roster issues for years, and it has become even more pronounced with the recent trade of Logan OHoppe. For a club trying to stabilize its lineup and give its pitching staff a steadier target behind the plate, that makes the position one of the more obvious places to look if new ownership wants to make an immediate imprint.
One possible fit is Brandon Valenzuela, whose strong defensive season for the Blue Jays has put him on the radar as a trade candidate. Toronto already has Alejandro Kirk locked in on a long-term extension, which could make Valenzuela available if the Angels decide catching needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. The question is whether this front office sees him as the kind of upgrade worth pursuing, or whether the search for a long-term answer at the position continues into another offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Face A Tough Reid Detmers And Walbert Urena Decision
Reid Detmers and Walbert Urena have given the Angels something they havent had often enough this season: two young arms worth building around. Both pitchers have already established new career highs in innings, and each has helped steady a staff on a last-place team that has spent too much time trying to piece things together. Detmers has been especially sharp since the break, working to a 1.65 ERA with strong strikeout-to-walk numbers, while Urena has emerged as one of the clubs most encouraging breakout stories.
The challenge now is less about what they have done and more about how much the Angels should ask them to do from here. Urenas rise has put him in the mix for AL Rookie of the Year consideration, and Detmers has looked like a pitcher the organization can lean on for years to come, but both are also carrying more innings than they have before. For a team not playing for a postseason chase, the balancing act is clear: keep the development momentum going without pushing either arm too far. [Read more 🡒]