The Los Angeles Angels are heading into an offseason that could reshape just about everything at once, and they may have to navigate it with a lockout hanging over the sport.
That’s the backdrop for Stan Kroenke’s new ownership group, which agreed on Sept. 1 to buy the Angels from Arte Moreno for $4 billion. The deal is expected to be approved by the other 29 owners early next year, but before the new regime can put its stamp on the franchise, it has a pile of major decisions waiting.
The biggest question starts with Kurt Suzuki. Perry Minasian’s bold move to hire Suzuki, who had no managerial experience, to lead the 2026 team fell apart as the Angels tumbled to a 62-100 record, the first 100-loss season in franchise history. The general feeling around the club is that Suzuki should be replaced right away, though there are still some voices open to giving him another year.
Even that decision may not be in the hands of a settled front office. When Minasian was dismissed in June, John Mozeliak stepped in on an interim basis, but there has been no clear sign yet whether he will remain in place in 2027 or whether the Angels will need to find someone else.
Mozeliak said in late September that the search for an answer to the GM situation had "been paused." Meanwhile, outside speculation about possible replacements has already started.
All of that would be complicated enough on its own. Then there’s the looming labor mess.
There is every indication that at midnight on Dec. 1, a lockout will hit, and on Oct. 7, Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported that MLB’s central office had already started outlining what that shutdown will look like.
A confidential memo sent to team executives on Oct. 1 said: "Virtually all business between MLB players on 40-man rosters and their teams will halt until there’s a new deal. No trades, no signings."
The memo also laid out a series of restrictions for the offseason, including scrubbing player images and videos from official league and team websites, limiting contact between club officials and players, requiring offseason workout plans to be communicated before the lockout, and likely canceling the major-league portion of the Rule 5 draft.
One notable wrinkle: players would still be allowed to compete in other professional leagues during the lockout, opening the door for them to play in Japan, South Korea or elsewhere, just as some did during the 2021-22 stoppage.
So the Angels could spend the winter figuring out who will manage the club, who will run the front office, and who will even be on the roster for 2027 - if there is a 2027 season at all.
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Mike Trouts Next Angels Role Could Change Their Entire Outfield
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The bigger ripple effect is what that shift means for the rest of the outfield picture. Los Angeles is expected to rotate Trout between left field and designated hitter to keep him fresh and productive, which gives the Angels a more flexible way to manage his health but also reshapes how they can build the rest of the defense around him. For a team trying to get the most out of its biggest star, the position change could end up affecting a lot more than just Trouts innings in the field. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Fans Can Already Feel Where This New Era Is Headed
The Angels have spent much of this year in a very different kind of transition, one that goes beyond the roster and into the structure of the organization itself. Molly Jolly moving into the president role and John Mozeliak taking over as general manager signaled a sharp reset, and the front office quickly followed with a wave of promotions and coaching changes that made it clear this was not business as usual.
For fans, the bigger takeaway is where all of that seems pointed. The reshaping of the club has the feel of a rebuild in motion, with the teams direction changing even as the sale process continues around it. There has been plenty of speculation about how much influence Stan Kroenke may already have had on those moves, but nothing has been confirmed, leaving the organizations next step just murky enough to keep everyone guessing. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Veteran Flier Just Vanished From Their Roster Picture
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For an Angels team that has cycled through plenty of moving parts, Candelarios disappearance from the roster picture fit the larger pattern. He finished the season in the minors and then elected free agency, which points toward a split that could very well be the end of his time in Anaheim after a career spent bouncing among several MLB stops and producing a .236/.315/.410 slash line. [Read more 🡒]