The Angels’ season has sunk into familiar misery, and the grade that followed was just as rough. ESPN’s David Schoenfield handed Anaheim an F after a year that has left the club staring at a 100-loss campaign and extending a playoff drought that now feels endless.
That verdict put the Angels in a small and ugly club. The only other teams to draw Fs were the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants, with Seattle having reached the ALCS a year ago and San Francisco’s move to hire Tennessee Volunteers coach Tony Vitello as manager not paying off so far.
There is at least a new name hovering over the franchise’s future. Stan Kroenke recently purchased the Angels, and the article points to his track record with the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche as a reason for optimism. Kroenke Sports Entertainment also owns the Colorado Rapids of MLS and the Colorado Mammoth of the NLL, and Kroenke is also a major shareholder of Arsenal FC in the Premier League.
Schoenfield framed that sale as the bright spot in an otherwise bleak year. “The best news came in early September when Arte Moreno agreed to sell the team for $4 billion to Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Arsenal F.C. and other sports franchises,” he wrote.
On the field, there were a few hints of life. Mike Trout found his form again, Jose Soriano opened the season looking like a Cy Young candidate before running into trouble, and Jo Adell showed flashes before being traded to the Cleveland Guardians at the deadline.
The Angels also held onto Zach Neto, giving them at least one young piece to build around. Reid Detmers and Walbert Urena pitched well enough to suggest there may be more talent still in the organization.
Still, the bigger picture is hard to ignore. The Angels have now dropped into 11 straight losing seasons and 12 straight non-playoff seasons, and it has been more than a decade since they last reached the postseason. That’s the backdrop for a winter of change, with Kurt Suzuki entering his first year as manager and, for now, the hope that a new owner can finally reset the direction of a franchise that has spent too long going nowhere.
In Other News...
Mike Trout May Have Just Opened A Big Angels Roster Shift
After a 62-100 season, the Angels are clearly looking for ways to patch more than one hole, and Mike Trout may have given them a significant one to work with. The three-time AL MVP, long known as the clubs center fielder, has offered to move to left field and take on more designated hitter duties if it helps the team get better, a notable shift from his earlier preference to stay in center.
For an Angels roster that needs more defensive flexibility, Trouts openness changes the conversation around how the lineup could be built next season. Executive John Mozeliak has already noted the possibility, and the bigger question now is how far the Angels are willing to go in reshaping the outfield and Trouts workload to squeeze more value out of their best player. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Fans Are Waiting To See If This Reset Gets Real
A 100-loss season leaves little room for debate, and the Angels are once again staring at the kind of reset that cant just be cosmetic. The disappointment has put the focus squarely on manager Kurt Suzuki, with the case growing louder that a team this flat and this unproductive needs a clean break now, not later.
Stan Kroenke and interim GM John Mozeliak are the ones overseeing the next steps, and that is where the real question lives for Angels fans. If the goal is to build something sturdier than another short-lived fix, the decisions they make on the dugout and front office side will tell the story long before the wins and losses do. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Trout May Finally Be Embracing A Shift Angels Needed
Mike Trouts defensive home has long been part of the Angels bigger roster puzzle, and this offseason brought another sign that the conversation is moving in a new direction. Interim general manager John Mozeliak said Trout proposed spending more time in left field and possibly working as a designated hitter in 2027, a notable development for a player who has spent so much of his career tied to center field.
The timing matters because the Angels already had other defensive options in center in 2026 who graded out better than Trout. With the club weighing a position change to better fit the roster and sharpen the defensive alignment, Trouts willingness to shift could open the door to a cleaner fit for everyone involved, even if the exact shape of that arrangement is still taking form. [Read more 🡒]