The Angels don’t need a splashy bullpen overhaul to fix the mess that’s been hanging over them for years. They need precision.
They need depth. And with about $50 million in payroll room, they can carve out a serious late-inning group for roughly $20 million.
That’s the idea here: use the new financial flexibility to build a bullpen that actually holds leads instead of unraveling them. The simplest path is to target three relievers who bring strikeouts, leverage experience, and balance from both sides. According to FanGraphs projections, that trio would cost about $20 million total.
The first name is Alex Vesia, a left-hander who has become one of the more dependable relief arms in baseball. Keeping him in Southern California should be a priority for the Angels.
He gets elite spin, misses bats, and has the kind of stuff that can neutralize dangerous left-handed hitters. Vesia also has real experience in pressure-packed playoff races and series, and his 31.2% K rate would immediately stand out in an Angels bullpen that has lacked swing-and-miss ability.
He’s projected for a two-year deal at an average of $8 million per season.
The other obvious fit is Evan Phillips. If the Angels want someone who can settle the ninth inning, Phillips checks every box.
He has spent years handling high-leverage work, and his profile fits either a traditional closer role or a fireman assignment when the game is on the line. In 2026, the 32-year-old struck out 31.1% of the batters he faced and walked just 5.7%.
His career numbers - 28.2% strikeouts and 8.5% walks - still point to a reliever who would be a major upgrade. A short-term deal around $7 million in average annual value would keep him inside the Angels’ budget.
Then there’s JoJo Romero, the value play that makes the whole plan work. The hard-throwing lefty just dominated the 2026 postseason and gets ground balls at more than a 50% clip.
Since changing his release point in 2024, he’s turned himself into a sinker-and-sweeper reliever who forces weak contact, even if he does give up the occasional homer. He posted a 1.229 WHIP this year, and most of the seven home runs he allowed in 56.1 innings came with the bases empty.
His projected price tag lands around $5 million, which makes him a clean fit for this kind of bullpen build.
Put those three together and the Angels suddenly have a much more stable late-game structure. Phillips and Vesia can handle the final two innings, Romero can attack tight spots, and younger arms like Samy Natera Jr. and Ben Joyce can slide into lower-leverage roles. That would give the Angels five quality bullpen options before even getting to Nicolo Pinazzi, Sam Bachman, and Jose Fermin.
That trio has already been used in important spots, and it hurt the Angels. But with better arms ahead of them on the depth chart, they could be more useful in reduced roles. Fermin’s slider is a real weapon, Bachman looked good most of the summer, and Pinazzi, while still a question mark, threw the longest scoreless streak in the minors last year.
In Other News...
Braves Bring Back A Familiar Front Office Voice For 2027
The Braves are rebuilding some familiar front-office connections for 2027, adding former Astros general manager Dana Brown as a senior advisor to their amateur scouting department while also bringing back Perry Minasian. Minasian, who previously worked alongside Alex Anthopoulos in Atlanta, is returning to the organization after his run as Angels general manager, giving the Braves another experienced voice in the room as they continue shaping their scouting and personnel operation.
For Angels fans, the move is another reminder of how quickly front-office circles can turn over and reconnect. Minasians specific role in Atlanta has not been detailed, but the reunion with Anthopoulos adds intrigue to a Braves setup that already leans heavily on continuity and familiarity. The exact assignment may still be coming into focus, yet the decision itself says plenty about how much Atlanta values people it already knows. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Running Out Of Time To Fix A Critical Front Office Problem
The Angels are staring at a tightening calendar as their ownership transition from Arte Moreno to Stan Kroenke needs to be completed before the MLB lockout begins Dec. 1. Any sale still has to clear approval from at least 23 of the 30 club owners, and the clock matters here because a new ownership group would need time to start shaping the front office and sorting through roster decisions before the sport goes dark.
For now, the process does not appear to have the clean runway the Angels were hoping for. The next real chance for approval comes at the Owners Meetings in New York from Nov. 17-19, which leaves only a short window for the club to finalize a sale and get moving on the executive hires and other business that usually follows a change at the top. [Read more 🡒]
Albert Pujols Could Force An Uncomfortable Angels Decision
Albert Pujols keeps surfacing in the managerial market, and now his search has reached Houston. The former Angels star is scheduled to interview Thursday for the Astros opening, extending a push toward a big league managing job that has already included conversations with other clubs. He also comes with recent dugout credentials of sorts, having led the Dominican Republic to a bronze medal in the World Baseball Classic.
For the Angels, the timing adds another layer to a familiar name. Pujols remains tied to the organization through a personal services contract, so any move by Houston would create an awkward ripple effect for a franchise that still has a formal relationship with one of its most recognizable former players. The Astros recent hiring of Randy Flores as general manager only adds to the intrigue, since Flores and Pujols were teammates, and this process could force the Angels to watch a former cornerstone become part of a division rivals next chapter. [Read more 🡒]