WEST SACRAMENTO -- The Angels are down to five games left, and the math is simple: win three, and they avoid a 100-loss season for the first time in franchise history.
That’s where the club stands after Tuesday’s loss to the Athletics dropped them to 60-97. For a team that has spent most of the year in rough waters, the final stretch is about more than just getting through the schedule. It’s about preserving a streak no other MLB team can claim - never reaching triple digits in losses.
The season has still been a grind, but the Angels do have a few reasons to squint toward the future. A new ownership group is on the way, with Stan Kroenke’s purchase of the club expected to become official in the first quarter of 2027. And on the field, several recent trends have pointed in a better direction.
The clearest one has been the starting rotation. Since the beginning of August, and especially since the Angels moved on from their pitching coaches and installed Tim Leveque as interim pitching coach and Michael Wuertz as interim bullpen coach, the starters have looked like a different group.
Over that span, Angels starters have posted a 2.91 ERA, with 84 earned runs in 259 2/3 innings. That mark ranks second in the Majors.
Reid Detmers has been at the center of it. The left-hander has worked like an ace over his last 12 starts, putting up a 2.05 ERA, and he remains under team control for two more years.
Rookie Walbert Ureña has also given the Angels a real lift, turning in a 2.74 ERA across 144 1/3 innings. Fellow rookies George Klassen and Ryan Johnson have added to the picture, too.
Klassen put together a 3.67 ERA in six starts before a back injury shut him down, while Johnson has posted a 2.39 ERA over his last nine starts.
There’s more depth behind them as well. Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez has been better lately, logging a 4.12 ERA over his last 10 outings, and veteran lefty Yusei Kikuchi is under contract for $21 million next year.
For a franchise that hasn’t had this kind of starting pitching depth in recent memory, that matters. The organization also got encouraging Minor League seasons from several top pitching prospects, including Tyler Bremner (No.
2), Johnny Slawinski (No. 5), Dylan Jordan (No. 9) and Trey Gregory-Alford (No.
11).
The offense, by contrast, has remained a mess for much of the year, and that’s going to be one of the biggest problems to solve in ’27. Even so, Wade Meckler has quietly become one of the more interesting developments on the roster. The Anaheim native started out as a feel-good story and has turned himself into a legitimate option in left field.
In 93 games, Meckler has hit .292/.368/.374 with three homers, 14 doubles and 27 RBIs. He has brought contact and on-base ability to a lineup that badly needed both.
There are still questions - he has to prove he can handle lefties, and the power isn’t there yet - but the Angels have found a useful spark plug. They’re still likely to look for another outfielder this offseason and remain in need of a left-handed power bat, but Meckler’s rise has changed the conversation.
He looks like part of the plan for ’27.
Right field is still unsettled, particularly after the trade of Jo Adell to the Guardians, and the Angels are also expected to add an infielder this offseason. But Meckler has done enough to make himself a real piece moving forward.
The other area that has dragged the Angels down is the way they’ve handled close games. They’ve lost 11 games when leading in the ninth inning, tying the 2012 Brewers and 1978 Mets for the MLB record nobody wants. They’re also 19-29 in one-run games and 6-14 in extra innings.
That helps explain why their -89 run differential paints a harsher picture of the team than the standings alone. Based on Pythagorean winning percentage, they look more like a 69-88 club.
The bullpen remains a major issue, but it’s the kind of problem that can be attacked more directly in the offseason. If the Angels could simply close out games with a reliable ninth-inning arm, the record would look very different.
There have been a few encouraging bullpen notes, too. Ben Joyce has been healthy in his return from shoulder surgery, and rookie Samy Natera Jr. posted a 3.13 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings before a left forearm inflammation shutdown that won’t require surgery. Rule 5 right-hander Ryan Watson, along with lefties Tayler Saucedo and Blake Weiman, has also pitched well over the last two months.
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Angels Just Reopened A Bullpen Fear Fans Know Too Well
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The Athletics piled up nine runs over the final three innings and finished the comeback with back-to-back go-ahead two-run homers from Carlos Cortes and Zack Gelof in the eighth. Even a run in the ninth could not stop the bleed for Los Angeles, leaving the Angels with a familiar worry: a game that looked secure until the late innings turned it into another frustrating bullpen story. [Read more 🡒]