Kurt Suzuki’s decisions are becoming its own kind of subplot in the Angels’ 2026 rebuild, and the latest example was impossible to miss. With Los Angeles down two runs, Suzuki handed the ball to Shaun Anderson, a journeyman reliever, and then watched the game spiral as the Marlins pushed the lead to eight. Even with the damage piling up, Suzuki stuck with Anderson.
That choice fit a pattern that has already worn thin. Suzuki has repeatedly made bullpen calls and lineup choices that seem to ignore matchup data and splits, and the result has been a steady stream of head-scratchers.
The Angels needed length from the bullpen for a second straight day, but using Anderson in that spot felt less like a competitive move and more like surrendering the series. Anderson is a mop-up arm, but the game was still within reach when he entered.
The larger issue is that Suzuki’s approach doesn’t look like a clean tank job or a coherent development plan. In a lost season like 2026, there are real reasons to prioritize young players and give them reps.
But the Angels are managing to pile up losses while also undercutting development. That’s the part that makes the whole thing feel so inefficient.
One example came with Jorge Soler. Had John Mozeliak not taken him away from Suzuki, the veteran would still be locked into the cleanup spot and costing the Angels scoring chances. Instead, the arrival of a left-handed young bat has led Suzuki to slot Nolan Schanuel in front of Mike Trout rather than behind him.
Suzuki’s lineup choices have drawn heat before. Last week, he played veteran Adam Frazier against a tough left-handed pitcher while sitting Oswald Peraza, then flipped the two the next night against a tough right-handed pitcher.
The decisions ran against both logic and the players’ histories, leaving each in a spot where failure was more likely than success. Suzuki’s answer to the criticism only added to the frustration.
"I’m not here to reinvent the wheel or over-analyze the metrics recorded on paper. Sometimes you just go with your gut over 'the book' and play the veteran guy who has been there before. It's just baseball." - Kurt Suzuki.
The Angels have already begun the rebuild in earnest. Last week Mozeliak kicked it off by trading several controllable players, including Jose Soriano, Jo Adell, and Ryan Zeferjahn. The returns from those deals, and others like them, are badly needed, but they still don’t amount to a clear indication that a winning core is already in place in the system.
There is, at least, a path for the organization to benefit from the bottoming out. Landing first overall and then first in each of the remaining rounds of next year’s draft would be a major boost, and after a full overhaul of the internal draft process, the Angels came away with what insiders view as a strong 2026 class.
That raises the question of whether the front office is nudging Suzuki toward certain choices to help the team’s draft odds. Maybe.
But if that is happening, it doesn’t appear to be happening in the way Suzuki is operating. A front office trying to maximize a lost season would probably want more young players in the lineup, not veterans being placed in spots where they’ve repeatedly struggled.
Instead, Suzuki seems to be taking the opposite route: losing with veterans in key roles, not with kids learning on the fly. He’s putting players like Frazier into situations where the numbers and history have already told the story.
That’s not development. That’s just bad process.
There’s an old line about getting what you pay for, and it fits here. Arte Moreno wanted to slash payroll and operating expenses this offseason, and the result was a one-year manager in a stripped-down operation.
Even with a thin roster, though, the issue isn’t just the talent level. It’s the stubborn refusal to make the obvious calls.
Most likely, the front office is happy enough to let Suzuki’s mistakes keep pushing the Angels toward better draft position. They may have to pull him back now and then, as they did with Soler, but when the season ends, his contract can simply run out. By then, the scouting department will be moving toward what could be a franchise-altering 2027 draft.
For now, Suzuki is helping the Angels’ odds of landing the best possible draft position, even if it comes in the most disjointed way imaginable. He was put in a tough spot, and he has only made it worse with illogical lineups and batting orders.
Come November, he figures to be the fall guy. Until then, Angels fans are left to watch the strategy play out for two more months.
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