The Angels have spent this stretch sounding out what might work next season, and the early returns have been rough. A few names have helped themselves - Wade Meckler and Vaughn Grissom among them - but most of the audition tape has been hard to sit through.
That’s especially true on the position-player side, where the club has run into a mix of limited ceilings and disappointing slumps. Some of the group looks like straight Triple-A or “Four-A” material, while a few others present more complicated cases the Angels still need to sort through. The bullpen, for now, is its own separate issue and one better left alone.
Josh Lowe is one of the clearest head-scratchers. It remains hard to explain why the Angels traded for him in the first place, and the bat has offered little reason to feel better about it.
He has produced much the same way he did with the Tampa Bay Rays, which is to say somewhere between a little and not at all. The deal cost the Angels a useful reliever in Brock Burke, making it look like one of the season’s worst trades.
Lowe has flashed a bit more power than expected, but moving on from him should be near the top of the offseason checklist.
Denzer Guzman’s case is murkier. Early on, he looked like a perfectly workable middle infielder, the kind of no-hit, good-glove utility player a roster can use.
But he has been in a slump for months, and now the Angels have to ask whether that utility label is the truth of who he is. If it is, keeping him in the lineup as though he’s more than that would be a mistake.
Oswald Peraza has created a different kind of puzzle at third base. When he took over for the struggling Yoan Moncada, he looked like exactly the answer the Angels had been waiting for, and three straight home runs only strengthened that case. Since then, though, he has fallen into a prolonged slump of his own, and the club will need to figure out what it has there before moving forward.
In Other News...
Zach Netos Breakout Just Created A Huge Angels Decision
Zach Netos season has given the Angels something they have not always had in the middle infield: a young player forcing his way into the long-term conversation. His impact has shown up in the loudest possible moments too, including a three-run homer against the Red Sox, and the overall production has put him on pace for a season that would give the club rare power-speed value from a premium defensive position.
For an Angels team that already views Neto as a core piece, the breakout only sharpens the questions that come next. A long-term extension is now part of the conversation, and so is how the club handles the ripple effect on other talent in the system, including Arjun Nimmala. Netos rise has made the shortstop picture much clearer for the present, but it has also turned the future into a decision the Angels can no longer put off. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Face One Huge Front Office Question Before A Crucial Offseason
John Mozeliak has already left his mark on the Angels as interim general manager, reshaping draft strategy, making trades and reworking the front office in a short span. Even with the ongoing sale process involving Stan Kroenke, the expectation around the industry is that Mozeliaks influence is not going away anytime soon, which gives the organization a measure of continuity as it heads into a winter that is likely to demand plenty of quick decisions.
The bigger question is what his title will look like once the ownership picture settles. The sale is not expected to be finalized until January or later, and with the CBA set to expire in December, the Angels could be navigating a busy offseason before the new hierarchy is even fully in place. For now, the belief is that Mozeliak would stay in a top leadership role, with a general manager hired underneath him, but the exact structure remains one of the more important unresolved pieces in the clubs near future. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Prospect Hayden Alvarez Is Suddenly Drawing Attention Beyond The Organization
Hayden Alvarez has gone from a promising name in the Angels farm system to one attracting attention well beyond the organization, and the latest sign came in the Dominican Republic. The 19-year-old outfield prospect was chosen first overall in the 2026 LIDOM Rookie Draft by Tigres del Licey, a notable honor for a player who has already built a reputation in the Angels minor league system as one of the clubs most intriguing young talents.
For the Angels, it is another reminder that Alvarezs rise is no longer just a matter of internal development. His combination of batting ability, baserunning, and five-tool upside has put him firmly on the radar, and the draft selection carries added weight because of the leagues raised eligibility requirements. For a rebuilding club looking for cornerstone pieces, that kind of outside recognition only underscores how important Alvarez has become to the organizations long-term plans. [Read more 🡒]