The Angels’ offseason decisions start with one easy one and then get messy fast.
Robert Stephenson’s player option sits at $2.5 million, but the real issue is whether the Angels want to keep paying for a deal that has gone nowhere. Stephenson signed a three-year, $33 million contract in 2024, then barely appeared for Anaheim or anywhere else. His second elbow procedure came in April, which makes the choice feel straightforward: declining the option should be the simplest move the new ownership makes.
The more complicated calls come with Vaughn Grissom and Denzer Guzman, both of whom are out of minor league options. That status opens up a wider set of roster possibilities than the Angels usually want to juggle.
Grissom is the cleaner case. Los Angeles grabbed him in a minor deal last offseason and got real value for a while.
He made the team as a utility infielder, spent time as the starting second baseman, and later moved to first base when Nolan Schanuel got hurt. He held up well enough defensively to stay in the mix.
The bat was the bigger part of the story. Grissom ended up hitting cleanup for what was basically a Triple-A lineup on a 100-loss team, and that naturally drags down how much teams will value him. Even so, he hit enough to at least put himself in line for some kind of low-cost deal that would keep him on the 40-man roster.
There may not be a big market for him, but he did enough offensively to look like a possible bench piece for another club.
Guzman’s case looks different. He started hot and flashed some upside at third base, but by season’s end he had slipped back into being a defense-first infielder without much at the plate. That still gives him some value, but the new GM and manager may decide it’s limited enough to expose him to waivers and see whether another team wants to take a shot.
In Other News...
Angels Finally Gave Up On A Once-Promising In-House Prospect
Kyren Paris Angels tenure ended the way so many once-promising roster gambles do for a contender that keeps searching for answers: quietly, on waivers, after a long stretch in which the former utility prospect never really found his footing in the majors. Paris appeared in 88 games for Los Angeles from 2023 through 2026, but the production never matched the organizations hope when he was moving through the system.
For an Angels club that has spent years trying to piece together reliable depth, losing Paris now is less about one move than another reminder of how hard it is to turn internal talent into a usable big-league piece. The next stop is the Mets, who saw enough to bring him in and make room by moving on from Cristian Pache, while the Angels are left with another example of a prospect story that never quite turned into the one they wanted. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Have Already Started Making Room For More Offseason Moves
The Angels have already begun trimming and reshaping their roster as the offseason gets rolling, making the kind of early housekeeping that can open the door to bigger moves later on. After four players officially reached free agency, the club added another layer of flexibility by moving pitcher Sammy Peralta and catcher Sebastin Rivero off the 40-man roster and to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Those kinds of transactions rarely grab much attention on their own, but they matter this time of year because every open spot can help a team maneuver around the Rule 5 draft and make room for possible additions. For an Angels club still sorting out its next steps, getting the roster down to 39 players is a small but meaningful sign that more changes are coming. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Finally Get A Fresh Start After Years Of Rendon Frustration
Anthony Rendons long, frustrating run with the Angels is over, giving the organization a clean break from one of its most expensive and disappointing contracts. Rendon officially reached free agency after his seven-year deal expired, and the club is now moving forward as it begins a rebuild after another underwhelming season.
For the Angels, the timing matters as much as the outcome. Rendon spent the last two seasons on the shelf because of injuries and surgery, and the team had already worked out a deferred-payment structure on the money still owed. Now, with his contract finally behind them, the Angels can reset their roster and payroll picture without having to keep one eye on a situation that never really worked out. [Read more 🡒]