The Los Angeles Angels keep sinking, and the latest skid has only sharpened the questions around a team that now sits 19 games under .500 at 36-55. Their six-game losing streak has pushed them to the worst winning percentage in baseball, and the reasons behind the collapse are piling up fast.
One of the biggest issues is the situation in the dugout. Kurt Suzuki was brought in on a one-year deal as a lame-duck manager, and the front office that hired him is no longer in place. That kind of setup rarely inspires confidence, and the Angels have looked flat during this latest stretch.
“We just have to bring the energy every day,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “We just got to keep staying with it, staying with what we're doing and things will change.”
The problem is that the on-field product hasn’t shown much life. The roster churn that once came with Perry Minasian is gone, and the veterans now know there won’t be much fallout for going through the motions. It’s a fragile spot for a club that already looks vulnerable, and the situation could even lead interim GM John Mozeliak to make a change with Suzuki.
The pitching has been another mess. The Angels didn’t build a workable rotation over the offseason, and that flaw keeps showing up every time a young starter takes the ball.
Ryan Johnson was the latest example in the loss to the Boston Red Sox, while Sam Aldegheri has also had rough outings. Young pitchers are going to have growing pains, but the Angels have made it harder on themselves by carrying too many of them and bouncing them between Anaheim and Triple-A Salt Lake.
Zach Neto’s season has taken an odd turn as well. He has been swinging for power, and the tradeoff has been a .231 average.
That part is understandable with a big contract opportunity getting closer, but his defense has been the real surprise. Neto leads the league with 14 errors at short and has the most in the majors, with lapses in concentration becoming hard to miss.
And then there’s the offense, which has gone quiet at the wrong time. The Angels can still look dangerous when everything is clicking, but that hasn’t happened much lately.
Oswald Peraza and Jo Adell are both slumping, and the lineup has too many dead spots and automatic outs. Mike Trout’s return sounds like the kind of boost that could help, but for now that idea feels more like hope than a fix.
In Other News...
New Angels GM Just Sent A Message Fans Have Heard Before
John Mozeliaks first public comments as the Angels new general manager sounded a lot like the kind of message fans in Anaheim have heard before: this is not a teardown job. Mozeliak said he does not view the roster as needing a complete rebuild, and he framed the club as one with real resources to work with, pointing to the market and ownership as reasons the Angels can still be a compelling place to build.
The more interesting part may be how that philosophy carries into the draft and the trade deadline. Mozeliak said he is not locked into any one path when it comes to drafting high school or college players, and instead wants the best player available, a stance that could signal a change in how the Angels approach talent acquisition. For a team that has spent years searching for the right formula, the words were familiar, but the next steps will tell whether this version comes with something different behind it. [Read more 🡒]
Angels May Finally Need To Make A Tough Call On Zach Neto
The Angels have spent much of 2026 chasing answers on defense, and the infield has become one of the clearest reasons why. Zach Neto remains central to the conversation because of his importance to the club and his age, but the numbers and the eye test have not lined up the way the Angels hoped after his rise as their everyday shortstop.
Netos defensive regression has put real pressure on the organization to consider uncomfortable alternatives, especially with the team ranking near the bottom in key defensive measures. His latest miscue only sharpened the scrutiny, and with the season moving deeper into the summer, the Angels may be nearing the point where they have to decide whether keeping him in place is worth the cost elsewhere on the diamond. [Read more 🡒]
Angels May Finally Be Weighing A Move Fans Dread
A quiet but telling Angels subplot surfaced this week when MLB insider Robert Murray pointed to a John Mozeliak quote that sounded a lot like a front office weighing whether it should deal from the rotation. For a club that has spent years trying to stabilize its pitching, the idea naturally lands with a thud, especially with Jose Soriano and Reid Detmers both established as important pieces on the staff.
What makes the chatter harder to dismiss is the timing and the contract control attached to both arms, which gives the Angels more flexibility than they usually have with pitchers of this caliber. If the organization is truly shifting its trade approach under Mozeliak, the next step could say a lot about whether the priority is keeping the rotation intact or using one of those starters to reshape the roster for the long run. [Read more 🡒]