The Angels’ rotation took a real step forward over the back half of the 2026 season, but that still wasn’t enough to keep the team from losing 100 games. So if they want 2027 to look different, the next move has to come on the pitching market.
There’s some encouraging internal work already in place. Reid Detmers is pitching like an ace.
Walbert Urena put together a strong season that should draw AL Rookie of the Year votes. Yusei Kikuchi missed most of the year, but he’s healthy now and lined up for a rotation job.
Ryan Johnson may have done enough to be in the mix for the 2027 rotation, while George Klassen brings unproven upside and Grayson Rodriguez is still well short of his peak form.
Even so, six arms won’t be enough to survive a full season. If the Angels want real depth, at least two of Johnson, Rodriguez and Klassen should open the year in Triple-A. All three still have minor league options, and each could use more time to develop.
That leaves the free-agent market, and there are three starters the Angels should be chasing depending on how aggressive they want to be.
Tarik Skubal is the dream swing. Stan Kroenke is the richest owner in Major League Baseball, and landing the two-time defending AL Cy Young winner would be the kind of move that instantly changes the conversation around the franchise.
It would also take a massive financial commitment, plus a promise that the team can contend for a World Series while he’s here. Still, it isn’t impossible.
Skubal is the top prize for a reason. He’s not yet 30 and has produced 13.1 bWAR across 2024 and 2025 combined.
He’s been durable, dominant, and almost unfairly consistent over the last four seasons, posting a 169 ERA+ and a WHIP of 0.920. His 2.47 ERA matches up closely with a 2.42 FIP, which says his production has been earned, not manufactured.
Dropping Skubal into a rotation that already includes Detmers and Urena would give the Angels something they haven’t had in a while: a front end that could stack up with almost anyone in the American League.
Freddy Peralta is the more realistic star-level target. He entered 2026 expected to hit the market in a big way, but a rough start with the Mets spiraled into a trade to Tampa Bay after he carried a 4.99 ERA and a WHIP near 1.5. Since landing with the Rays, though, he’s looked much more like himself, putting up a 3.25 ERA and a 1.012 WHIP.
His struggles in New York came with mechanical issues that knocked down his velocity and spin rate, and hitters started squaring him up more often than usual. That played out in front of a Mets defense that was among the league’s worst.
Tampa Bay has long been the kind of place where pitchers can reset, but the Angels have also brought in a new pitching coach and an organizational approach that lines up with what the Rays do. Peralta is only 30, should cost far less than Skubal, and brings a career ERA+ of 133, including seasons of 147 and 155. That makes him a strong fit for what the Angels need.
Brady Singer is the lower-cost gamble. He’s in the worst season of his MLB career right now, but he’s only 29, so it’s hard to believe his days as a useful starter are already over.
From 2022 through 2025, Singer averaged 29 starts, 165.2 innings and 2.7 bWAR, while posting an ERA+ of 103. He’s never had overpowering stuff, leaning instead on a five-pitch mix and getting help from the ballpark and defense in Kansas City for three of those four seasons. He also posted an ERA+ of 108 in 32 starts with the Reds last year.
This season, his cutter and four-seamer have been hit hard, and he’s thrown them less often. By narrowing himself to basically three pitches, he’s made things easier for hitters, who are punishing him more than ever.
If the Angels believe new pitching coach Tim Leveque and the analytics staff can get Singer back on track, he could give the young pitchers more time to develop. Even in a down year, he has still taken the ball 31 times and thrown 157 innings.
In Other News...
Angels Fans Can Hear The Wiggle Room In Kurt Suzuki Talk
Interim Angels general manager John Mozeliak has made it clear hed like Kurt Suzuki back in the dugout, but his recent comments also came with a built-in escape hatch: the final call belongs to the new ownership group. For a team in the middle of a rebuild, that kind of wording matters. It suggests some stability around the managers job, but it also leaves enough room for a change if the next decision-makers want a different direction.
Suzukis standing with the organization has been shaped in part by how he has handled the recent coaching staff changes, and he has generally been viewed as a steadier, more manageable presence than some higher-profile alternatives. Still, the uncertainty hangs over the whole situation, because this is less about one comment than about where the Angels want to go next and who they want guiding them there. For now, the support sounds real, but the wiggle room is there too. [Read more 🡒]
Walbert Urena Just Gave Angels Fans A Real Rotation Reason For Hope
Walbert Urenas rookie season gave the Angels something they have been short on for a while: a starter who looks like he belongs in the long-term picture. Baseball America named Urena to its All-Rookie team after a strong second half for Los Angeles, a run that came after he opened the year in relief, went to Triple-A to sharpen his work as a starter and then earned his way into the rotation in mid-April.
For a club trying to navigate ownership changes and the usual roster uncertainty that comes with them, Urenas rise matters because it hints at stability in a place where there has not been much. He finished with impressive rookie rankings in opponent average, ERA and strikeouts, and the Angels are already treating him as a key part of what comes next, even if the bigger question is how much help they can build around him. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Have An Obvious Bullpen Problem Entering A Big Offseason
The Angels spent much of 2026 chasing stability at the back of the bullpen, and the results only reinforced how much work awaits in the offseason. Ben Joyce still finished as the clubs leading closer with five saves, but his time on the injured list kept the role in flux and left Los Angeles without the kind of dependable late-inning anchor every contender needs.
Adrian Morejn is the sort of high-upside arm the Angels could use to deepen the group, but the bigger question is whether they will go after a more established answer to handle the ninth inning. David Bednar and Raisel Iglesias have both come up as possible targets, and that kind of pursuit would signal that the Angels know their pitching staff needs a firmer foundation heading into 2027. [Read more 🡒]