2 free agents we wish the Angels had signed this offseason

Despite a strange period of hibernation right smack dab in the middle of hot stove season the Angels were aggressive in pursuing and landing much-needed upgrades to a club that was downright dreadful in 2024.

It's clear that these free-agent splashes have made the team significantly better though it appears that they are still a long way off from achieving their stated goal of returning to their former glory as perennial contenders.

The Angels also missed out on several key players, some of whom they didn't make truly competitive offers for, highlighting their reticence to truly do what it takes in order to build a serious contender ahead of the 2025 season.

While a case can be made that some of those free-agent whiffs were a bullet dodged, others would've been incredible upgrades that could have vaulted the team into true contender status in an overall weak American League. Here are two players we wish they had signed this offseason who would have accomplished that goal.

The Angels should've made a bigger push for Pete Alonso

At face value, Pete Alonso would have been an awkward fit on the 2025 Angels. The club already has a long-term option at first base in the form of 23-year-old Nolan Schanuel, who is entering just his second full MLB season and was their top draft pick in 2023.

The lineup is also already very righty-heavy, and replacing Schanuel with Alonso would've subtracted the only true left-handed bat in favor of another righty. Signing Alonso looked like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Except Alonso would've been the perfect antidote to the ills that plagued the Halos' offense last season. For large swaths of the year, the offense was crippled by a severe lack of pop, finishing the season with an anemic .369 slugging percentage as a team that ranked second from the bottom in the bigs.

Schanuel, for all he does well, was one of the biggest culprits. Despite playing a premium power position the youngster hit just 13 long balls in 607 plate appearances and posted a well-below-average .362 SLG.

Alonso, with a 53-homer season and two other years with 40+ dingers on his resume was the best free-agent power bat and one of the premier sluggers in the game. His presence immediately would've provided exponential improvement to the potency of the Angels' lineup.

Moreover, an Alonso signing would've set off a chain reaction that could have helped the Angels upgrade in other areas as well. If the Polar Bear landed in Anaheim the team then could have used Schanuel as a trade chip to pursue upgrades to the starting rotation, the infield, and/or the bullpen.

His settling for a short-term, high AAV deal also would've been the ideal contract structure for the Halos, though it was clear that all else being equal his heart was still in Queens. Alas, the Angels are left to wonder about what could've been if they had added the thunderous Alonso to the lineup.