2 reasons the 2025 LA Angels season was a success, 2 reasons it was a failure

In the final MLB power rankings article done by FanSided, I assigned the Los Angeles Angels 2025 season a C as a grade. The knee-jerk reaction to the season entailed looking at the 2024 record vs. the 2025 record and seeing improvement, but obviously there should be much more nuanced analysis than that.

So, let's deep dive. The season was not fun, especially from August-on. The team bought low at the trade deadline as fringe contenders and everything went horribly wrong almost immediately. However, things feel slightly better than normal following an objectively terrible season, no?

2 reasons the 2025 LA Angels season was a success

Mike Trout finished the season, and finished strong

Mike Trout had the worst season of his career, outside of his rookie season. However, he played in 130 games which is the most games he's played in a season since 2019. Trout missed all but two games in May, but did play games in every month this season. Plus, his Baseball Savant page was littered with red. Things could have been much worse!

Trout clearly was hampered this season by a knee injury that caused him to miss most of May and relegated him to being a full-time DH, plus the chase for home run no. 400 was a monkey on his back. Once he was able to reach that 400th home run, he looked more-and-more like vintage Trout.

Trout posted an .838 OPS in September, the second best mark in any month this season. He scored 16 runs in September as well, which were the most of any month this season. Trout hit five home runs in the Angels final seven games, and will be able to have a largely normal offseason (there will probably be news soon that Trout will need some sort of procedure done on his knee).

As long as there is some semblance of optimism regarding the greatest player in Angels history, things are not entirely bleak. Like it or not, Trout had his best season in many years and that was certainly progress.

The roster is better than it's been in a long time

When the Angels had both Trout and Shohei Ohtani on their roster, the rest of the players were terrible. There was no depth in either the pitching staff or lineup, and two of the greatest players in baseball history were hung out to dry.

Did the 2025 Angels have a bunch of world beaters on the roster? Obviously not, the team finished 72-90. However, the team looks like a masterpiece compared to previous rosters. These names in of themselves should provide Angels fans with more hope than they've had in years -- Zach Neto, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell, Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano, Nolan Schanuel, Reid Detmers. Those players are stars, or above average, productive major league players at the very least.

There's a drop-off after that group but there is for sure a lot to like about the B-tier of Angels players -- Logan O'Hoppe, Bryce Teodosio, Robert Stephenson, Ben Joyce, Christian Moore, Denzer Guzman.

2 reasons the 2025 LA Angels season was a failure

The team was terrible!

As much as Arte Moreno and John Carpino want positive spins on their team, it's hard to write that the season was a success. In what world is a 72-90 season a positive step forward? Add on that the 2025 Angels struck out more than any team in history save for one (the 2023 Minnesota Twins). The boom-or-bust approach from the hitters was a whole lot more bust than boom, especially from August-on. The team's -164 run differential was pitiful -- they are one of 16 teams since the beginning of the 2022 season to have a -164 or worse run differential. The 2025 Angels' run differential was the second worst in franchise history, only the 1996 Angels had a worse mark (-181).

As much as Angels fans lamented the Ron Washington experience as the team's manager, they clearly missed his presence when games got serious. Perry Minasian bought at the trade deadline because he wanted his core group of players to finally participate in meaningful games, but without Washington that plan was not seen through. The Angels had the fourth worst win percentage in baseball following Washington's leave.

The Angels defense has regressed heavily, which is astonishing given how bad it was in the years prior to Washington joining the organization. The 2025 Angels had the worst defensive fWAR in baseball, which was somehow worse than the 2024 iteration of the team.

Basic statistical analysis shows the progress was not actually progress

The vibes felt better in 2025 than in 2024, thanks in large part to the veteran leadership and youthful exuberance, but there were a lot of signs that show the 2025 team's vibes did not trump the terrible output. There was a record improvement from 2024 to 2025, and sports are a results-based business, but the fact of the matter is that the 2025 team was worse than last year's in many respects.

The 2024 team, which was the worst in franchise history, had a better batting average, OBP and K% (obviously). On the pitching side, the 2024 team had a better ERA, FIP, WHIP, BB/9 and K/BB. League-wide, the Angels were at the bottom of nearly every important statistical category.

Progress means a lot of things for different teams, and progress for the Angels meant making a semi-legitimate run at the postseason. They fell flat on their faces post-trade deadline, and it's hard to envision things breaking their way more next year.

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