3 Angels who won't be back as John Mozeliak begins putting his stamp on the franchise

There have already been a lot of changes as John Mozeliak has taken charge of the Los Angeles Angels. We've seen him make big trades, like the deals that sent away Jose Soriano and Jo Adell. We've seen him change the way prospects are handled, and we've seen a shift in draft philosophy.

There's only so much that a new general manager can do when taking over in season. You can have a transformative trade deadline, but you can't completely overhaul the roster while games are being played.

We've taken a look at some Angels players who have played their way out of the 2027 plan. Most of those guys were fringe roster pieces to begin with. Now, we're thinking bigger. We're talking about what we think Mozeliak's vision could be. That could be embracing a rebuild and picking up on the Reid Detmers and Zach Neto trade rumors, or it could mean doubling down on the core and building around it, pushing out developing pieces in the process.

Expect the Angels to move on from these three players this offseason

Nolan Schanuel

Nolan Schanuel is such a tough player because he makes decent contact and gets on base via the walk frequently. That's not a bad foundation, and you can see it in the fact that he's posted an above-average wRC+ every season that he's been in the majors. That skill set would play nicely if he were a speedy center fielder or a defensively competent middle infielder, but at first base, it's a tough sell.

The real problem is that the 24-year-old is the same player today as he was when he debuted in 2023. He's made ever-so-slight gains in bat speed, but is moving from the second percentile in 2024 to the fifth percentile in 2026 truly an improvement? There aren't a ton of free-agent first base options, but even rolling with Vaughn Grissom and Moises Ballesteros can cover first base, and Los Angeles can save some money by moving on from Schanuel as he's arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.

Grayson Rodriguez

Most regimes would look at the key trade chip — in this case, Taylor Ward — that they gave up for Grayson Rodriguez and hold on to him, hoping for a bounce-back to vindicate their decision. Fortunately, Mozeliak wasn't a part of the organization then, and he has no skin in the game regarding the right-hander's future.

For a moment, it seemed as if Rodriguez's season was reaching a turning point, as he excelled in August alongside his rotation mates. Unfortunately, that 2.93 ERA in August has given way to a 5.73 ERA in September. At the end of the day, the 26-year-old is both injury-prone and arbitration-eligible. He won't have a ton of trade value, but given the league's desire for controllable starters, Los Angeles might actually be able to spin him off for something rather than a straight-up non-tender.

Ben Joyce

Moving on from Ben Joyce now would be something that takes guts, and some foresight. No one wants to prematurely give up on the next Mason Miller, but getting left holding the cards if the that promise comes up bust might be worse. At the end of the day, this is all about opportunity cost.

Joyce can run it up to 105 miles per hour, but he's spent more time on the IL than on the mound since arriving on the scene in 2023, and his history of serious injuries dates back to his collegiate career at the University of Tennessee. That begs the question: just because he can throw 105, does that mean he should?

On top of that, the actual results from that triple-digit heat have left something to be desired. Prior to this season, Joyce's career-high in strikeout rate was a middling 23.2%. This year it's up to 29.5%, but there are two caveats. First, that's only across 15 1/3 innings, and second, it comes with a ghastly 14.8% walk rate. Yet again, we have an arbitration-eligible player, and in this case, one whose performance hasn't quite kept up with the hype. The potential trade return might far outpace Joyce's actual value, and Mozeliak would be wise to take advantage of that fact.

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