3 players playing their final home games with the Los Angeles Angels

The Los Angeles Angels are going to finish in last place of the American League West yet again -- of course they are going to purge the roster and attempt to replenish. This will be the second straight year the franchise will finish in last place of the division, which has not happened since 1974-1975. Yes, things are bleak and the organization desperately needs to re-tool, re-group, re-load etc. etc.

With the final home series taking place this weekend, let's take a look at the players who will be participating and which ones are likely to depart. Those who are not participating and are as good as gone? Tyler Anderson, Hunter Strickland (until he is probably re-signed to another MiLB deal next April), Andrew Chafin. All three of those pitchers are likely to get cycled out for younger arms with more upside. Another name to keep an eye on is Jorge Soler, who is under contract for next year but clearly is an imperfect fit on a roster that has its full-time DH in Mike Trout.

3 players playing their final home games with the Los Angeles Angels

Luis Rengifo

Luis Rengifo has been awful in September...and May...and April! Rengifo has turned back into a pumpkin after showing some solid flashes from June through August -- this month, Rengifo is slashing .190/.230/.328/.557 with an incredibly inflated strikeout rate. His defense has improved a ton lately, he only has one error since the beginning of August, but he clearly will have a litany of teams who value him more than the Angels do.

The utility player will be entering his age-29 season, and the Angels have had every opportunity to lock him up long-term. The organization has declined to do so, and generally will not want to ante up for a player once they hit their most expensive. Plus, they have plenty of replacements for Rengifo in-house already.

Who to bring back between Yoán Moncada and Luis Rengifo is a fun debate. Rengifo has the counting stats and Moncada has the rate stats. Both have been injury-prone, but Rengifo has played in the most games of his career this year. That will likely regress given that he has not played in more than 127 games prior to 2025. At the end of the day, Moncada is a middle of the lineup presence when he is right and Rengifo is more of a double-leadoff type. Keeping Moncada and posting Christian Moore or Denzer Guzman every day at second base is not the worst plan in the world.

Kyle Hendricks

The Angels should move on from Hendricks whether or not he decides to hang up his cleats after the season. He has been a more than capable fifth starter all season, but the Angels need to start taking some shots on pitchers with far more upside than rolling with veterans like Hendricks and Tyler Anderson.

Even a veteran free agent like Tyler Mahle would be more enticing than Hendricks at this point. For one, he throws his fastball in the 90s. Secondly, the impending free agent starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers has been like the Yoán Moncada of pitchers. He missed more than three months of the season, but was incredible when he was on the field. There are ample options on the market that could be a major upgrade for the rotation.

Then there's guys like Caden Dana, Ryan Johnson, Sam Aldegheri, Víctor Mederos, Mitch Farris or even Reid Detmers. They all took their lumps this season, but maybe they can keep developing through the adversity and blossom in the near-future.

Hopefully fans show up and show out during Hendricks' start today against Houston. The OC native deserves it. However, the Angels should telll him no if he wants to come back next year and pitch for the Angels again.

Chris Taylor

When the Angels picked Taylor up following his DFA and subsequent release from the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had every opportunity to earn himself another year with the team if he performed well. Unfortunately, the super-utility man has been completely snake-bitten during his time with the Halos to the tune of a fracture and re-fracture of his left hand.

Taylor was in the Angels' lineup Thursday, but was not spotted in it since Sunday. The Angels are skewing young and Taylor might need to find a new home next season.

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