3 trends Angels must curve to contend in 2026

The Angels, very clearly, were not a good enough team throughout the 2025 MLB season. They had their stretches of dominance - especially when playing the Los Angeles Dodgers - but the makeup of the team and how they played the game stopped them from ever climbing above .500 and truly into the playoff race. This off season - as slow as it may be - offers a chance for them to curve those trends and improve upon a step forward in 2025. 

3 trends Angels must correct this off season 

Striking out at the plate 

The Angels struck out more than any other team in baseball this season, making their identity as a true boom-or-bust offensive team. If they hit home runs, they’d score. Otherwise, runs were hard to come by as this team failed to string together multiple hits to get high-scoring innings going. If they can manage to fill their positions of need with hitters who hit for average (hello Bo Bichette), they’ll be able to supplement their sluggers at the top of the lineup and turn those solo home runs into multi-run big flies. 

Striking out opposing batters

Yes, the Angels also were inefficient at striking out opponents, ranking 25th in the league. While not every good starter strikes out a high amount of batters, it does speak to the overall shortcomings of the Angels’ 2025 rotation. Subbing out low-strikeout pitchers like Kyle Hendricks, Tyler Anderson, and Jack Kochanowicz with free agent pitchers (or even an in-house option like Caden Dana) who generate swing and miss will help ease an Angels’ defense that was among the worst in the major leagues. Speaking of…

Find good defenders

The Angels went all in on slugging last year, which to their credit did work as the Angels hit the fourth most home runs in the big leagues. However, that led to them having some of the worst defenders across the diamond. Jo Adell was forced into center field until late in the season, Yoan Moncada and Luis Rengifo were both negatives at third base, and their catching group was poor behind the dish. Finding free agents who can contribute not just by scoring runs but by preventing runs will go a long way in turning 2026 into a winning season in Anaheim. 

The Angels can hit home runs with the best of them, that will not be a problem in 2026. Finding the free agents to supplement the existing starters and rotation who offer different skill sets will go a long way in morphing the Angels from a playoff hopeful to a playoff contender.