Angels' 2026 outlook sparks concern after ESPN projections drop

The offseason in Anaheim appears to be on an upward trajectory, especially after the Angels officially agreed to a restructuring of Anthony Rendon's contract. This gives the team a huge boost in payroll for this offseason, and with so many elite free agents still available this team could very well be in position to land their newest star. However, as Perry Minasian and the front office remain focused on ending the 11-year playoff drought in Anaheim, ESPN has different ideas for how the 2026 season will go for the Angels and their fans.

Angels fans in for long season according to newest ESPN projections

ESPN posted an article listing a number of bold predictions for the 2026 MLB season on Friday, as members of their MLB staff were asked to give their hot take for the upcoming campaign. And in all of these predictions, where the writers were looking for a long shot playoff hopeful or dark horse awards candidate, not a single one would endorse the Angels. None predicted their MLB-worst playoff drought to end, or for Zach Neto or Jose Soriano to ascend into MVP or Cy Young conversations, respectively.

The only mention of the Angels came from AJ Mass, who predicted that two teams will make the 2026 playoffs after finishing last in their division in 2025 (not counting the Baltimore Orioles, who won 91 games in 2024). Mass wrote, "we're going to go out on a limb and predict that there are at least a pair of postseason performances ahead from among the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies". So while one writer thinks the Angels could be in a group that brings some playoff teams forward, not even he would give them any form of praise.

And things only get worse as Halo fans dive into the rest of the article. Buster Olney predicted that the division rival Seattle Mariners will not only win the World Series next season, but will go on a run similar to what the Houston Astros did from 2015-2024. The Orioles were also a World Series pick, which would bring a bag of mixed emotions for Halo fans as Taylor Ward would finally get a ring (which might dampen his idea of one day returning to Anaheim).

And then there's those darn Dodgers up the I-5 freeway. While no one predicted they would win a third consecutive World Series (these are bold predictions, after all), Jesse Rogers predicted that the team would go all-in at the trade deadline and acquire the best pitcher in baseball, Tarik Skubal, from the Detroit Tigers. That is, unless he is traded in the next few weeks. Either way, watching Skubal join a Dodgers rotation that already features former Angels' MVP Shohei Ohtani (more on him later) would make Halo fans' blood boil.

And to end the piece, Alden Gonzalez brings it all back to Ohtani. Gonzalez predicts that Ohtani will win his first Cy Young Award in 2026, accomplishing yet another thing for the Dodgers that he never did for the Angels. Gonzalez explains that Ohtani is squarely set up to dominate in 2026, finally healthy and after back-to-back MVP's, why not go ahead and win a Cy Young? He writes, "By the end of it, there will be no doubt -- nobody has or ever will be like Shohei Ohtani."

Ouch.