Angels' MLB tier ranking shows they truly have no peers (and that's a bad thing)

We know the Los Angeles Angels have seen better days. They haven't completely bottomed out like the 2024 Chicago White Sox or the 2025 Colorado Rockies, but even the Rockies can't seem to understand what the Angels' plan is. Los Angeles is adrift, simultaneously hoping to compete despite not having the talent, and largely devoid of young talent to rejuvenate the roster. It's a bad place to be. But are they alone?

MLB.com came out with their annual tier rankings, groupings of teams based on commonalities in regard to their ability to compete and their future direction. The Angels were ranked in the "What’s the path forward?" tier, behind the likes of the White Sox and the Rockies, both of whom were identified as clubs making strides in the right direction. The Halos had just one compatriot in the ranking — the Minnesota Twins.

We agree with the ranking, but we're not sure that the Twins are an apt comparison. Minnesota has actually made a few coherent moves, which is more than we can say for the Angels.

The Angels' MLB.com tier ranking shows how incoherent their strategy has actually been

A key turning point for the franchise was 2024. They lost Shohei Ohtani in free agency leading up to that season, and really had no strategy once he walked out the door. Previously, it was clear that they were trying to compete, but had made bad choices (Anthony Rendon) and had bad luck (Mike Trout's numerous injuries). But after the Ohtani Era came to a close, it was impossible to see what the vision was.

A case in point was the 2024 trade deadline. The team went 41-55 in the first half of the season and should have been clear sellers at the trade deadline. While they traded away relievers Carlos Estevez and Luis Garcia, both of whom were in the final year of their contracts, they held on to even more valuable veteran assets who still had team control remaining.

For example, Luis Rengifo was a hot commodity. They held onto him, watched his value turn to dust, and watched him walk for nothing this winter. Tyler Anderson had just been named an All-Star for the second time in three years, but then bombed in the second half and had a rough 2025, nuking any and all value. Taylor Ward could have fetched much more if moved then than he did this winter.

That all would have been fine if they spent big during the 2024-2025 offseason, but they didn't. Yusei Kikuchi was the biggest contract they handed out at three years, $63 million. He's been fine, but he isn't the ace they needed. This offseason was even worse.

Now let's compare them to the Twins. Minnesota traded away several prime chips with team control, like Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, at last year's deadline to infuse their farm system with talent. While it was curious that they didn't continue their sell-off this winter, and they didn't really make many significant veteran additions, it's far from the sins that the Angels have committed, if for no other reason than the fact that top trade chips like Joe Ryan and Byron Buxton still have significant team control if moved at the deadline.

Minnesota also has a top-10 farm system, ranking ninth in the 2026 preseason rankings. The Angels have a much more barren pipeline, coming in at No. 28. The point being, the Twins can easily pivot to a full-on rebuild and be well set up for the future. The same can't be said for Los Angeles.

Instead, Halos fans are left to watch a team that won't pick a lane. They refused to make any significant multi-year free-agent signings over the winter, and still don't have a talented crop of MLB-ready prospects. If you're not going to spend and you have no farm system, you're in purgatory, and it becomes clear that not only do we on the outside not know the plan, the club's architects don't know it either. In that regard, the Angels truly have no peers.