Angels News: Long-tenured reliever re-signs, LAA back in familiar AL West position

The Angels were so close to showing fans that they were not a house of cards, but they found themselves completely unraveling in August. Many fans must be wondering how this team actually became a fringe, dark horse Wild Card contender not that long ago. Well, there are several reasons for it. One of them -- the bullpen went from atrocious early in the season to not that bad during the middle portion of the year.

While Kenley Jansen and Reid Detmers were the standout performers for two months from the beginning of May until the beginning of July, the entire unit meshed well together. Connor Brogdon was a major part of that unit despite not always finding individual success, and there were some recent developments between the Angels and the 30-year-old righty.

Angels News: Long-tenured reliever re-signs

The Angels decided to remove Brogdon from the MLB roster recently, DFAing a pitcher who had spent approximately three months on the roster. Well, for depth's sake they re-signed him to a MiLB deal and he will report to Triple-A Salt Lake. Brogdon was signed during the offseason and opened the season with the Bees, and now will find himself back in Utah for the time being.

The Angels relievers had a great thing going for a long portion of the 2025 season when the bullpen was made up of Kenley Jansen, Reid Detmers, Ryan Zeferjahn, Brock Burke, Hunter Strickland, Sam Bachman, Héctor Neris and Brogdon. From May 7th (when Connor Brogdon made his Angels debut) until July 7th, the Angels' relievers posted a 23.4% K% (8th best mark), .236 BAA (10th best) and the team went 30-26 (the 9th most wins).

The Angels' pitching is the main reason for the season going from promising to disastrous. Brogdon has not been the most sterling pitcher, but at least the bullpen peaked while he was a part of it.

Angels News: LAA back in familiar AL West position

Remember when the 2025 season was a massive achievement for the Los Angeles Angels? The team was surpassing everybody's expectations, and remained in playoff contention for far longer than anybody expected. Yes, the team has seen several player reach high highs like Zach Neto, Taylor Ward, Yusei Kikuchi, Kenley Jansen, Jo Adell and José Soriano. However, the team is once again in last place of the division.

Not only are the Angels in dead-last in the AL West, their run differential is completely shot. The Halos stand at a -107 run margin, which is good (mostly bad) for third worst in MLB -- only the Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies have worse marks. Angels fans can thank a 20-3 loss to the Rangers and nearly getting no-hit by the Astros for their recent free fall in this category.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout