Angels reunite with a familiar face as offseason options for team dwindle

The Los Angeles Angels have certainly painted themselves into a corner this offseason. Fans were understandably excited to see the team get Anthony Rendon out of the picture, but there has been very little when it comes to making the team actually better. Sure, they did manage to strike an early trade for Grayson Rodriguez, but he is a wild card, and the move cost them Taylor Ward. The trade for Josh Lowe helps, but no one expects him to save the day.

At this point, it is clear that Arte Moreno and the front office don't view getting rid of Rendon as a chance to reinvest in the roster, but a sunk cost that will have to be paid by their 2026 payroll. As a result, the odds are good that it will be minor moves the rest of the way, and one such move came on Wednesday night when the Angels reunited with Yoan Moncada.

Angels reunite with Yoan Moncada as Angels continue to try to assemble something resembling a roster

Obviously, Angels fans are familiar with Moncada as he took the field for LA for 84 games last season. Unfortunately, long gone are the days when Moncada was one of the more athletic players in MLB, as the years and injuries piled up. Moncada was pretty decent overall with a .783 OPS across 289 plate appearances, although the .234 batting average left something to be desired.

So why did the Angels bring Moncada back? The answer is simple: he's cheap, and they know him. Moncada is only getting $4 million on a one-year deal, which is basically nothing in the modern game of baseball. For a team that does not seem interested in adding much payroll, getting a MLB quality bat for that much is a no-brainer.

With that move, it is starting to feel like the offseason is officially winding down. The vast majority of the big names are now off the market, other than Framber Valdez, and the odds are small that LA will get seriously involved there. Unfortunately, this Angels roster looks like one that is going to need to take some big steps forward themselves, as help from the front office and ownership was lacking once again.