Angels' rival's big offseason offensive additions sure look like busts so far

The Angels may have been swept at the hands of the Texas Rangers as the two division foes met for the first time in April, however, the Halos got an up close look at the Rangers two big offensive additions from the offseason, and came away unimpressed.

In recent years, the AL West landscape has been a challenging once for the Halos. The Astros have been perennial contenders for the better part of the last decade. The Mariners boast possibly the best starting rotation in all of baseball. The Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series largely on the strength of an extremely potent offense that carried them deep into October as they emerged as the last team standing.

Only the penny-pinching Athletics have stood by the Angels' side in the AL West cellar. However, as the Astros have taken a clear step back, the Rangers made significant moves to rectify the offensive plunge the team suffered in 2024. The Halos got a first-hand look at the Rangers' new offensive toys and came away unimpressed during the teams' first head-to-head matchup.

The Angels are laughing at the early returns the Rangers have received from prized offseason additions Joc Pederson and Jake Burger

During the Rangers' World Series run in 2023, they ranked among the league's best in nearly every offensive category. The team ranked third in runs (881), fourth in homers (233), third in slugging (.452), and third in OPS (.790).

However, in 2024, most of those numbers fell by the wayside. The Rangers' slugging fell to .380, only 11 points better than the Angels' putrid performance without Mike Trout for the majority of the season. Their homer total fell to 176 (18th in the league), while they ranked 18th in runs with 683. The team's OPS fell to a pitiful .686, which ranked 23rd.

As a result, the Rangers made two big additions in hopes of returning to their offensive glory. First, Texas traded for former Miami Marlins first baseman Jake Burger, and then quickly followed that move up by signing outfielder/DH Joc Pederson to a two-year, $37 million deal.

Burger, 29, was coming off two stellar years of power production. After splitting his season between the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins in 2023 and popping 34 dingers, Burger followed up that performance in 2024 with 29 long balls for the Marlins.

Meanwhile, Pederson, now in his age-33 season, has built a career on the skill of mashing right-handed pitching, and was coming off a career best 151 wRC+ with Arizona last season. During that campaign he also batted .275/.393/.515 with 23 homers.

However, so far in 2025, to say these two prized additions have been underwhelming would be an understatement. Burger is hitting just .188/.224/.313 with two homers and a laughably low 1.5% walk rate. Meanwhile, Nathaniel Lowe, the player he replaced, has been completely competent in his new digs, posting a .268/.350/.465 line that the Rangers wish they were receiving from the first base position.

As for Pederson, his -32 wRC+ on the season based on his horrendous .055/.148/.073 line is the worst mark in all of baseball among hitters with at least 60 plate appearances and would make even Tim Anderson blush.

Getting swept by a division rival is never a good look, but the Angels clearly saw that, as of now, Texas is not the feared offensive juggernaut many predicted. Those shortcomings, combined with the clear step back the Astros took over the offseason, make this division race pretty much wide open. If the Angels can solve their own offensive woes quickly, they might be able to surprise a lot of focus as the season unfolds. At the very least, they'll get to laugh at the Rangers' misfortune.

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