Angels should be wary of signing former All Star linked to Anaheim

When the Angels made their first big move of the offseason by trading outfielder Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, they took a position overfilled with talent and traded it to help a rotation in desperate need of help. However, it did open up some holes in the depth of the Angels' outfield.

While Mike Trout and Jo Adell are exceptional, the names behind them are not the most encouraging. Jorge Soler can't really play defense at this point, and the minor league options the Angels have are largely unproven. Bringing back Gustavo Campero was a smart choice, but even he has never really found sustained success in the big leagues. The Angels would be wise to bring in either a true center fielder (which is a rich position this offseason) or at the very least build out some depth in the outfield depth. And one insider has them doing the latter by bringing in Ryan O'Hearn.

Angels predicted to sign Ryan O'Hearn by MLB insider

Ryan O'Hearn has been a rock solid hitter throughout his big league career for the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres. The 32-year old is coming off of a fantastic three year stretch where he posted an OPS of .788, hitting 64 doubles in the process. O'Hearn's style of hitting would balance out the lineup nicely, as the lefty takes a similar approach to Nolan Schanuel. A contact driven approach would be a welcome addition to the lineup that has a long of swing-and-miss outside of Schanuel. The only problem is on defense.

O'Hearn is listed as a first baseman and corner outfielder. And while that is technically true, O'Hearn started only 18 games in the outfield in 2025 between the Orioles and Padres. While his glove rates out exceptionally at first base, the same cannot be said for O'Hearn's defense on the outfield grass. And at 32-years old, there is some doubt his body could hold up as an everyday outfielder as well.

O'Hearn would be a perfectly suitable bench piece for the Angels, backing up Schanuel and serving as designated hitter. However, O'Hearn is predicted to land a deal in the two-year, $27 million range this offseason. That is too rich for an Angels team with much bigger holes to fill on their roster. If the team is going to sign O'Hearn, it would likely signal a Schanuel trade which the team has shown no interest in at this point. So while O'Hearn would be nice, there are simply more vital moves to be made by Perry Minasian and Arte Moreno this offseason.