Grading the 7 major Angels offseason acquisitions 1 month into the season

The Angels were aggressive over the offseason, bringing in new faces both via free agency and trade. All of these major new additions came with a certain degree of expectations. All were accomplished big leaguers with a wealth of experience brought in to fill certain roles.

The season is now a month old, and while that month has been a rollercoaster ride for the Halos that has left many scratching their heads trying to figure out what this team is, we now have a large enough sample to begin judging which moves were successes and which appear to be big whiffs.

A long road still lies ahead, so opinions may change as spring turns to summer and summer turns to fall. However, while things may change moving forward, we still have a large amount of data on how each player has performed relative to his expectations and role to date.

When evaluating these acquisitions, a few salient points must be considered. For starters, it's important to consider that the team's ultimate goal is to be competitive while developing their young core. Secondly, it's important to consider who else was on the market at a similar price point to fill the same role.

Lastly, it's important to keep in mind what the player's role is and calibrate expectations accordingly. A player signed to be the backup catcher, for example, would have very different expectations than one signed to be the starting DH. Without further ado, let's dive in and grade the Angels' major offseason additions.

Grading the Angels' signing of Yusei Kikuchi to serve as the team's ace

The Angels struck early to bring Yusei Kikuchi into the fold to anchor the rotation, agreeing to a three-year, $63 million deal with the Japanese southpaw. Instantly, Kikuchi became one of the most important Angels heading into 2025.

The move was somewhat of a head-scratcher at the time. Kikuchi entered 2025 with six MLB seasons under his belt and a career 4.57 ERA, hardly top-of-the-rotation material, let alone an ace. However, he seemed to be unlocked following a series of adjustments made after being acquired at last year's trade deadline by the Houston Astros, posting a 2.70 ERA in 10 starts and 60 innings down the stretch.

So far, the results for Kikuchi have been mixed. He has struggled with walks, his 5.17 BB/9 is third worst among 83 qualified starters through April 27th, and his 8.04 K/9 is the worst mark of his career since 2019, his first year stateside.

Despite these struggles, he had ranged from slightly below average outings to some legitimately good ones, avoiding any truly disastrous ones, until the April 26th start, where he was chased after just two innings, allowing nine hits, four walks, and four earned runs, failing to record a strikeout along the way. On the season, his ERA currently sits at 4.31.

The Angels were never going to swim in the deep end of the free agent market, so prizes like Corbin Burnes and Max Fried were never serious considerations. Still, the Angels inked Kikuchi before most of the next tier of starters signed, indicating that he was a priority.

That may have been a mistake. While there are some signings that the jury is still out on, the Angels decided to pay Kikuchi over several other options that look like better bets thus far. Luis Severino (3.49 ERA), Jack Flaherty (2.63 ERA), and Nick Pivetta (1.20 ERA) all signed at similar price points and appear to be better bets thus far. On the flipside, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas also signed in the same range and have yet to pitch this season.

There's a lot of season left, but thus far the returns on Kikuchi have been pretty underwhelming.

Grade: D+

Grading the trade for Jorge Soler to solidify the Angels' DH role

The Angels' DH spot was a disaster in 2024 as 16 different players played at least two games in the offense-only role and posted a stomach-turning .206/.284/.323 line. To say an upgrade was essential is the understatement of the century.

Jorge Soler was acquired for basically nothing, as disappointing starter Griffin Canning was sent to Perry Minasian's favorite trade partner, the Atlanta Braves, and subsequently non-tendered shortly after the trade last Halloween. The urgency with which the Angels struck just further underscores the dire straits the position had been in.

Soler isn't a perfect hitter, but he's established himself as one of the better right-handed power threats over his 10-year career. For a team that ranked 28th in the majors with an impotent .369 slugging percentage last season, a power infusion was a huge need.

The results so far, however, have been a bit concerning. Soler has always been strikeout-prone, but in his best years, he has kept the K's in check, generally sitting in the 24-26% range; however, this season his K-rate has soared to an unmanageable 31.8%. Compounding matters, his normally healthy walk rate (10.5%) has fallen off a cliff, sitting at just 4.7% through the first month.

He's clubbed four homers to date, but the total package, a .237/.290/.423 line has been good for just a 101 wRC+. Packaged up with non-existent defensive contributions, the veteran masher has been worth -0.1 fWAR.

The designated hitter market wasn't exactly flush over the offseason. "Top options" like J.D. Martinez and Matt Carpenter remain unsigned. The best comp for Soler, who is under contract through 2026 with a $16 million AAV, is Joc Pederson, who signed a two-year, $37 million deal with the rival Texas Rangers.

Pederson, arguably a better fit for the Angels due to his power from the left side, has been downright horrid this season with a .077/.189/.108 and has been worth -0.9 fWAR.

Given the dearth of options available, the low cost of acquisition, and the track record that suggests he can find his groove, Soler, while disappointing, hasn't been that bad.

Grade: C-

Grading the signing of Kenley Jansen to lock down the Angels' closer role

The Angels were going to roll young in the bullpen, regardless, but the signing of veteran Kenley Jansen provided a much-needed veteran mentor amidst the sea of inexperienced arms.

At 37-years-old, Jansen may be a few seasons removed from his peak as arguably the best reliever in all of baseball, but the big righty has proven over the last few seasons that he is still a more than serviceable closer, recording 27 saves, a 3.29 ERA, and a 3.00 FIP last season with the Boston Red Sox.

His one-year, $10 million deal is a fair value for what he is at this point, especially given the exploding contracts for back-of-the-bullpen arms like the four-year, $72 million deal Tanner Scott signed with the crosstown rival Dodgers this offseason.

Jansen is motivated this season. He's putting the finishing touches on his Hall of Fame candidacy and working on rewriting the record books as he climbs the all-time saves leaderboard, looking to join the ranks of the immortal closers in baseball history.

So far this season, he's been mostly vintage Kenley Jansen. Through April 27th, he's made eight appearances, working eight scoreless innings and posting a 1.78 FIP, his best mark since 2017 when he finished fifth in the NL Cy Young voting.

There are still some areas of concern. Jansen's sporting an unsustainably high 100% left on base rate, and his K/9 has dipped to just 9.00, well shy of his career 12.62 mark and by far the lowest rate of his career.

Despite this, when you consider that more volatile and less reliable high-leverage relievers like Aroldis Chapman (one year, $10.75 million) and Kirby Yates (one year, $13 million), Jansen looks like an incredible value.

He certainly won't remain perfect over the course of the season, but Jansen has been one hell of a signing for the Halos.

Grade: A

Grading the Angels' veteran backup additions, Kevin Newman and Travis d'Arnaud

Depth has long been an area that plagued the Angels, and the lack of quality depth was never more apparent than in 2024's franchise-worst 63-99 campaign that saw injuries to several key players. The Halos replaced their wounded with non-major league caliber talent, and the losses piled up.

As a result, both Kevin Newman and Travis d'Arnaud were snatched up in the offseason to fill those key bench roles with the hope being that not only could they spell the regulars once in a while, but also hold down the fort for a few weeks in case of injury.

Newman had been exactly that for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024, posting a .278/.311/.375 line, which paired with very good defense to produce 1.4 fWAR in 111 games. d'Arnaud similarly was solid for the Atlanta Braves, popping 15 homers to go with a .238/.302/.436 ledger and solid defense behind the plate, racking up 1.8 fWAR in 99 games.

d'Arnaud joined the Angels with the expectation that he'd provide some invaluable intangible contributions, as the hope was the battle-tested 36 year old would use his veteran savvy to help boost the pitching staff as well as mentor Logan O'Hoppe, a key cog in the Halos' burgeoning young core.

The returns have not been good after the first month, with Newman hitting just .125/.125/.125 and watching minor league free-agent signing and complete and total reclamation project, Tim Anderson, steal the majority of the shortstop reps as star Zach Neto began the season on the shelf.

As for d'Arnaud, he's been worth -0.3 fWAR as he sits homerless on the year and has struggled in all facets offensively with a .156/.176/.212 performance. Meanwhile, a couple of other veteran catchers signed for nearly identical deals and have put up significantly better numbers.

Kyle Higashioka signed with the Texas Rangers and has put up a completely acceptable .260/.288/.380 line as a backup catcher, meanwhile, Carson Kelly has been demolishing baseballs for the Chicago Cubs to the tune of a .341/.517/.854 line with six home runs. Both signed two-year deals in the $6 million AAV range, just like d'Arnaud.

With both of these key bench pieces woefully underperforming, it looks as though the Angels misfired with these additions, though the sample sizes are still pretty small given the lack of everyday at-bats they receive. They'll need to turn it around quickly, however, to prove they weren't complete and total busts.

Grade: D-

Grading the signing of Kyle Hendricks to bring stability and veteran leadership to the back end of the Angels' starting rotation

The Angels inked former World Series champion Kyle Hendricks to an extremely economical one-year, $2.5 million contract over the offseason in their efforts to remake the starting rotation. Hendricks was once one of the best pitchers in baseball and led the National League in ERA back in 2016, but has been on a steep decline in recent years.

Last season, the now-35-year-old put up a grotesque 5.92 ERA over 130.2 innings for the Chicago Cubs, the only team he'd played for prior to this season. Still, Hendricks has been renowned for his knowledge of the art of pitching despite always possessing middling stuff. His average fastball velocity, for example, has never reached 90 miles per hour in his career, and instead, he's found success with pinpoint location and changing speeds and locations.

That reputation, in concert with the cheap price tag, may have been what enticed the Angels, who figure to have a lot of young pitchers cycle through the staff this year and could use a veteran mentor to teach them the art of pitching.

Still, some sort of production on the mound is a requirement, and despite a pair of promising early starts, the wheels have started to fall off for the crafty veteran. Never a strikeout artist, Hendricks has seen his BB/9 soar to 4.70, a stark contrast from his career mark of 2.11, and in the process, his ERA has ballooned to a putrid 6.65 over his first five starts and 23 innings pitched.

Given that, with the exception of 2023 (3.74 ERA), Hendricks has posted ERAs of 4.77 over the past four seasons, perhaps these struggles should come as no surprise.

The saving grace here is that Hendricks is making peanuts, so at any point, the team can easily move on without taking too much of a financial hit. However, his addition is emblematic of the main issue with the Angels' offseason strategy as a whole -- taking half measures by hoping cheaper alternatives would rise to the occasion and fill crucial roles.

This was true of signing Kikuchi to be an ace, leaving Soler as the only significant addition to the lineup, and taking the cheap route to rebuild the back of the rotation.

For the money Hendricks received, it's hard to complain too much, however, you'd still like to see more from a team that's struggled to put together a competent starting rotation for many, many years.

Grade: D+

Grading the Angels' signing of Yoan Moncada to replace the perpetually injured Anthony Rendon at third base

In what was a surprise to no one, famed albatross Anthony Rendon underwent hip surgery and was declared out for a lengthy, but undetermined, amount of time in the lead-up to spring training. The news was a blessing in disguise for the Angels, who knew they weren't going to get anything of value from the owner of the worst contract in baseball history, and could now use his roster spot on another player who may actually contribute.

The team struck quickly and inked former no. 1 overall prospect Yoan Moncada to a one-year $5 million deal. Moncada, despite some flashes, never really lived up to his billing as a top prospect, and had struggled in recent years with injuries and inconsistencies. In 2024,his season was basically lost, playing just 12 games while dealing with a hip injury of his own.

A strange thumb injury in spring training put his opening day status in doubt, and despite seemingly overcoming the malady, his time on the active roster was short-lived. After just eight games, Moncada landed on the IL with the same injury that plagued him in spring training. He posted a strange .190/.370/.286 line over his 27 plate appearances, was buoyed entirely by his stellar but unsustainable 22.2% walk rate.

Normally, you'd give an incomplete to a player who suffered an injury so early on, but with Moncada, this was part of the deal going in. The Angels knew the risk and rolled the dice anyway because he was a cheaper alternative than a player like Alex Bregman, who would've been a real solution to the hot corner conundrum.

Yet again, the Angels' unwillingness to truly invest has come back to bite them, and while the injury shouldn't keep Moncada out for much longer, it seems only a matter of time before the oft-injured infielder hits the IL again. In the meantime, whether or not he can produce at an acceptable clip is still a very open question.

Grade: D+

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