Oswald Peraza's brutal slump leaves Angels facing uncertainty during the second half

The Los Angeles Angels had their fair share of nice stories earlier this season, but a lot of those narratives have faded. José Soriano is no longer a Cy Young contender and second baseman Oswald Peraza has completely fallen off a cliff after a promising start.

At the end of May, Peraza was hitting a respectable .277/.339/.465 on the season. Over his last 30 games, however, he has really struggled and is hitting a meager .180/.186/.240. That drop-off has brought his overall slash line to .239/.283/.378. He has just seven home runs and 53 RBI.

Perhaps this dip in production shouldn’t be entirely surprising since he didn't put up great numbers during the last three seasons. He has enough speed, and his versatility as a fielder makes him a useful part of the Angels roster, but if he's not hitting then his place in the lineup could quickly be up for grabs.

When he was hitting well, Peraza was a player who some were talking about as a potential extension candidate for the Halos earlier in the season.

Angels may have to pivot after Oswald Peraza's midesason struggles

The Angels will have to decide what to do at second base during the second half of the 2026 season. They could allow Peraza try to work through his struggles, but at a certain point they might as well give some other players opportunities.

In past years it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Angels fast track a top prospect from Double-A like Nick Rodriguez to see if he could handle major league pitching. But with the team under new leadership, it appears that John Mozeliak prefers to be much more patient with its prospects.

Vaughn Grissom has been playing well enough this season to garner more playing time, so maybe the Angels will make him more of a permanent fixture at second base and move Peraza to the bench. 

The Angels have to start thinking about the future and unless Peraza turns things around in a big way, he is looking less and less like a part of the team’s future.

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