State of the LA Angels hits concerning low after conclusion of 2024 season

2024 is over. It could not have gone much worse for the Los Angeles Angels.

First and foremost, the Angels' 63-99 record was the worst in franchise history. Be it the California Angels, Anaheim Angels, or Los Angeles Angels, no Angels team had a worse single season record.

The injuries piled up, the 40 man roster has about 50 players on it. Of the Angels position players and pitchers who remained relatively healthy, Zach Neto was the only 3+ win player on the roster. They somehow finished worse than the Oakland A's, a team whose fans were openly revolting against ownership the entire season. To their credit, Angels fans were loyal this season, despite losing Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout only playing 29 games.

When the Angels look around the league, it gets even bleaker. The Detroit Tigers and the Angels were both tied at nine consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, the longest streak in MLB. They were also tied for the second longest mark in North American sports. The Angels now stand alone. In early August, the Tigers had a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs and accomplished that incredible feat. As a franchise that consistently has a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs, the Angels are surely bummed that the Tigers could pull this off and not them. The Kansas City Royals were right behind the Angels with eight straight seasons of missing the postseason, and they made the playoffs as well.

While the AL West is a relatively winnable division moving forward, it's hard to believe the Angels can compete anytime soon. The Mariners' rotation just had one of the best seasons ever. The Astros are inevitable. The Rangers have an incredibly high payroll, a winning pedigree, and key players returning from injury-ravaged seasons. Furthermore, the Angels have either the 29th or 30th ranked farm system, depending on where you look. Their MLB and MiLB talent is lacking, and it renders them unable to round out their roster with passable depth. Due to the lack of success at the major league level and an owner who seemingly refuses to spend any more money on the roster, free agents are no longer enticed by playing in the Big A alongside Trout.

Lastly, there's a guy on the team across the freeway who is playing pretty well. Shohei Ohtani, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is making the playoffs for the first time in his career. He will also win his third MVP, after leading the National League in plate appearances (727), home runs (54), RBIs (130), OBP (.391), SLG (.649), OPS (1.040), and OPS+ (191). He lead all of baseball with 134 runs scored and 410 total bases.

Between a league worst farm system, their worst record ever, the Tigers doing what the Angels could not, and Shohei Ohtani thriving elsewhere, the Angels surely wore it this season. It cannot get any worse than this...right?