Will any free agency signing or trade make Angels fans happy this offseason?

If there were a list of the most skeptical fanbases in baseball, Angels fans have to be right at the top. They are resigned to their favorite team's failures, and they should be! When you witness your team squander the careers of both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, you are entitled to perpetual grouchiness when the owner and general manager make assurances of change moving forward. Jeff Passan described the Angels' organization as possessing "festering institutional rot."

No perfect move exists as a cure-all for the Angels' laundry list of problems. There will not be a player worth around $700 million who could be a top five finisher in the Cy Young voting while also hitting 30+ home runs concurrently. The Angels might never find success while Arte Moreno owns the team, and it's certainly looking that way. It does not appear that Angels fans will ever buy hype, they need to see their team play well before they believe it.

Perry Minasian has pointed to the Kansas City Royals as an example of a franchise that was aggressive, spent money, and rounded out their roster well enough to make their first playoff appearance since they won the whole thing in 2015. Minasian did not say that just to say it, he is attempting to model their offseason after what they did a year ago. Kyle Hendricks will not turn into Seth Lugo or Michael Wacha, but their aggression thus far indicates that they are not done signing players. They certainly will continue acquiring pitching. Scott Kingery and Ryan Noda could be the Angels' version of Paul DeJong and Yuli Gurriel--solid players who can help contribute to winning from platoon roles.

At this point, any progress is good progress. Angels fans have been fed a lot of false hope and promises over the years, but there remains a scenario where they can appreciate the moves being made while not believing in the team. The 2024 Angels team was the worst ever, and they are doing what they can to remedy that situation by turning the roster over. That is objectively the right direction. Sure, be upset that the ownership, front office, coaching, and players caused an organizational nadir in 2024. Demand changes. Hold them to a high standard.

At a certain point, skepticism and bashing the Angels becomes over-the-top. The Angels traded a DFA candidate pitcher who allowed the most earned runs in the American League for an unabashed slugger who won a World Series MVP and remains an incredibly intimidating presence at the plate...and the reviews were mixed! You can praise positive offseason progress while still remaining dubious. Jorge Soler is not winning the MVP next season, but he is going to help.

It's always darkest right before the dawn, right?

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