Let the Chaos Begin: Angels Gear Up for an Eventful Winter Meetings

Written By Bryan Whitfield

Angels Articles

December 7, 2025 - Written by Bryan Whitfield

It's that Time of the Year!

Fans of teams across all of baseball have patiently been waiting for their team to make that splash this offseason. Angel fans, are no different, we crave for Arte Moreno to open up that check book and let Perry Minasian spend on a proven talent. Thankfully, the busiest time of the year has arrived as the Winter Meetings get underway later today.

For those of you that don't know, the Winter Meetings are typically where the most action from MLB organizations happens in the offseason as executives, player agents, media members and some free agents all gather in one place. This year, the meetings are held in Orlando, Florida! This year's Winter Meetings will run from December 7th through the 11th, we likely won't see much action today as this is primarily a travel day for most people attending the event in Orlando. Hopefully, we should see a flurry of moves start Monday and go through the week.

What Have the Angels Done so Far

The Angels have supplemented their roster by making two moves so far this offseason, one by trade, the other a free agent signing.

  • On October 18th, the team traded fan favorite outfielder, Taylor Ward, to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for right-handed pitcher, Grayson Rodriguez.

  • On December 2nd, the Angels announced they had signed former AL CY Young finalist, Alek Manoah to a 1-year deal worth $1.95M.

A Look into the Angels Needs

The team still has plenty of holes as Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported tonight, the Angels are continuing their pursuit for rotation help and states, “Ideally, the Angels would acquire another high-end starter and at least one long man/spot starter type.” He also said in the article that the Angels want to add another SP, CF, 3B and address their bullpen, buyout discussions with Anthony Rendon also are ongoing and continue.

Perry Minasian has also vocally said he'd like to add a left-handed bat this offseason. The team could also use a corner outfielder and a few relievers to bolster their rotation with Kenley Jansen, Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia all having hit free agency at the end of the 2025 season.

Starting Pitchers

There are a decent amount of talented starters on the Free Agent Market. The upper echelon includes Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, Tatsuya Imai, Michael King and Zac Gallen. Valdez, Suarez, King and Gallen are all tied to a qualifying offer meaning the Angels would have to forfeit their 2nd round pick, some bonus pool money and international money. The Angels have been linked to both Michael King and Zac Gallen so there is a chance they sign a played with the qualifying offer.

There are quite a few mid tier starting pitchers available including Tyler Mahle, Chris Bassitt, Merrill Kelly, Zach Eflin, Zack Littell, along with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer as well as former Angel, Lucas Giolito. Of these players the Angels have reported interest in Chris Bassitt. Tyler Mahle makes a lot of sense in this group as he was someone who Angels pitching coach, Mike Maddux loved and advocated for the Rangers to bring him back this offseason prior to him joining the Angels staff.

Third Baseman

The third base market is very top heavy with the likes of Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suarez and possibly Bo Bichette as well if he is open to moving to third-base. Japenese imports, Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto are also free agents to note at the position, however most scouts have neither being a clear cut third-baseman moving forward in their career. Other free agents include Jorge Polanco, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Ramón Urias, and Miguel Andujar. According to Taylor Blake Ward of the Sporting Tribune, the Angels and Kazuma Okamoto had mutual interest early in the offseason, it's unknown if that is still the case. If the Angels don't land one of these free agents, they could also look to reunite with Yoán Moncada or Luis Rengifo who are also both free agents this offseason.

Outfielders

Just like third-base, the outfield market is also fairly top heavy with Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker highlighting the top end of this class. The Angels have been linked to Bellinger this offseason however Jon Heyman of the NY Post states, Bellinger may prefer to play for a competitive team, so the Halos may have to overpay to land the left-handed outfielder. Other outfielders on the market include the likes of Harrison Bader, Ryan O'Hearn, Mike Yastrzemski, Lane Thomas, Adolis Garcia, Max Kepler, Michael Conforto and JJ Bleday. Bader is someone that would be a great option for the Halos as he's known for his defensive capabilities and speed, he is also coming off a fairly good offensive season between his time with the Twins and Phillies.

Relief Market

The relief market so far this offseason has been pretty inflated due to the signings of Raisel Iglesias, Ryan Helsley and Devin Williams. There are no shortage of leverage arms on the market with Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez highlighting the top of this class. Others include former Angel, Kenley Jansen along with Tyler Rogers, Pete Fairbanks, Kyle Finnegan, Shawn Armstrong, and Luke Weaver. My hope would be for the Angels to land at least one of those guys with Kenley Jansen being the preference here. With the market being inflated, he could get about $13M in AAV. However he is 38 years old so he likely will be limited to a 1-year deal. Jansen did express a willingness to return to the Angels at the end of the 2025 season. Some sneaky additions on the lower end of the market include Steven Matz, Jakob Junis, Seranthony Domínguez, Tyler Kinley, Jason Foley, Scott Barlow, Pierce Johnson and Evan Phillips. Now of course, the Angels could look to reunite with Andrew Chafin or Luis Garcia this offseason as well who are both free agents and were pretty successful once they came over at the deadline.

The Trade Market

Perry Minasian has already tapped into the trade market this offseason acquiring Grayson Rodriguez, however its very possible that won't be the only trade the team makes this offseason. Some interesting names that could be available on the trade market for starting pitchers include MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, Mitch Keller, Pablo López, Freddy Peralta, Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Kodai Senga and Luis Severino. Gore, Ryan, Peralta, Alcantara and possibly even Senga would likely cost a decent amount with top prospects being involved such Nelson Rada, George Klassen, Tyler Bremner, Ryan Johnson, Joswa Lugo or even youngsters who are no longer considered prospects like Caden Dana or Christian Moore.

In terms of position players, Ketel Marte, Jarren Duran, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Bohm, Jake McCarthy, Alek Thomas, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Brandon Lowe, Jeff McNeil, and Steven Kwan are all interesting names that could be available among many other. The Angels were once linked to Nolan Arenado last offseason, so its possible they try to acquire him this offseason. They could kill two birds with one stone if Lars Nootbaar is part of that trade as well.

Important Events During the Winter Meetings-

Sunday Dec. 7th- Contemporary Baseball Era Hall of Fame Results:

A 16-member comittee gathered to cast their votes on the Contemporary Baseball Era Hall of Fame Ballot, Jeff Kent was the only member elected to the Hall of Fame with 14 votes, 87.5%. Carlos Delgado had 9 votes, 56.3%. Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy had 6 votes, 37.5%. While Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela each received less than five votes meaning they will be ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration until the 2031-2032 cycle.

Tuesday Dec. 9th- 2026 MLB Draft Lottery:

The Rockies, Angels and Nationals are ineligible for this year's draft lottery and as a result can pick no earlier than 10, 11 and 12. The reasoning behind it, in the Angels case, is they are a bigger market club that pays into revenue sharing and due being selected last season and given the 2nd overall pick as a result they cannot move up this season.

Those in the Draft Lottery & their odds:

• White Sox – 27.73%

• Twins – 22.18%

• Pirates – 16.81%

• Orioles – 9.24%

• Athletics – 6.55%

• Braves – 4.54%

• Rays – 3.03%

• Cardinals – 2.35%

• Marlins – 1.85%

• Diamondbacks – 1.51%

• Rangers – 1.34%

• Giants – 1.01%

• Royals – 0.84%

• Mets – 0.67%

• Astros – 0.34%

Wednesday Dec. 10th- The Rule 5 Draft:

The Rule 5 Draft is the final event of the Winter Meetings and allows teams with an open 40-man roster spot the ability to select a player that was not protected on a teams 40-man roster. Teams that make a selection must add the selected player(s) to their 40-man roster immediately and keep them on their 26-man major league roster throughout the 2026 season. If they want to remove them off their 40-man roster at any point, they have to be offered back to their original team.

Last season, the Angels selected Garrett McDaniels from the Dodgers however did end up returning him to the Dodgers organization during the 2025 season.

Last Few Winter Meetings + Expectations

While the Angels havent done much aside acquiring relievers the 3 seasons, I expect them to fill more holes this time around. My expectation is they fill at least one hole plus add a reliever or two. Starting pitching seems to be the Angels top priority so dont be surprised if thats the big move they make during the meetings this week. It wouldn't shock me if the Angels sign one player tied to the qualifying offer whether that be a pitcher like Zac Gallen or Michael King or an offensive player like Bo Bichette. However, I dont envision they'll sign more than one player tied to the qualifying offer. This upcoming draft is much more deep than other drafts so Perry Minasian might not want to give up a draft pick or bonus pool money by signing one of those players. My guess, they sign Zac Gallen or Michael King.

Let the Fun Begin!

The Winter Meetings are officially underway, so let the fun begin! The Angels have plenty of holes to fill and also have talks about making a deal to buyout Anthony Rendon's contract which would give them more money to spend this offseason. Hopefully the Rendon buyout happens early this week and allows them to spend, spend, spend! This one is shaping up to be a lot more fun than previous Winter Meetings. ESPN Insider, Jeff Passan, has listed the Angels as the surprise team during the Winter Meetings. Come on Arte, Perry and Co. lets shock the baseball world!

Disclaimer : (1) All photos are not owned by InsideHalos and have been given proper credit beneath each photo. (2) Links of players are property of MLB, MiLB, and Baseball Reference. (3) InsideHalos is a fan-made site not affiliated with Angels Baseball.

Bryan Whitfield
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