How will the Angels’ batting lineup and pitching rotation shape up after recent trades ft. Mike Trout, Yusei Kikuchi, and Jorge Soler?

The Los Angeles Angels have been one of the busiest organizations this offseason so far. After suffering 99 losses last year, a franchise record, they have looked to strengthen their roster and depth by adding a number of free agents to go with a strong core that they have retained.

The heat is certainly on General Manager Perry Minasian to deliver after he signed an extension with the team. The club lost one of their biggest stars in Shohei Ohtani to free agency last season without gaining anything in return. But the ownership led by Arte Moreno has signalled the desire to remain one of the top teams.

The Angels will look forward to keeping two players, who have the biggest contracts with the team, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon healthy throughout next year. Zach Neto and Logan O'Hoppe are two players who have looked to be leading figures in a club needing plenty of motivation.

To this already established core, Los Angeles traded for Jorge Soler. He hit 21 home runs last season for the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves. In free agency, the Angels have so far added catcher Travis d'Arnaud, who holds a career .248 average. He can be used diligently along with O'Hoppe in a backstop-DH rotational role. They have also signed utility infielder Kevin Newman to a one-year contract. He hit .278 last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Halos pitching staff hasn't been the best in the last few seasons. But they received a boost with Yusei Kikuchi's three-year $63M contract. Kikuchi had an incredible second half this year recording 2.70 ERA in his ten regular season starts for the Houston Astros. Along with the Japanese arm, they also added veteran Kyle Hendricks for a one year $2.5M deal.

Angels GM signals team's intention to increase pitching depth

After the Halos locked in Yusei Kikcuhi, general manager Perry Minasian said the team had plans to boost their rotation further. Currently the rotation is being led by Tyler Anderson and Jose Soriano who managed 3.82 ERA and 3.41 ERA this past season.

“We'd love to add more, so we're not close-minded,” Minasian told the media. “We're going to keep following the trade market, following the free agent market and see where it goes. But the rotation is still a spot that if we feel like there's an improvement out there, we'll look to do it. There's plenty of areas to improve, and we'd also love the lengthen the lineup.”

Whatever team they end up with, Angels fans would hope that the quality on paper translates onto the field. They will hope to emulate the Kansas City Royals, who themselves made it to the playoffs after suffering 106 losses in 2023.