It’s been a quiet season for the Angels and they’re currently projected to open 2026 with a significantly lower payroll than last year. What is unclear is whether they plan to use that difference to make a move before the season starts or if they are simply cutting costs.
The Halos started the new season with some early saves. A number of players are hitting free agency, taking money off the books. 2025 was the last year Tyler AndersonA three-year, $39MM deal, which paid him $13MM per year. Kenley JansenA $10MM one-year deal continued, among others.
Some of the savings would be offset by increased arbitration Taylor Ward. He made $7.825MM in 2025 and was expected to nearly double that, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz tipping him to jump to $13.7MM in 2026. The Halos avoided that by trading Ward to the Orioles in mid-November, just a few weeks into the season. In return, they receive Grayson Rodrigueza former elite athlete who struggled to stay healthy. Since Rodriguez hasn’t reached a settlement, they essentially wipe Ward’s entire projected salary from the 2026 payroll.
Not long after that, in late November, it was reported that the Angels were trying to make some kind of financial arrangement with Anthony Rendon. The perennially injured third baseman was due $38MM in 2026, the final year of his seven-year, $245MM contract. It took a few months for everything to be settled but both parties finally agreed that they would pay the money in five years even in installments. Halo will pay Rendon $7.6MM this year instead of $38MM. That will cost them more in future seasons but free up over $30MM in the short term.
That led to hopes that the club was clearing the field for something bolder, but that didn’t materialise. The Angels have offered major league deals to six free agents, all one-year deals, none worth more than $5MM. Brent Suter earned $1.25MM, Jordan Romano again Alec Manoah $2MM each, Drew Pomeranz again Yoan Moncada $4MM each, too Kirby Yates $5MM. Combined, those six deals add up to $18.25MM.
All things considered, where does that leave the Angels? RosterResource projects them at $181MM in salary, though that includes Rendon’s full salary of $38MM. They opened last year with $204MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. That means they would have more than $20MM in cap space compared to last year, before they factor in the savings for Rendon. They probably want to put some of Rendon’s money aside for deferred payment but assuming they have some extra dry powder in the short term.
Perhaps the plan all along was to wait until the end of the winter, as long-term unsigned free agents often have to deal with below-market deals. Indeed, the tide has shifted in that direction recently. Since the beginning of February, notable free agent deals have all come in below what MLBTR predicted at the start of the offseason.
Eugenio Suárez was slated for $63MM over three years but was paid $15MM for a one-year contract. Framber Valdez it was slated for $150MM over three years but got $115MM over three. Zac Gallen it was projected at $80MM over four years but settled for one year and $22.025MM, with significant delays. Chris Bassitt was slated for $38MM over two years but got a one-year deal worth $18.5MM. Nick Martinez was projected for $25MM over two but received $13MM in a one-year deal with the Rays. Justin Verlander he was always expected to get one year because of his age, but his heavily deferred $13MM deal with the Tigers was well below his projected $22MM.
There aren’t many free agents left at this stage of the calendar, but one area with a little meat left on the bone is starting to flex. Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell, Max Scherzer while others remain unsigned. Giolito was projected for two years and $32MM at the start of the offseason but won’t get that now. Littell’s projection was slightly less than $24MM over two years. Like Verlander, Scherzer’s age will tie him to one-year discounts. MLBTR estimated $15MM in the fall but that doesn’t seem likely now.
The Angels added Rodriguez and Manoah to the rotation but there is room for another arm. Yusei Kikuchi projects as a chart topper. Jose Soriano it will be there. Soriano is coming off a healthy season but has a long injury history. Rodriguez and Manoah have not played in the last two years. Reid Detmers will have the opportunity to return to change but be freed in 2025. Everyone in that group except Kikuchi can be selected from the minors.
Maybe the Angels want to strike in that department, but it is also possible that they have been cutting salaries because of them. The Angels are one of nine teams to cut deals with Main Street Sports as the company appears to be in dire financial straits. Earlier this month, six out of nine voted for MLB to host its broadcasts in 2026. The angels followed suit a week later.
As recently as 2023, the Angels were receiving an expected annual revenue of approximately $125MM from their regional sports network (RSN) deal. Main Street, formerly known as Diamond Sports Group, was in bankruptcy proceedings and withdrew the Angels in 2025. The two sides agreed a new deal last season but for a lower fee. That was supposed to be a three-year contract but, as mentioned, the Angels and several other clubs cut ties with the company not long ago.
Now that the Angels seem to be going the MLB route, that should be another hit. MLB.com’s Travis Sawchik reported in January that teams that lost their RSN deals are now getting about 50% of the revenue they used to get from those deals.
Perhaps owner Arte Moreno’s answer to that drop in revenue is a drop in wages. That would be a disappointing situation for the team and its fans. The Angels are the team with the longest hitting streak, dating back to 2014. They won 72 games last year, finishing ahead of the Twins and White Sox in the American League. They look like one of the weakest clubs going into 2026. FanGraphs’ Projected Standings have them second from the bottom in the AL, just ahead of the Sox. PECOTA’s ranking in Baseball Prospectus is even worse, placing the Halos behind Chicago.
Long-term help may not be available. The club has a habit of using top-level draft picks and rushing them to the senior levels, which has contributed to an underserved farm system. Baseball America ranks their program 28th out of 30 clubs in the majors. ESPN ranks them 27th and The Athletic 29th.
Signing someone like Giolito or Littell won’t solve every concern the franchise has right now, but it will lift a team that is below sea level for now. In this part of the calendar, it’s all or nothing. Based on how the offseason went, the smart money might be on nothing.
Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images
