Angels interim general manager John Mozeliak met with the media before the Halos welcomed his former team, the Cardinals, to Angel Stadium on Monday. The veteran executive will oversee some kind of deadline sale off the American League’s worst roster.
How aggressive that’ll be remains to be seen. Mozeliak didn’t tip his hand beyond broadly indicating he’ll be open-minded. “Understanding the market and where that’s going, that’s … my biggest thing,” he told reporters (links via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com and Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register). “We can talk about X, Y, and Z, but if we don’t understand what the ROI should look like, we’re not quite there yet. We also don’t know what people are really willing to give up. So over the next two weeks, that is 100% our focus.”
There’s little doubt the Angels will look to move impending free agents like Kirby Yates and Brent Suter, but those modest prospect returns aren’t going to change the franchise outlook. The much bigger question is whether they’d listen on controllable trade assets. Starting pitchers Reid Detmers and José Soriano are their two biggest potential trade chips, assuming they don’t have any interest in moving shortstop Zach Neto.
Detmers and Soriano are each under arbitration control through 2028. Neto is controllable through the ’29 season. They’re the kind of players the Angels have refused to trade in previous seasons as they resist a full rebuild. Mozeliak has already said he doesn’t believe a complete rebuild is necessary, though he didn’t rule out listening to offers on controllable players.
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“Possibly,” he replied when asked broadly about the idea of making a bigger move. “But the real answer is what are we getting in returns, right? We could be presented with lots of deals that we just do not feel are in the best interest of this franchise. But my responsibility is to really understand what that looks like. Once we get there, I think we have to do what’s best for the franchise.”
Mozeliak’s own status is another wrinkle. He was hired last month when the Angels dismissed Perry Minasian. Mozeliak was officially brought in as a baseball operations consultant who’ll oversee the hiring of a new GM. He’s theoretically running the front office on an interim basis and only under contract through the end of the year. Angels owner Arte Moreno has a history of intervening in baseball decisions under previous full-time GMs — most famously pulling Shohei Ohtani off the trade market in 2022 and ’23.
A Detmers or Soriano trade wouldn’t be that kind of blockbuster, but they’re two of the organization’s most valuable players. Would Moreno allow an interim GM to handle a trade of that significance this summer? “I definitely feel like Mr. Moreno is trusting me to get this right,” Mozeliak replied when asked about his level of autonomy. “And so, that’s what I’m certainly going to try to do.”
Much of that depends on whether the Angels believe there’s a path to competitiveness in 2027. They have the worst record in the AL. Baseball America ranked their farm system 23rd earlier this month. (Those rankings were before the draft, in which the Angels selected high school two-way player Jared Gridlinger with the #12 overall pick.) They’re not going to lose much in free agency next offseason, but they don’t have a ton of upper minors talent looming beyond center fielder Nelson Rada.
“That’s a challenging task,” Mozeliak replied when asked about getting to contention in 2027. “Can I answer that like in a week and a half? I’m working through some things to sort of understand how to get there, and I don’t know.”
It’s fair to say that he hasn’t had much time to evaluate the organization. Mozeliak’s hiring seemingly came together quickly, and the unconventional timing threw him right into the fire with the draft taking immediate precedence. Their internal projected window is significant. Detmers and Soriano are controllable beyond next year, but the risk of pitching injuries is high enough that it’d behoove the Angels to move them this summer or in the offseason if they don’t expect to compete in 2027.
The Halos have already said they’re not trading Mike Trout. They could get modest interest in Jo Adell, who’d be due a raise on his $5.2MM salary if he’s tendered a contract for his final arbitration season. Adell has right-handed power and connected on 37 home runs as recently as last season, but his combination of low on-base marks and mediocre corner outfield defense limit the overall value. He’s hitting .240/.287/.393 with 14 longballs this season.
Pre-arbitration reliever Ryan Zeferjahn has big stuff and an excellent 32% strikeout rate across 46 innings. He’ll get some attention, but his near-16% walk rate is going to keep contenders from plugging him into high-leverage spots. The Dodgers sent a pair of mid-level prospects to the Rockies for hard-throwing reliever Seth Halvorsen this afternoon. The Angels should be able to get a similar return for the 28-year-old Zeferjahn if they wanted to cash him in.
