Although finishing in third place in the AL West, the Angels were four games worse in 2022 than they were in 2021. The Angels missed the postseason for the eighth straight season, even in the face of another set of stellar seasons from their two stars: Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.

Let’s start with Ohtani, who, if it wasn’t for Aaron Judge hitting 62 homers, would’ve (and should’ve) won his second consecutive AL MVP. Ohtani hit 34 home runs and 95 RBIs, with an .875 OPS and a 145 OPS+. On the mound, Ohtani was 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA. The win total and ERA was a career-best, and his 11.9 K/9 led the American League.

Ohtani was also featured in one of the best matchups played at the Rogers Center this past season; on August 27th, Ohtani and Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah went shot-for-shot, combining for 14 innings pitched, 17 strikeouts, and only one earned run, which was unfortunately given up by Manoah.

Trout put up another Mike Trout-esque season, hitting 40 home runs (tied-3rd in MLB) and 80 RBIs despite missing some time in the middle of the season due to a back injury. The injury made all of the baseball world hold their breath, as initial reports labelled the injury as potentially career-threatening. Fortunately, he recently came out and informed media members that his back is a “non-issue” and continues to perform exercises and workouts that will keep his back in good shape.

Trout’s numbers mixed in with that injury are still very remarkable. He became only the sixth player in MLB history to hit at least 40 homers while playing less than 120 games. Trout was named to his 10th All-Star team, won his 9th Silver Slugger Award, and finished 8th in MVP voting. I hate to beat a dead horse here, but one playoff appearance thus far in this man’s illustrious career is criminal.

It was unfortunately another injury-riddled season for 3B Anthony Rendon. Rendon was LA’s signature signing before the 2020 season, signing a seven-year, $245 million deal. Thus far, the contract is not aligning with the results, as Rendon has played in a combined 110 games between the last two seasons. If the Angels want to prove that they can play with the big boys, his contributions are vital to their success. However, the best ability he can provide the Angels is availability, and he just hasn’t done that consistently yet.

LA received some nice seasons from a couple of their reserves. LF Taylor Ward produced nicely in his first full season of action. Through 135 games, Ward posted career highs in most categories, hitting .281 with 23 home runs and 65 RBIs. He became very valuable in the field, seeing action in each outfield spot as well as playing some third base.

INF Luis Rengifo also had a career season, hitting 17 home runs. Like Ward, Rengifo played several different positions, seeing time at third, second, shortstop, and even some outfield spots. Rengifo’s batting percentages don’t look too pretty, but his contributions were needed with Rendon and 2B David Fletcher missing time with injuries.

Ohtani was the most consistent of LA’s starting pitchers, but they did get an effective season from SP Reid Detmers. The slow-tossing lefty started 25 games in only his second season in the majors, pitching to the tune of a 3.77 ERA and one complete game shutout. Detmers, being a soft-tossing, pitch-to-contact guy, naturally shut down the Blue Jays during his outing in Toronto last season.

The Angels kicked off their offseason by signing SP Tyler Anderson to a 3-year, $39 million deal. Anderson is coming off the best season of his career, in which he was named to his first All-Star game with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Anderson started 28 games and had a 2.57 ERA. His ERA and his 15 wins were a career high, while his 1.7 BB/9 was a career low.

While Anderson will be a nice addition to the rotation, the Angels are hoping that last season wasn’t a fluke for the 33-year-old lefty. Prior to 2022, five of his six seasons featured ERAs of 4.37 or higher.

Los Angeles was fairly active in the trade market, dealing for RF Hunter Renfroe and 3B Gio Urshela. The trade for Renfroe instantly became a hit due to his resemblance in looks to Mike Trout, but it is also a good trade for Angels as far as his quality of play. Renfroe has hit at least 26 home runs in five full seasons, and, excluding 2020, he has played in at least 140 games each season since 2019. The durability and power that Renfroe brings to the lineup are big reasons as to why I really liked this pickup for the Angels, as well as the reasonable return that they had to give up to get him.

Urshela hits for a good average and has some power (.285 batting average and 13 home runs in 2022), but he also provides some defensive flexibility for LA’s infield. Much like the Renfroe deal, this is another likable and sensible transaction done by the Angels.

The Angels also signed INF Brandon Drury to a two-year, $17 million contract. Much like Anderson, Drury had by far his best season in the big leagues in 2022. His 28 home runs and 87 RBIs were career highs, and he turned into a valuable trade chip at the deadline, going from the Reds to the Padres.

While Urshela and Drury can play multiple positions, third base is their primary position. It’s almost like the Angels are telling themselves, “We simply do not trust Rendon to give us a full season at third.” That said, these two provide a good deal of value.

RP Carlos Estevez, a reliever who spent his first six seasons in Colorado, was also acquired by the Angels this offseason. He’ll join a very solid group of bullpen arms that I’ll reference in the final section of this article.

To finish off this portion on an interesting note, the Angels avoided arbitration with Ohtani by signing him to a one-year, $30 million contract. However, there are mixed signals as to if Ohtani will be available on the trade market. He becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2023 season, and he’ll likely be seeking one of the largest contracts in MLB history, as he rightfully should. While his focus will probably be on helping the Angels win this season, that will be a riveting storyline to follow as 2023 unfolds.

I’m obviously not an Angels fan, but I’m interested in them enough to see two of the game’s most premier players play on the biggest stage. And no, I’m not talking about the All-Star game. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see a playoff series in which Ohtani faces Aaron Judge in a win-or-go-home game?

I’m dreaming, of course, but it’s entirely doable. Unfortunately, the Angels have failed to surround Trout and Ohtani with a sufficient amount of talent to make the postseason.

A breath of fresh air will enter the major league club in 2023, as C Logan O’Hoppe will certainly be in line to play his first full season in the MLB. O’Hoppe is Los Angeles’ top prospect, and the club is hoping he will be able to provide some stable production at the catcher position. Between Kurt Suzuki and Max Stassi, the Angels have lacked offensive potency in recent years, with all due respect.

The pitching on this roster is an interesting subject. It’s not bad, but there is plenty of room to get better. There were a lot of arms on the free agent market that would’ve been nice additions to this staff. The inability for the Angels to attract these free agents is a serious head-scratcher.

Ohtani, Detmers, Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, and Jose Suarez is the likely rotation to kick off the season, and all five of them had sub-4.00 ERAs last season. How good would that group look with a Verlander or a deGrom in it? Nonetheless, the rotation they currently have all had encouraging years last season, but for this team to be competitive, they’ll need to take that to a higher level. If the Angels find themselves in the mix come trade deadline time, look for them to add a quality starter.

A stout rotation would be nice, as it would complement a solid bullpen that the Angels have to offer currently. You may not know names such as Jimmy Herget or Jaime Barria, but those two will likely see substantial time out of the ‘pen. Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera each had sound seasons in 2022, and adding Estevez makes for a credible group.

Offensively, if the Angels are to be competitive, you’d almost assume confidently that Trout and Ohtani will provide All-Star seasons. Rendon, Renfroe, and Ward are the next lines of defense, as full seasons from that group can only make the Angels better. Urshela and Drury are nice adds like I said, but it will be interesting to see how they divvy up playing time with the collection of infielders they already have (Rendon, Rengifo, Fletcher, etc.).

The AL West is not the most ideal division for the Angels to be in if they want to compete. Houston is the class of the American League, Seattle is on the come up, and Texas is spending the money of a competitor. I don’t think Los Angeles’ offseason moves the needle for them, but they better figure it out fast, or else Ohtani may be playing elsewhere next season.