Here’s why Angels might stay aggressive this winter

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger's Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ANAHEIM -- After signing veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million on Thursday, general manager Perry Minasian indicated on Friday that the Angels are far from done in terms of improving the roster this offseason.

Minasian has been aggressive early this offseason, and he said they are still looking for help for the rotation, bullpen and infield, even after signing Hendricks and trading for slugger Jorge Soler and infielder Scott Kingery. Minasian said they’re looking at all available free agents after being asked if he’s more interested in high-tiered, middle-tiered or low-tiered players.

• Ranking the top 25 free agents this offseason

“We're not ruling anything out,” Minasian said. “We're looking at everything. It’s got to be the right fit for both sides. It's got to make sense. Free agency in general, it's tough to sign free agents, right? It’s very competitive. There's a lot of teams, and it comes down to fit. We'll continue to do our homework and do our due diligence on each and every free agent that's out there. And we'll continue to monitor the trade market to see if somebody makes sense there.”

The Angels, though, still seem more likely to avoid going after high-priced acquisitions this offseason to add more overall depth to the roster after losing 99 games last season. They still owe Mike Trout $35.5 million per season through 2030 and Anthony Rendon $38.5 million in both 2025 and ’26. Both players have been injury-prone, which is also why the Angels are looking to improve the outfield and infield depth this offseason. Kingery is part of that, along with first baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda, who was claimed off waivers from the A’s last week.

“Depth is something we talked about a ton,” Minasian said. “This is not a one-man team. We've talked about this a ton. And as our Minor Leagues continue to improve, which we feel like it is, I think that's one area where we can supplement some of our injuries. But we're going to have to add depth on the big league team, too.”

• Angels acquire Kingery from Phillies for cash

The Angels also could look to add a veteran backup catcher to work with the club’s young pitchers. Matt Thaiss fared well as a backup in 2024, but it was his first full season in that role. Logan O'Hoppe is also inexperienced, as he just went through his first full year as a starting catcher in the Majors. So it could make some sense to acquire a veteran backstop to help guide both O’Hoppe and the pitchers.

“We're gonna look at every area, but that’s something that we've talked about,” Minasian said. “We do like Matt Thaiss. I think he's improved after transitioning from catching out of the Draft to changing positions and playing first and playing third and even playing some second before going back to catching. I think he's made positive strides there. But with that being said, we're going to look at everywhere.”

Minasian said Hendricks will start and be part of a rotation that’s also expected to include veteran left-hander Tyler Anderson and right-handers José Soriano and Jack Kochanowicz. They have other internal options, such as lefties Reid Detmers and Sam Aldegheri and right-handers Chase Silseth, Caden Dana, Sam Bachman and George Klassen. The Angels are still looking to add one more starter to that mix, and Minasian wouldn’t rule out bolstering the bullpen as well.

“We feel our pitching is in a better place than it's ever been since I've been here, but we need to continue to add to it,” Minasian said. “Over the course of a season, everybody knows that you need a lot of arms, right? You need a lot of arms in the rotation and a lot of arms in the bullpen. So we'll continue to try and add quality and quantity there too.”