The Los Angeles Angels need to make several additions to the roster if they want to compete during 2026 and beyond.
The current state of the roster just isn’t good enough to compete in a tough American League West division. The Angels won’t miraculously turn into contenders by signing one or two players, they must be willing to make numerous moves to improve.
On the pitching side, Los Angeles ranked 28th in starting pitching ERA and the bullpen was a mess. The Angels don’t have an ace that can anchor the starting rotation, and they don’t have a lot of depth either.
There is a plethora of starting pitchers that will be available, but the Angels seemingly always settle for the bottom of the barrel arms that go unsigned at the beginning of free agency. If the Angels can sign a few solid arms, that will help the team immensely.
Shifting to the offense, the Angels have several building blocks in Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Christian Moore and Nolan Schanuel, but they need proven talent that can drive in a lot of runs and be a catalyst while the young guys progress.
Although the Angels have Neto as the everyday shortstop, there’s a shortstop on the market that fits the bill and could shift over to second base for defensive purposes: Bo Bichette.
Bichette will be entering his age 28 season in 2026 and put together a phenomenal season with the Toronto Blue Jays that almost culminated into a World Series victory. He hit .311 to go along with 44 doubles, 18 home runs and 94 RBI in 139 games.
Bichette struggled in 2024 due to injury, but his offensive numbers when he was on the field were no where near his standards.
“Then, Bichette bounced back in 2025, performing at or just above his 2023 levels at the plate, but his defense became more of an issue,” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel wrote last Thursday. “His defensive metrics were the worst of his career, showing way below-average range at shortstop, something that could be pretty easily solved by moving him to second or third base. Bichette is the youngest of the MLB veteran free agents (a few potential NPB veterans are the only younger players) projected to land over $75 million.”
He isn’t the best defender by any means, but a shift to second base could help. Pairing Neto and Bichette up the middle long-term would be a step in the right direction towards contending.