Five Big Questions The Angels Must Answer This Offseason

When an MLB team loses 100 games in a season, there are likely tens if not hundreds of questions it will need to find appropriate answers to before the next season begins.

That is no different for the Los Angeles Angels as they begin the hard work to ensure that the franchise's first 100-loss campaign in 66 seasons of existence was an anomaly, not a trend.

Everyone knows that the biggest question regards how new owners Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), whose $4-billion purchase of the franchise from Arte Moreno is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2027, will set up an infrastructure and manage the team.

What every fan wants to know in that realm is how loose will the KSE purse strings be when it comes to pursuing and adding talent to the roster via free agency.

Rhett Bollinger, writing in the Angels Beat newsletter for MLB.com, addressed that question on Oct. 15. For what it's worth, Bollinger anticipates that the payroll will at least stay at the $182-million level that it was at in 2026 as KSE settles into the first year of its regime, before adding, "[T]he Angels definitely need plenty of help, especially with their bullpen and some left-handed power."

That was one of the "five biggest questions" that Bollinger said the Angels must confront this offseason.

That first question leads right to the second one: who will be in charge of spending KSE's money?

Moreno brought in John Mozeliak on an interim basis to replace the dismissed Perry Minasian in June. Mozeliak admirably moved quickly to offload some deadwood and trade some desirable talents at the trade deadline in order to improve the team's traditionally bottom-feeding minor-league system, but his contract expires at the end of December and even Mozeliak said as recently as Sept. 29 that the team's GM decision is "still paused."

"There’s still a chance [Mozeliak] could stick around, either as the GM or in a different role with a new GM or president of baseball operations taking over," Bollinger wrote. "He does have history with Kroenke and KSE president Kevin Demoff from his lengthy stint in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, dating back to when the Rams were in St. Louis."

Which segues into Bollinger's third question: who will inhabit the manager's office in 2027?

Kurt Suzuki was hired with a highly unusual one year contract and nothing he did in 2026 seems to indicate he deserves a second season in charge in Anaheim. Mozeliak has said he wouldn't mind having Suzuki back, but it's been crickets on the managerial front since the calendar flipped to October.

"Mozeliak praised Suzuki for his communication with the players, his willingness to learn and improve, and his relationships with the media," Bollinger wrote. "He felt Suzuki was put in a tough spot because of the roster but handled it well. But given the club’s struggles, retaining Suzuki wouldn’t be a popular move among the fan base."

Now, we finally get to some actual on-field questions. The biggest has already been answered, in part: where will Mike Trout play in 2027? No, not what city, what position, and the answer appears to be leftfield.

Internally, the answer to fill the Trout-sized hole in centerfield might be prospect Nelson Rada, who hit .278 with an OBP of .376 and an OPS of .739 at Triple-A Salt Lake while recording 135 hits, 97 runs scored and 43 stolen bases.

But if KSE wants to announce their presence with authority and make a splashy free-agent signing, they could always look toward one of the game's most charismatic players, Jazz Chisholm, who looks like he may be on the outs with the New York Yankees. While Chisholm did play second base in New York, he was a starter in center for two seasons with the Miami Marlins.

The question, of course, would be how much would Chisholm demand and for how long, which are legitimate queries since he's coming off his least-productive season in terms of batting average (.231) and OPS (.711) since he played 21 games for the Marlins as a rookie in 2020.

Finally, Bollinger wonders who will start behind the plate, especially after previous "catcher of the future" Logan O'Hoppe was shipped off to the Texas Rangers by Mozeliak. Veteran Travis d'Arnaud is a free agent and bat-first backstop Moises Ballesteros was acquired from the Chicago Cubs at the deadline. Tyler Heineman struggled offensively and is arbitration-eligible, which could put his future in doubt. Another option could be Jacob Cozart, who played well at Double-A Rocket City after joining the organization from the Cleveland Guardians in August.

"[T]hey’re likely to add another veteran to that mix, as Heineman struggled offensively in 2026 and Ballesteros isn’t a full-time catcher. Cozart could debut at some point next year and will have to prove he can hit enough to be a regular," Bollinger concluded.