With the World Series coming to an end and the offseason about to kick off, here’s a look at some key dates, contract situations and areas of need for the Angels: What are some key dates? First day after the World Series: Eligible players become free agents. Major League players also can be traded between clubs after a trading freeze. Fifth day after the World Series: The deadline for teams and players to make decisions on options, the deadline for clubs to reinstate all players on the 60-day injured list and the deadline for clubs to tender qualifying offers (2 p.m. PT). Also, the “quiet period” ends and Major League free agents are free to sign with any club as of 2 p.m. PT. Nov. 10-13: General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas. Nov. 18: The deadline for players to accept a qualifying offer is 1 p.m. PT. The deadline to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft is 3 p.m. PT. Nov. 21: Tender deadline. By 3 p.m. PT, teams must formally tender a contract to all unsigned players for the following season, including their arbitration-eligible players. If a player is non-tendered, he becomes a free agent. Dec. 8-11: Winter Meetings in Orlando, including the MLB Draft lottery on Dec. 9 and the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10. Dec. 15: End of the 2025 international signing period. Jan. 8, 2026: Eligible players and clubs exchange arbitration figures. Jan. 15, 2026: Start of the new international signing period. |
Which players are free agents? Closer Kenley Jansen, lefties Tyler Anderson and Andrew Chafin, right-handers Kyle Hendricks, José Ureña, Luis García and Hunter Strickland, infielder Luis Rengifo, third baseman Yoán Moncada and infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor are all free agents. Are any of them likely to receive qualifying offers? No, none of those players are expected to command that high of a salary with the qualifying offer worth $22.025 million next year. Which players have options? The Angels have no players with options, as they released Kevin Newman in early August. They owe him $250,000 after he signed a one-year deal worth $2.5 million with a $2.5 million option and $250,000 buyout before last season. |
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Who might be a non-tender candidate, and when does the club have to make that decision? The Angels have seven players who are arbitration-eligible in left fielder Taylor Ward, reliever Brock Burke, outfielder Jo Adell, left-hander Reid Detmers, right-hander Jose Soriano, catcher Logan O'Hoppe and shortstop Zach Neto. But none of them are expected to be non-tendered, as they’ll all be key players in ’26. |
Who needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter to avoid the Rule 5 Draft? The Angels have three pitchers ranked among their Top 30 prospects who need to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft: right-handers Joel Hurtado (ranked as the club’s No. 22 prospect by MLB Pipeline) and Walbert Urena (No. 24) and lefty Samy Natera Jr. (No. 20), all of whom are expected to be added to the 40-man roster. Hurtado and Urena are both hard-throwing starters with fastballs that can reach triple digits, while Natera Jr. is a reliever who is expected to be part of the bullpen at some point next year. What kind of help do they need and will they be active in free agency? The Angels are looking for help in the rotation, the bullpen, at third base and possibly center field this offseason. They’d like to add at least two starters and will also need to find a closer with Jansen heading to free agency. They’d like to find a regular at third base, as Anthony Rendon is coming off hip surgery that caused him to miss the 2025 season and might not be on the roster next year despite being owed $38.5 million in ’26. They’d like to find a center fielder, as they have plenty of outfielders in Mike Trout, Ward, Adell and Jorge Soler but lack a true center fielder outside of Bryce Teodosio, who hasn’t proved he can hit in the Majors. |
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Who might they be willing to trade? With their glut of outfielders, they could trade Ward, who is under team control for just one more year, or Adell, who is under team control through ’27. Both offer plenty of power but are better suited for the corner outfield. Trout isn’t going anywhere with his no-trade clause, while Soler’s value is down after a rough year. Ward has garnered a lot of interest in the past and it could make sense to move him after a breakout year. |
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