Well...the Angels got a fuller season of Mike Trout. Because he'd missed parts of the last several season, he missed the part where he was supposed to phase out of his prime gradually, so instead we just have a huge drop-off. Here's normal Trout numbers. 20 homers, a .240 average and predominantly DH starts. This is what you waited for.
I'm not acting like Trout's 2025 has been completely terrible, as his power numbers are reliable as ever, but the Angels are one of those teams that can only work if their star player is functioning. You've seen the Yankees without Judge, you've seen the Brewers without Yelich, and obviously you've seen a lot of the Angels without Trout. The last few years have gone 'season starts, Trout gets off and running, Angels look decent, Trout gets hurt, season over.' And so having a season where Trout gets hurt but only misses a month is an interesting change of pace for this team. We finally get to see what the Angels, especially these Angels teams, look like when they don't have to cover for Trout for 5 months. And the answer is...slightly better?
Like, you've seen an uptick in some of the supporting players. Taylor Ward has had a very fulfilling season as a key power contributor, he's got a team-leading 27 homers and 87 RBIs. Ward is very much the product of his hot streaks, and the last month has been a very nice one. You're also seeing even more production from Jo Adell, who's got 25 homers and 70 RBIs. Adell may not exactly be what the Angels signed up for, but he can definitely contribute some power material. This team also has a halfway decent rotation formula, with only Jack Kochanowicz feeling like a weak link. Kikuchi, Anderson, Hendricks and Soriano have all been pretty solid this year, and have ensured the Angels that the deep well of rookie starters won't be necessary quite yet. Caden Dana is still waiting in the minors, but that may wait until they really need him. They even have a really strong closing performance from Kenley Jansen to rest on this year.
Now, this doesn't make them a good team, or even a competitive one, but it makes them better than your average brand of Angels team. This team does not have to rely on Mike Trout as heavily anymore, and while he doesn't contribute, he doesn't need to be the team's savior, because they have Neto and Ward and Kikuchi and such. I think this more realistic strategy will make next year easier to plan, and the idea of eventual competition easier to work towards.
...now if Trout's back to his old, .300-hitting self next year they might be screwed.
Coming Tonight: The ultimate role-playing pitcher, who came into the year as a relief option but has been responsible for some of the Diamondbacks' best starts.
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