The Angels GM Faces a Make-or-Break Offseason
Perry Minasian enters the final year of his contract as the Angels’ general manager, and this offseason may determine whether he stays in Anaheim beyond 2026. Since taking over in 2021, the Angels have failed to win more than 77 games in a season, extending a postseason drought that now spans more than a decade. Minasian’s tenure has been marked by aggressive but inconsistent roster moves that have put the team in tough spots at times in recent years. Now, as the team adds new faces, including a new manager and coaches, Minasian faces the most critical offseason of his career.
Minasian has not shied away from making changes, pursuing trades for Gio Urshela, Hunter Renfroe, and Brandon Drury to build depth around the core. A trade that backfired during Minasian’s tenure came in 2023, when the Angels sent their second and third ranked prospects, Edgar Quero and Ky Bush, to the Chicago White Sox for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López. Both Giolito and López struggled in Anaheim, spending only about a month with the Halos before being claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Guardians in August of that year. The short-lived return and loss of valuable prospects made the deal one of the most heavily criticized moves of his front-office career.
The frustration with that trade stems from the fact that the Angels could have traded star two-way player Shohei Ohtani to any club and received a significant return that would have set the organization up for a more promising future. Angels owner Arte Moreno decided against it, stating that the team was in the midst of a postseason hunt and that keeping Ohtani would help position the Angels for a return to October. That push never materialized, and Ohtani ended up signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers the following offseason. It has already become clear that Minasian has been involved in decisions that have backfired badly for the club. Now more than ever, Minasian will need to focus on a clear plan that sets the team up for success if he hopes to return to the front office.
So far, Minasian has taken steps in that direction. When news broke that the Angels were rumored to trade outfielders, Taylor Ward or Jo Adell, fans were surprised. The pair both hit well in 2025, with Adell hitting 37 home runs and Ward finishing just behind him with 36. Ward was traded to Baltimore for 26-year-old starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, a talented arm who dealt with an elbow injury in August. The deal was a strong one for the Angels, since it adds a young pitcher with upside for 2026 and relieves some of the financial burden Ward’s contract placed on the payroll.
The deal was a step in the right direction, although Minasian will need to address other areas to ensure the team is capable of competing in a strong AL West in 2026. One of the Angels’ top targets is slugging third baseman Munetaka Murakami from Japan, who would provide the team with the glove and power that has been missing. Another top-end starter for the rotation, such as Tyler Mahle, Michael King, or Zac Gallen, would also solve a high-priority issue that the organization has struggled with for years. The Angels need to target players at the caliber contenders pursue if they hope to spark a postseason run. Landing players of that level would reshape the club and give Minasian support in contract-extension discussions.
For both the Angels and Minasian, there is no more time for short-term solutions that fail to move the club forward. Minasian’s tenure has shown that patchwork additions can only carry a team so far before the same weaknesses resurface. This offseason will require real, lasting changes that reshape the Angels and remind the league that they can compete as strongly as the other twenty-nine teams. Whether Minasian remains in Anaheim past 2026 will depend on whether he delivers those changes and makes decisions that Moreno supports.
