The Los Angeles Angels face an incredible uphill climb if they are to salvage the rest of their season, but for as many self-inflicted obstacles they’ve faced, it might be time to consider the future.
On May 24 after defeating the Texas Rangers 5-3, the Angels were 27-17 and only one game behind the Houston Astros in the American League West. That was their last prior to rattling off a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
Since their peak in late May, the Angels have gone 11-32 since, the worst record in Major League Baseball, and with their 9-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, they went 1-8 on their most recent nine-game road trip, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“It’s been tough,” said Mike Trout, who went 1-for-4 on. “We still have the second half. You can’t have your head down. You have to stay positive. We come in every day and try to win. But obviously, it’s not going in our favor.”
The Angels were swept by the Orioles, who have a lower combined 26-man salary than just Trout’s yearly salary. Interim manager Phil Nevin is manning a ship that does not seem to have a sail, a wheel, or a compass, but they still have talent on their roster.
“We have to keep grinding,” Nevin said. “I know what it looks like right now, and I know where we’re at. We have some good players. We’ve started to see some good things here and there, but they’re compounded by things that wipes them out. We’re a team that needs to play crisp, sound baseball, and we didn’t do that today.”
Heading into play on July 12, the Angels’ offense ranks 21st in MLB with a 96 wRC+ and possesses a collective -17.2 value as a lineup. They are 6-18 against the AL East division this season, which is arguably the most competitive in all of MLB.
The Angels remain seven games out of the final Wild Card spot, and although there isn’t much to lean on in terms of positives, they still have the luxury of an entire second half to play.
Perry Minasian takes blame for team’s struggles
Heading into the 2022 season, it felt as though the Angels had finally made the kinds of strides they needed to compete for a postseason berth. Perry Minasian addressed pitching needs in a big way, shelling out significant money in the bullpen and landing Noah Syndergaard.
The Angels are 11-20 since Nevin took the helm and in In a stretch where virtually nothing has gone right, it’s almost difficult to find where to place the blame. But for Minasian, the answer is simple.
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