The Los Angeles Angels slashed their payroll from 2023 to 2024. After spending over $230 million on their roster two years ago, owner Arte Moreno limited general manager Perry Minasian significantly last season, with the final result being a payroll of just over $170 million.
That amount still ranked 14th in MLB, hovering around league average. But with Anthony Rendon’s $38.7 million, Mike Trout’s $37 million and Robert Stephenson’s $11 million all effectively spending the entire season on the injured list, the payroll of the team that actually played night to night sat in the mid-$80 millions. That’s comparable to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays.
So it’s no surprise that the Angels finished with a franchise-record 99 losses. But both Minasian and Moreno have discussed the silver linings that came from the 2024 season, largely focused on the development of their young core.
And Moreno has now made it clear that the Angels are going to increase payroll for 2025, and that Minasian has been given a relative green light to add pieces around the young core, via Jeff Fletcher of The O.C. Register:
“We have a plan to try to add players that are going to help us compete,” the Angels owner said. “Perry’s marching orders are we need to build a team that can compete for a playoff spot. When you get to playoffs, anything can happen.”
Moreno did set expectations strongly by stating that the Angels will not spend as much as they did in 2023, meaning the 2025 payroll will be above $172 million but below $230 million.
“We won’t go there again,” Moreno said. “It’s just an automatic loss. If I start piling up (financial) losses, then the next year I’m going to cut.”
Moreno, at this time, is not thinking about sustainable spending plans for the future. Instead, he is focused on increasing payroll one year at a time to see what works and what doesn’t. Infusing some extra cash into the roster may help, but it would require injured players and free agent acquisitions to add around 25 wins to the young core’s efforts.
Perry Minasian says Trout and Rendon have to be better
If the Angels are going to compete in 2025, it’s going to require their payroll to be as maximized as possible. This means that Trout and Rendon, the two highest-paid players on the roster, be healthy and consistent next year. Minasian was not shy to call this out, saying they both need to available and be better players when they are on the field.
