Now that the World Series has ended, the Angels can actively begin reshaping their roster for 2027.
Never mind that they still don’t have a manager or a new head of baseball operations. Interim general manager John Mozeliak is still on the job.
Mozeliak is helping the team of incoming owner Stan Kroenke with the search for someone to run baseball operations, and that person will pick the manager. In the meantime, Mozeliak will continue to oversee the shaping of the roster.
It’s going to be a condensed offseason calendar because owners are expected to lock out the players on Dec. 1, which will freeze all player movement.
Until then, it’s business as usual. Trades can begin immediately, while free agent deals can’t be completed until Monday at 2 p.m. PT, the fifth day after the end of the World Series.
Before free agency begins, the Angels will have one relatively easy option decision to make, on right-hander Robert Stephenson. The Angels have a $2.5 million option for Stephenson, with no buyout. The option year was triggered when Stephenson had his first elbow surgery, in 2024. Stephenson had a second Tommy John surgery in April, so he wouldn’t even be able to pitch until sometime in the middle of 2027.
Although the Angels might determine that $2.5 million is such a small amount that it’s worth a flier, it’s more likely they simply cut ties with him. Stephenson has only pitched 10 innings in three seasons with the Angels, earning $33 million.
If they decline Stephenson’s option, he will become a free agent. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud and infielders Adam Frazier and Yoán Moncada are also set to become free agents.
The next milepost on the winter calendar is Nov. 9, when the GM Meetings begin in Las Vegas.
Normally, not much happens at the GM Meetings. It’s a time for the executives and agents to lay the groundwork for what’s going to happen throughout the rest of the winter. Because of the lockout, this year could be much busier.
In the Angels’ case, the GM Meetings could also offer Mozeliak an opportunity to meet with candidates for the GM position.
On Nov. 17, teams must decide which minor leaguers they are adding to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. The catch is that there might be no Rule 5 draft this year because of the lockout. There wasn’t one during the previous lockout. Teams might not know that for sure by this date, though, so leaving a player unprotected on the assumption that there won’t be a Rule 5 draft would be a gamble.
Outfielder Nelson Rada is the biggest name among the Angels’ minor leaguers who is due to be added to the 40-man roster this winter. The list of players the Angels would need to add is thin enough that they’ll have no problem finding the space.
On Nov. 20, teams will have to decide which of their arbitration-eligible players they want to keep. The Angels have 11 arbitration-eligible players.
They will obviously keep shortstop Zach Neto, first baseman Nolan Schanuel and starting pitchers Reid Detmers and Grayson Rodriguez. They’ll probably also keep relievers Ben Joyce, Sam Bachman and Tayler Saucedo.
Outfielders José Siri and Josh Lowe, catcher Tyler Heineman and infielder Oswald Peraza are also eligible for arbitration. None of them are certain to be back.
The non-tender deadline will dump a new batch of players into the pool for one final flurry of activity before the lockout.
After the lockout starts, the Angels will able to make hiring decisions – mostly likely their manager and coaches, and other front office staffers in the new regime – but the major league roster will be frozen.