Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Arte Moreno is not the sole reason for the Los Angeles Angels' struggles. GM Perry Minasian also shares the blame for the franchise's ongoing downward trend.
- Minasian failed at the 2023 trade deadline, uses a flawed "fast-track" draft strategy that limits upside, and regularly gaslights fans with forced optimism.
- Without a realistic plan or a self-assessment from front office leadership, the team's historical postseason drought will continue to alienate fans.
To the shock of absolutely nobody, the Los Angeles Angels are a mess once again. Their 16-29 record is the worst in the majors, and barring something unforeseen, they will finish with a sub-.500 record for an 11th straight year, and they will miss the playoffs for a 12th straight year. They are, perhaps, the biggest joke in all of professional sports.
Arte Moreno takes a ton of flak for where the Angels are as a franchise, and rightfully so. Moreno might be the worst owner in all of sports, and he makes life hard for everyone around him. With that being said, Moreno isn't the only reason why the Angels are where they are right now. These Perry Minasian mistakes go to show that he is a big part of the problem, too.
Perry Minasian's 2023 trade deadline blew his best chance to win
The 2023 trade deadline will forever be remembered as the deadline when the Angels refused to trade Shohei Ohtani, but I don't blame Minasian for that. Arte Moreno, obviously, had no intention of moving on from Ohtani, and that's a shame, since he also had no interest in paying Ohtani as a free agent that offseason. What I can and will blame Minasian for is the Angels' trades from that deadline.
The Angels traded Edgar Quero and Ky Bush, the two top prospects in their organization at the time, for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, both of whom were released by the end of August due to their struggles and the desire by Moreno to avoid the luxury tax. Even the minor deals didn't work out so well, as the Jeremiah Jackson for Dominic Leone deal looks like a major mistake given how solid a player Jackson has developed into.
It's not Minasian's fault that the Angels got nothing for Ohtani, and it's not as if the Angels had a strong farm system to deal from, but they could've done better than Giolito for Quero, a top-100 prospect at the time, and trading Jackson is an underrated blunder too. Going all-in only to dump pieces a month later and finish under .500 about sums up the Minasian tenure.
Moreno might've told Minasian to hold onto Ohtani and try to win, but it was Minasian who made the moves that he did, and all of them backfired spectacularly.
Perry Minasian's draft strategy is a major issue
Another thing Arte Moreno certainly is not controlling is the draft, and Perry Minasian's strategy is one that is backfiring big time. Essentially, Minasian is attempting to draft players who are as close to big-league ready as possible, hoping to get a near-immediate influx of talent. The results have been mostly bad.
Year | Player | Pick |
|---|---|---|
2022 | Zach Neto | 13 |
2023 | Nolan Schanuel | 11 |
2024 | Christian Moore | 8 |
2025 | Tyler Bremner | 2 |
Zach Neto is a franchise cornerstone, but what other success stories are here? Nolan Schanuel is fine, but he doesn't have a star ceiling, and several prospects drafted later, who the Angels could've waited a bit on (Bryce Eldridge, Colt Emerson, Ralphy Velazquez, George Lombard Jr., Aidan Miller, etc.) do.
And it only gets worse from here. Christian Moore played fewer than 100 minor league games and never quite tore the cover off the ball in the minors before earning his first-ever call-up last season. He struggled so mightily that he has not been in the majors this season at all. Even this season, Moore has been drawing a ton of walks in Triple-A but has three home runs and is hitting .241. Konnor Griffin was the very next selection, by the way, and was passed on because the Angels thought Moore would be ready for the majors faster.
Even in the 2025 draft, the Angels assumed Tyler Bremner would move quickly through the minors and took him over Seth Hernandez, who looks like one of the best prospects in the sport right now.
At the end of the day, it's hard to find players with immense upside who also won't need time to develop in the minor leagues. The Angels are using the draft as a shortcut to find productive players quickly, and that isn't a good strategy.
Perry Minasian's messaging has Angels fans ready for a change
Moreno doesn't talk to the media much at all (which is an issue), and that makes what Minasian has to say publicly that much more important. Angels fans rely on him to be a source of messaging and hope, and he is neither. In fact, it feels like all he does is gaslight the fan base into thinking everything is fine when it is anything but. Just look at the last time Minasian spoke.
Minasian said things like “That’ll work itself out" when discussing a bullpen that has been one of the worst in the majors this season, and “Our best baseball is in front of us; there’s no doubt about that" when the Angels have consistently been among the worst teams in the sport in his tenure.
Minasian acts as if he has a track record of success in this role when he's gone 374-481 in this role. Minasian's Angels have never won more than 77 games in a season with him at the helm, and that came in his first year. Things only continue to trend downward, yet Minasian consistently preaches optimism. He refuses to even attempt to assess his own performance.
The Angels have shown no improvement whatsoever in the Minasian era, and it's not as if the farm system is any better, either. For the messaging to be "everything's fine" instead of "we have a plan to get us out of this mess" is incredibly disheartening and a reason why change is a must.
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