According to FanDuel, the Los Angeles Angels have a win total projection of 71.5 in the betting market. The team out west will hit the under-win total this season.
2025 Los Angeles Angels O/U: Angels Will Hit the Under
The Angels have battled in a tough AL West division over the last decade as they have seen division rivals, including the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers both win World Series titles. The forgotten team in Los Angeles saw their once most prized player Shohei Ohtani win a World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers this past season. Most Angels fans are fed up with management after not trading Ohtani during a lost season to get a significant haul in return, which could have possibly changed the direction of the franchise.
This is a ball club that hasn’t had a winning season in a decade after accomplishing that feat during the 2015 season. Los Angeles, who plays in Anaheim, has one playoff appearance in the last 15 seasons. Future Hall of Fame Center Fielder Mike Trout hasn’t finished an entire season since 2019 when he won his third AL MVP Award.
High-price free agents haven’t worked out for the franchise, such as Josh Hamilton in years past and recently an absolute falloff in his career, third baseman Anthony Rendon. Additionally, the Angels have been one of the worst farm systems in the MLB and when they should have spent money on certain players, they wouldn’t pull the trigger. The problems continue to mount for a team once known as the Anaheim Angels.
The Angels shouldn’t have much optimism going into this season, despite owner Arte Moreno being active in the free-agent market during the off-season. Los Angeles brought in multiple free agents, some of whom haven’t panned out with other teams and others who can make an impact wherever they play. The names include Jorge Soler, Tim Anderson, Travis d’Arnaud, J.D. Davis, Yoan Moncada, Kyle Hendricks, Yusei Kikuchi, and Kenley Jansen. Trout staying healthy for an entire season will be an important factor in whether the Angels go under their win total.
The line of 71.5 is asking, will the Angels lose 90 games this coming season? With an unreliable offense, losing Mike Trout a quarter of the way every season, and an awful pitching rotation each year, this team will fall below 71.5 wins.
Pitching is Not Good Enough to Win 72 Games
To lose 99 games in a season takes a lot of problems with a team as a whole, but the pitching for the Angels was the biggest weakness last season, and it should continue this season. The team out west was at the bottom in team ERA, finishing 26th and 29th in Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP). To make matters worse Los Angeles had the highest BB% in the bigs. Furthermore, the Colorado Rockies were the only team worse than the Angels striking out batters in 2024.
With the pitchers the Angels are projected to put on the mound this season, there isn’t expected improvement to fix their pitching woes. The starting rotation will see Tyler Anderson, Yusei Kikuchi, Kyle Hendricks, Jack Kochanowicz, and José Soriano take the bump. The Angels locked up Kikuchi for the next three seasons and their other big signing came in the bullpen, after giving closer Kenley Jansen a one-year, $10 million deal. However, the current arms shouldn’t give Angels fans hope going into 2025. The team may not get the full use out of Jansen because the starting rotation and relievers may not be able to put the ball in Jansen’s hands to give him a chance to close out games.
Too Many Question Marks for This Team
You could dissect this team from top to bottom and find question marks all over the place. Will Trout play more than a quarter of the season? Will Rendon finally return to his prime when he won a World Series with the Washington Nationals? Can the starters and setup rotations pitch well enough to get to Jansen?
There are just too many holes to fix for this team, and not a high ceiling to give Angels fans hope. The additions in the off-season aren’t good enough to get this team past their win total of 71.5. This may be another fifth-place finish in the division for the Angels, who saw all their division opponents improve in the off-season.
To change the losing seasons of the last decade, should they go back to the classic Anaheim Angels and drop Los Angeles?
Main Image: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
