Angels GM Doesn't Yet Know What Payroll Will Look Like in 2025

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 4, 2024

Allan Henry-Imagn Images

There is an old saying about how one has to spend money to make money. Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno sure loves to not spend it but in order for his team to rise out of the cellar, he is going to have to spend some.

Moreno cut payroll by about $40 million from 2023 to 2024 and the results were abismal.

Moreno declined a request to publicly address the state of the franchise and the plans for the future., according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. He last spoke at the start of spring training.

However, general manager Perry Minasian addressed the need to sign players which will require more money.

“I haven’t had those conversations with ownership yet,” Minasian said. “I will. All I can tell you is this is a motivated group. They’ve invested in this club.”

The Angels currently have approximately $124 million in commitments towards the luxury tax, which is set at $241 million in 2025. This figure does not account for the team’s 12 arbitration-eligible players, who collectively earned $23.5 million in 2024.

Minasian emphasized that the Angels won’t rely solely on improved health and internal development to enhance their performance.

“We definitely need more players,” he said. “There’s no secret there.”

He noted that he’s open to making additions at every position on the field. While he confirmed that they are set with Neto, O’Hoppe, and Schanuel in their respective roles, he also expressed confidence in Taylor Ward as the left fielder.

There are two positions that will see a change which will be center field and third base.

Minasian mentioned that they will consider having Trout spend more time as the designated hitter or shift him to a corner outfield position.

“Something needs to change,” Minasian said. “Doing the same thing over and over hasn’t worked. So what exactly that plan is is yet to be determined. We’ll continue to talk about it.”

Regarding Rendon, Minasian stressed that the third baseman must not only focus on staying healthy but also on improving his performance.

“When Anthony has played, he hasn’t been productive,” Minasian said. “So he’s gonna have to come in and earn it. There’s no handouts. We’re starting to create some depth, where we have some versatile players that can do some different things, so the best players are gonna play, no doubt about it.”