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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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The idea of "rebuilding" a roster in Major League Baseball is considered painful but necessary at times. Teams with an aging roster whose players are past their prime need to make changes, even if that means suffering short-term losses for the ability to win in the future.
Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno is not alone in his distaste for the word "rebuilding." Perhaps he considers it bad marketing, bad strategy, or both.
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Either way, the Angels have not had a winning season since 2015. Instead of rebuilding their roster with talented young players who offer the promise of wins in the future, they have lost annually with a mix of aging veterans (Albert Pujols, Anthony Rendon), free agent castoffs (Tyler Anderson, Kyle Hendricks), ill-fated trades (Jorge Soler, Logan O'Hoppe) and homegrown draft picks who fell short of their star potential (Jo Adell, Reid Detmers).
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In a stunning midseason change, the Angels last week fired general manager Perry Minasian and replaced him on an interim basis with John Mozeliak.
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Mozeliak, 57, has decades of experience — and a World Series ring — from his time running the St. Louis Cardinals' baseball operations department. He left St. Louis amid a rebuilding effort.
The Cardinals' youth movement might pay off in 2026 with a playoff berth after three seasons spending October at home. Through June 29, the Cardinals are 43-38, good enough for a Wild Card position in the National League.
The Angels are 36-50, well out of playoff contention and en route to an 11th consecutive losing season. It's hard to lose that much for that long while trying to win year in and year out.
Mozeliak, for his part, does not see the need to rebuild the Angels' roster by trading veterans for young players at the cost of short-term victories.
"I don’t think in this market you need to do that," he told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. "I think what you need to do is understand what those arbitrages look like. You need to understand what the future free-agent market looks like. This team has resources. Now it’s just making sure we deploy them correctly."
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Reading between the lines of Mozeliak's remarks, he seems to believe he'll have enough financial flexibility to spend on players who can help the Angels win sooner rather than later. While that might be true, it's not an answer that recognizes the need to improve the team's scouting and development processes that have left the Angels with a poor reputation for helping players improve their game.
An interim general manager can only do so much. Mozeliak essentially has six months to make a difference in Anaheim, unless he chooses to stay longer. He told Rosenthal he hasn't decided on whether he wants to remain with the organization into next year.
If it isn't Mozeliak, someone will need to implement a long-term vision to effect the change the Angels need. The short-sighted approach hasn't worked for a long time.
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