Anxious may be the best word to describe the vibe in Anaheim before the Angels fly to Houston ahead of Thursday afternoon’s season opener versus the Astros.
New manager Kurt Suzuki has infused enthusiasm into a club that has not finished above .500 since 2015 and has missed the playoffs for an MLB-worst 11 straight seasons. The Angels went 72-90 and finished last in the American League West, though they were nine games better than 2024 — when they set a franchise record for losses with 99. Time will tell if the Halos have enough talent to contend in a division the Seattle Mariners are heavily favored to win.
A special assistant for the Angels the last three seasons, Suzuki signed a one-year contract last October and is the team’s fifth full-time manager since Mike Scioscia stepped down in 2018 after compiling a franchise-record 1,650 victories over 19 seasons. Suzuki spent 16 seasons as a major league catcher, retiring in 2022.
“It’s been fun,” Suzuki said prior to Sunday’s Freeway Series game, a 13-5 loss to the Dodgers at Angel Stadium. “Obviously I’ve never managed before but just being out of the game just as recently as a few years ago I understand the situations of the game, the speed of the game and those type of things. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy by any means. It’s a lot of work, but I’m having a great time, we’re surrounded by great people and the guys have been awesome so it’s been all good.”
As a former player, Suzuki will trust his instincts.
“For me, it’s attention to detail, it’s fundamentals, it’s just really being a baseball player,” he said. “Sometimes in this day and age of analytics and all that stuff you can kind of get lost in that sometimes. Not to say forget about it, but I think the more you can just play baseball how it’s supposed to be played, move guys over, situational hitting, things you grew up doing, if we can kind of keep that style and play hard and all that, I like our chances.”
Franchise player Mike Trout, who has 404 career homers (all with the Angels), enters his 15th season healthy and eager to resume patrolling center field after missing 26 games with a left knee injury in 2025 and primarily serving as the designated hitter. He hit 26 homers. Moving to right field from center is Jo Adell (who blasted a team-best 37 homers last season) and Josh Lowe, acquired from Tampa Bay in January, is expected to be the starter in left field, replacing last season’s hit leader Taylor Ward, who got traded to Baltimore in November in exchange for pitcher Grayson Rodriguez.
Jorge Soler, who homered twice Sunday, could see plenty of action in the outfield.
“It feels great but this is just an exhibition game,” Soler said after his four-RBI night. “We faced good pitchers throughout spring training. I just try to make adjustments and take good pitches.”
Said Suzuki: “Jorge’s had a great spring. For him to have some good at bats wasn’t shocking to me with the spring he’s had. I’m very excited for Jorge. He’s in a good spot mentally and physically.”
Returning at first base is Nolan Schanuel, who had 129 hits last year, while the departure of versatile infielder Luis Rengifo to Milwaukee in February left an opportunity at second base for veteran Adam Frazier, who signed a minor league deal with the Angels as camp opened and batted .300 in the Cactus League. Potential All-Star Zach Neto is back at shortstop while Yoan Moncada was brought back on a one-year, $4-million contract, to handle the hot corner.
“I like where we’re at,” said catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who last season batted .213 with 19 home runs and will be backed up by Travis D’Arnaud for the second year in a row. “He [Suzuki] has created a really awesome environment to come into every night and I appreciate his trust in us to get the work done. I’ve made a lot of changes to my swing in particular and I’ve just tried to maximize both sides of my game.”
Pitching depth is a big concern. At the top of the starting rotation will be right-hander Jose Soriano (who posted a 10-11 record last year with a 4.26 earned run average), followed by lefties Yusei Kikuchi (who had a team-high 174 strikeouts last year) and Reid Detmers. In the fourth and fifth spots initially will be righties Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson.
“We’re going with that,” Suzuki said. “Jack and Ryan both had great camps, they’ve been working their butts off. We feel they deserve it, they’ve earned it and we’re really excited for them.”
Rodriguez will begin the season on the injured list with what Suzuki called a dead arm issue.
“We’ll be careful with Grayson, we’ll work him back slowly, but play it cautious,” Suzuki added. “He hasn’t thrown a bullpen yet.”
After signing a one-year deal in December, right-hander Alek Manoah struggled in spring training but could be a reliever.
“He’s working his way through some things,” Suzuki said of the 28-year-old Manoah, who was an All-Star with Toronto in 2022. “Things change over the course of the year so we’ll see how he’s progressing. He’s a great teammate and he has the potential to be a great pitcher for us.”
Suzuki has not named a designated closer but among the relievers will be Drew Pomeranz and Jordan Romano (both signed one-year deals in the offseason; left-handers Chase Silseth and Brent Suter; and righties Sam Bachman, Kirby Yates, Ryan Zeferjahn and Walbert Urena.
“It’s something we’re talking through,” he said. “We have a few guys who’ve done it before at a high level that had some success closing games pitching at the back end of the bullpen. Right now, we’re still looking at our options and seeing how it’s going to play out. Is it easier to have one guy you can name as closer? Absolutely, but right now we’re seeing how it plays out… maybe matchups are better, maybe naming a closer is better. As we get into the season we’ll see.”
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