Just when the Los Angeles Angels thought they had a handle on their rotation, reality intervened—because, of course, it did. With injuries piling up and inconsistency lurking, their pitching staff is once again on shaky ground. Meanwhile, insiders are already making bold calls about the AL West, and let’s just say the Angels aren’t exactly the favorites.

The main problem this season the LA Angels will be facing is not another team but themselves. While the fans wonder how bad this season will go, MLB insider Ben Verlander has already given his verdict, and it does not show anything good happening to that team.

During his podcast, Ben Verlander said, “The rotation of Yusei Kukuchi, Jose Soriano, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Hendricks, Reed Detmers, I am not a massive believer in that rotation. So, a combination of not-good starters, vibes just being off and this no cellphone thing confuses me… And I think when it comes down to it, they ultimately finish dead last in the American League West this year despite some of their additions.”

This is the feeling most of the Angels fans have. Although they won’t want to finish, it looks like they will. The 2024 season was the worst season in the franchise’s history, and they finished with a win-loss record of 63-99. The team has improved from last season with the additions of Travis d’Arnaud, Jorge Soler, and Yoan Moncada. Even with the team having elite players in the form of Mike Trout, it is nowhere near the other teams in the division.

And that’s the real problem—when your biggest competition is yourself, you’re already losing. The Angels made moves, but in a division where everyone else is aiming for October, they’re just hoping to survive. If this season goes as expected, their biggest win might just be proving Verlander right.

The Angels up their pitching rotation with a new addition

For a team that has treated pitching depth like an optional luxury, the Los Angeles Angels just made a move that suggests otherwise. In a rare display of rotational foresight, they acquired Ian Anderson from the Atlanta Braves. Anderson, once a postseason hero, now gets a shot at redemption in Anaheim.

Ian Anderson is an Angel. The Angels traded Jose Suarez to the Braves for Anderson. Anderson was a major part of the Braves pitching rotation and made a big impact in 2021. He helped the Braves lift the World Series and also finished 5th in the NL Rookie of the Year. But after that, things have not gone well for him. After a tough 2022 season, Anderson was sent to the minor league, and in early 2023 he had a Tommy John surgery.

This was the end of his 2023 season. He did put up solid numbers in the 2024 spring but was sent back to the minor league. There he had an ERA of 3.44 with 68 strikeouts in his 15 starts. Now, the Angels are betting that Anderson’s comeback story has a few more thrilling chapters left. If he finds his form, Anaheim might finally have something resembling a functional rotation. If not—well, at least they tried, which is more than you can usually say about their pitching decisions.