'Far from done': Minasian plans to be aggressive at Winter Meetings

ANAHEIM -- The MLB Winter Meetings are just a week away, as the annual event will be held from Dec. 9-12 in Dallas. The Angels have already been very active ahead of the meetings but general manager Perry Minasian said he’s far from done improving the roster.

Signing veteran lefty Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year, $63 million contract was the latest move for the Angels, which became official on Wednesday. He’s the second addition to the rotation, joining right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who was signed to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million. The Angels also signed veteran catcher Travis d'Arnaud to a two-year deal worth $12 million and inked infielder Kevin Newman to a one-year deal for $3.5 million with an option for ’26, while also trading for slugger Jorge Soler from the Braves and utilityman Scott Kingery from the Phillies.

Minasian, though, said the Angels still have areas to improve, especially coming off a 99-loss season, and he wouldn’t rule out acquiring another starting pitcher. So expect the Angels to remain busy at the Winter Meetings, which will see Minasian and his staff met with other clubs and agents to try to improve the club going forward.

“We'd love to add more and we're not close-minded,” Minasian said. “We're going to keep following the trade market, following the free-agent market, and see where it goes. But rotation is still a spot that if we feel like there's an improvement out there, we'll look to do it.”

Minasian said there’s not one area the Angels are currently focused on right now, as they could still use help in the rotation, the bullpen, the infield and possibly even the outfield.

“What we've done so far, we've been pretty aggressive and we're going to continue to be aggressive,” Minasian said. “I wouldn't say anything is off limits. With the year we had, there's definitely areas to get better. Really, every area, whether it's rotation, lineup, bullpen, bench depth. We'll look to tackle and attack all those areas and continue to improve this club.”

But Minasian did indicate he’d like to add another bat to the lineup and improve the bullpen. The Angels could use a corner infielder with power, especially with Anthony Rendon coming off another injury-plagued season that saw him hit zero homers in 57 games. Flamethrower Ben Joyce had a strong rookie season as the club’s closer but the Angels will look to build around him and right-hander Robert Stephenson, who missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on May 1.

“I wouldn't nail it down to one need, and I’m not trying to be coy because there are plenty of areas to improve,” Minasian said. “But we'd love to lengthen out the lineup. That's something we've talked about. Try to add another bat, trying to add more depth on the bench. And trying to add more depth in the bullpen. It starts on the mound. You’re only as good as your rotation, to a certain extent. We’ve been aggressive in attacking that, adding two starters in November, but we'll look to address those other areas, too.”

Minasian said that adding veterans to enhance the club’s makeup is also a priority, as the Angels are trying to build a consistent winner around their young core. He believes that Kikuchi, Hendricks, d’Arnaud, Newman, Kingery and Soler all fit that bill and that it’ll be something they’ll continue to emphasize.

“We’ve really tried to add quality people in the locker room,” Minasian said. “That was No. 1 when it came to, what do we want to add this offseason. You take a look how they fit from a makeup standpoint and then you get into the talent.”