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Angels GM 'Still Looking' To Make Bullpen Moves After Pomeranz, Romano Signings
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- Angels GM 'Still Looking' To Make Bullpen Moves After Pomeranz, Romano Signings
(© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
The Los Angeles Angels made two additions to their bullpen on Tuesday night , signing theright-handed Jordan Romano and the left-handed Drew Pomeranz to $2 million and $4 million deals, respectively.
It's the third and fourth moves to add pitching this offseason for general manager Perry Minasian and the Halos, previously trading for starter Grayson Rodriguez and signing Alek Manoah . With the new additions to the bullpen, Minasian is trying to make a statement.
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He's making clear, intentional moves to improve the Angels' record after a 90-loss season in 2025. A huge part of the lack of success last season in Anaheim was the weakness the club had in its pitching staff. As a team, the Angels posted the third-highest ERA in baseball at 4.89 . Minasian is attempting to improve his team's numbers next season in the starting rotation and the bullpen.
Pomeranz is coming off one of his best seasons in the MLB with the Chicago Cubs last season, posting a 2.17 ERA across 49 ⅔ innings . At 37 years old, the Angels will be bringing in an experienced arm ready to immediately elevate the floor of their bullpen.
The Romano signing comes with an opposite approach. The 32-year-old has been poor the last two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies . Posting a 6.59 ERA in 2024 and an even worse 8.23 ERA in 2025 , Romano's addition comes with the hopes of a huge bounce-back season. He won't come to Anaheim and raise the floor, but if he can return to his pre-2024 numbers, the Angels would have found themselves with one of baseball's best relievers on just a $2 million deal.
For Minasian, the upside was the driving factor in bringing Romano into the squad.
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"We won [72] games, right? So we need upside and to be able to add what we've added so far, spending limited dollars, we have a lot of holes, and we need to fill those holes. And we still have opportunity to do a lot of things," he told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger .
There are indeed plenty of holes on the Halos roster, but the indication is that the front office is looking to competently address them in hopes of a much-improved 2026 campaign. With the added motivation of just one year left on his contract, Minasian is more motivated than ever to field the best possible team in Anaheim next spring.
He isn't finished making moves to address the team's pitching, either.
"There's no set closer right now. We're still looking at [the] bullpen," he added. "It's not an area where we're done. We're still going to look to add to that group."
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With more moves expected to come in the coming weeks and months of the offseason, the direction the Angels are moving in is seemingly a positive one. Expecting a playoff-caliber team next season would be a stretch, but the indication is that the Halos will be fighting to get closer to that .500 mark in 2026.
