By james art 
The offseason moves have only just begun for Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minassian. The Angels’ push began the offseason by acquiring Jorge Soler from the Atlanta Braves less than 24 hours after the World Series Finals.
Although Soler is an outfielder, Minassian said the organization’s focus this offseason will be starting pitching. However, current starters will have to earn their spots as Minassian has made it clear that there will be no handouts before 2025.
Tyler Anderson, Reed Detmers, Jose Soriano and Jack Kohanovich were part of the starting rotation last season. Meanwhile, Chase Silseth, Kaden Dana, Sam Aldegheri and Jose Suarez will all have the opportunity to compete for a starting job in 2025.
“We’re definitely going to look at the free agent market from a rotation standpoint and we’re looking at the trade market from a rotation standpoint,” Minassian told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “This is definitely an area where we can improve. We like some of our indoor options. I believe we’re in a better position since I’ve been here just with the depth we have and the young talent that’s been added over the last few years.”
With Griffin Canning traded for Jorge Soler, the Angels have at least one hole to fill in the starting rotation. The right-hander had a 5.19 ERA in 2024.
Canning, 28, logged 171.2 innings with 31 starts and had one shutout since opening. Minassian was tight-lipped about the departure of Canning, who was set to be eligible for free agency after 2025.
“This is somebody who took the ball every time last year,” Minassian told Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register. “In a year where we had a lot of injuries, he was one of the reliable guys who was right there ready to go. Even when he struggled and had his struggles, he took the ball and gave it everything he had. He’s someone who’s been picked here, developed here, someone who’s been here a long time, who’s made a lot of connections. It’s always hard to move that type of person, especially someone like Griff. But that being said, you have to give to get and we felt it was the right move.”
Minassian made it abundantly clear that acquiring Soler is one of many moves coming this offseason.
“We’re going to be aggressive,” Minassian said. “We will continue to strive to make the team better. We have many areas where we can improve. This is move number 1 and we expect more moves to come.”