Halos hope for more Maddux magic with new pitching coach
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ANAHEIM -- The Angels made an impressive addition to their coaching staff, hiring veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux from the Rangers on Friday -- but Maddux now faces the tall task of fixing the club’s pitching problems.
Angels pitchers combined to post the third-worst ERA in the Majors at 4.89, while also ranking sixth-to-last with 1,280 strikeouts and leading all clubs with 620 walks issued. And in the bullpen, while Kenley Jansen went 29-for-30 in save opportunities, the club led the big leagues with 33 blown saves, four more than any other club. Jansen is now a free agent, and the Angels are in need of a new closer.
But fortunately for the Angels, Maddux has worked his magic plenty of times before, transforming pitching staffs during his 23 years of experience with the Brewers (2003-08), Rangers (2009-15, 2023-25), Nationals (2016-17) and Cardinals (2018-22).
Most recently, he helped turn around the Rangers’ pitching, as they had a 4.22 ERA that ranked 22nd in baseball in ’22 before he took over in ’23. In his first year, they had a similar 4.28 ERA but went on to post a 3.83 ERA in 155 innings in the postseason en route to winning the franchise’s first World Series title. After a step back in ’24 with a 4.37 ERA, the Rangers led the Majors with a 3.49 ERA in ’25.
Of course, it helps to have veterans like Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi in the rotation, but he also helped Patrick Corbin turn around things after several rough seasons and helped develop Jack Leiter. The bullpen also didn’t have any high-priced veterans but still had a 3.62 ERA, the fifth-best mark in MLB.
The Rangers did a much better job of getting ahead of hitters last year compared to the Angels, as Texas pitchers threw first-pitch strikes 63.2 percent of the time, which ranked seventh. Angels pitchers fired first-pitch strikes at a 60.4 percent clip, which ranked 27th. It’s an area of focus that previous pitching coach Barry Enright preached, but it just never took hold during his time with the club.
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Maddux inherits a rotation that only brings back lefty Yusei Kikuchi and right-hander José Soriano, while lefty Reid Detmers will go back to starting after a successful year in relief.
Kikuchi was mostly solid in his first year with the club but was frustrated with the coaching staff late in the season, especially after being pulled from his start in Milwaukee on Sept. 18. Soriano stayed healthy with a career-high 31 starts but his stuff is too good to be posting a 4.26 ERA, so Maddux will have to try to help him avoid blowup outings that plagued him several times in ’25. And Detmers still has plenty of potential, but he needs to prove he can put it all together as a starter.
Otherwise, general manager Perry Minasian stated he’d like to acquire at least two starters via free agency or trade. The rest of their options are young and unproven such as Caden Dana, Mitch Farris, Jack Kochanowicz, Sam Aldegheri, George Klassen, Ryan Johnson, Chris Cortez and No. 2 overall pick Tyler Bremner. But the development of those prospects under Maddux will be key to the future of the organization.
The bullpen isn’t in much better shape, especially with Jansen a free agent. Lefty Brock Burke, who worked with Maddux during his time in Texas from ’23-24, is coming off a strong year, but the rest are question marks. There’s still no update on right-hander Robert Stephenson's right elbow and he’s pitched just 10 innings over the last two years since joining the club. And flamethrower Ben Joyce's season was cut short by right shoulder surgery in May -- which can be tricky to come back from.
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Adding to the bullpen will again be a priority for Minasian this offseason but they're going to need others -- like Ryan Zeferjahn, Chase Silseth, José Fermin, Sam Bachman and Victor Mederos -- to step up.
So, Maddux will have his hands full trying to fix the club’s pitching woes. But given his track record, he should be able to aid Kurt Suzuki in his first foray into managing. It’ll help to have a veteran voice in Suzuki’s ear, which is why hiring the right bench coach will also be important for the organization.