For a team that acquired four All-Stars and five former first-round draft picks this winter, the Angels have not generated much confidence among anyone that their streak of 10 straight losing seasons is coming to an end in 2026.

That probably has something to do with the fact that only one of those new players was actually productive in 2025.

Left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz, believe it or not, takes the crown as the Angels’ addition coming off the best season. Pomeranz had a 2.17 ERA with the Chicago Cubs in 2025.

Pomeranz, 37, is actually the shining example of what the Angels are hoping for with most of the rest of their acquisitions. A former first-round pick (2010) and All-Star (2016), Pomeranz had been out of the majors from 2022 to 2024 because of injuries and ineffectiveness. Last year, the Cubs took a shot on him with a minor-league deal and he enjoyed a career revival.

Now, the Angels are opening Camp Comeback and hoping that they can get similar outcomes from pitchers Grayson Rodriguez, Alek Manoah, Kirby Yates and Jordan Romano, outfielder Josh Lowe and infielder Vaughn Grissom.

Of that group, only Yates, Romano and Lowe even played in the majors in 2025.

These kind of players are often described as “lottery tickets.” There is virtually no risk if they miss, but there is still enough hope that they’ll be good, because they aren’t that far removed from success.

It doesn’t take an expert in economics to know that lottery tickets are no way to be confident in growth.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian, however, was clearly limited by team owner Arte Moreno in what he could spend this winter. Uncertainty with the Angels’ TV deal has left them with reduced revenue.

It’s also worth acknowledging that there was no realistic offseason blueprint that included the quantity or quality of acquisitions to drastically affect their expectations. Normally, when a team goes from being bad to good, it’s because of improvement from the players they already had.

The Toronto Blue Jays, for example, went from 74 victories in 2024 to 94 victories and an American League pennant in 2025. None of the players the Blue Jays added last winter accounted for more than 0.5 WAR in 2025, according to Baseball-Reference.

If the Angels make a jump to contention in 2026, it will because of increased production from players like shortstop Zach Neto, catcher Logan O’Hoppe, first baseman Nolan Schanuel, outfielder Jo Adell, second baseman Christian Moore and pitchers José Soriano and Reid Detmers. It also wouldn’t hurt if 34-year-old Mike Trout could turn back the clock and get closer to being an All-Star-caliber player.

While Minasian waits to see if any of that happens – under the tutelage of an entirely new coaching staff – he’s plugged the holes around his core players with high-upside, low-risk fliers.

It’s a contrast to previous winters, when the Angels often loaded up on thirty-something, middle-tier players who were more likely to go down than up. Think Brandon Drury, Hunter Renfroe, Tyler Anderson, etc. Those players also ate up at least $8 million of payroll, so the risk was greater than with this year’s crop.

Rodriguez represents the prize of the class.

A former first-round pick, he was a consensus top-10 prospect in the game in 2023. He reached the majors that year, and was dominating by the end of the season. He started strong in 2024, before suffering a series of injuries that have kept him out of the majors since.

The upside is not only in his talent, but the fact that he’s still making around the major league minimum salary, and the Angels could have the 26-year-old for four seasons before he’s eligible for free agency.

Manoah, 28, was the 11th pick in the 2019 draft. He pitched in the All-Star Game in 2022 and posted a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts for Toronto that season. Since then, he hasn’t been the same, in part because of undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Angels signed Manoah for just $1.95 million for one year, but if he has a good season they can keep him at an arbitration salary for 2027, too.

Lowe, 28, was the 13th pick of the 2016 draft and became a top-50 prospect. In his first full season in the majors, in 2023, he hit 20 home runs with an .835 OPS. His power-and-speed combo made him an enticing young player.

A string of oblique injuries contributed to him declining over the past two years, enough that the Angels could get him in a three-way trade, sacrificing a low-level prospect and a middle reliever with one year of control. Lowe is making only $2.6 million in 2026, and the Angels control him for three years.

Grissom, 25, was a good enough prospect to be the main player in a deal for left-hander Chris Sale. He has played parts of three seasons in the majors with a .654 OPS. The Angels picked him up for a low-level minor leaguer. He’s still making the minimum salary, and he’s under control through at least 2031.

Yates, 38, and Romano, 32, are a different category. Each is a two-time All-Star. Yates was good as recently as 2024, when he had 33 saves with a 1.17 ERA for the Texas Rangers. He was hurt most of last season with the Dodgers. Romano had a 2.37 ERA and 95 saves over a three-year span, from 2021-23. Injuries spoiled the past two years. The Angels invested just $5 million in Yates and $2 million in Romano. If either one of them has a bounce-back season, and the Angels still aren’t good, the relievers would be potential trade chips in July.

The Angels also have a handful of similar fliers in camp on minor league deals.

Infielder Trey Mancini was an above-average player with the Baltimore Orioles, but he’s been out of the big leagues since 2023. Infielder Nick Madrigal was the fourth overall pick in 2017. His career with the Chicago White Sox started out well, but he has since declined and missed all of last season with a shoulder injury.

Right-hander Nick Sandlin, who has a 3.19 ERA in 228 major league games, missed much of last season because of an elbow injury.

All of them are certain to show up in spring training talking about how it finally feels to be healthy, or how a new pitch/swing/workout/attitude will allow them to perform the way they did before being relegated to Camp Comeback.

The Angels will be hoping that a few of them can actually do it.