The day after the end of the 2011 regular season, the Angels vowed to be "creative" and "aggressive" in their approach to the upcoming offseason because of the team missing out on the postseason two years in a row for the first time since 2000–01.

[4] On December 8, 2011, the Angels shocked the baseball world by signing former St. Louis Cardinals star Albert Pujols and Texas Rangers ace C. J. Wilson spending up to $331 million on the two players.

[7] The two prize signings were introduced to the Southern California media and fans on December 10 in front of the two large hats at Angel Stadium.

[10] One of the first moves made by new general manager Jerry Dipoto was to acquire former Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta for pitcher Tyler Chatwood.

They also sent former Angels catcher Jeff Mathis to Toronto in order to make room at the catching position for Iannetta.

[13] Later, on December 12, the Angels announced that all eligible players will be tendered a contract, including Kendrys Morales, the slugger who has not played since his breaking his leg early in the 2010 season.

The Angels came into the Spring with high expectations for the following 2012 campaign due to the large amount of money spent by owner Arte Moreno in the offseason signing slugger Albert Pujols and lefty C. J. Wilson.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Angels franchise going into the Spring training was whether or not Kendrys Morales would make a comeback from breaking his ankle in 2010.