We’re getting closer to the reporting date for pitchers and catchers, and the Los Angeles Angels actually have a preliminary roster of sorts. You have to squint a lot to see who’s actually going to be on it, but Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com took a run at that puzzle and came up with a pretty close approximation.
The linchpin to Bollinger’s piece is the signing of Yoan Moncada this week. Moncada will seemingly be the Angels’ third baseman this year, which is one of those “sad but true” storylines given how much the fan base was hoping for an upgrade.
The rest of the infield is better, although there are still issues. Christian Moore is the betting favorite as the second baseman, and Nolan Schanuel is solid at first. Shortstop Zach Neto is the shining light, and he and catcher Logan O’Hoppe both have All-Star potential. Mike Trout will be the DH, of course, and hopefully he won't spend any time in the outfield.
The outfield will still make you cringe. The Angels traded away Taylor Ward, of course, and they got outfielder Josh Lowe from Tampa Bay. The Halos still don’t know where Lowe will play, but the hope is that he can step in at center so the Angels can move slugging outfielder Jo Adell to a corner slot. Don’t sleep on prospect Nelson Rada getting a shot in center, either, although it would probably be better if Rada got more seasoning at Triple A, and Jorge Soler and Bryce Teodosio are in the mix as well.
The pitching staff looks somewhat better, mostly because the Angels have added a new manager, Kurt Suzuki, who spent 15 years as a big-league catcher, and they also made a savvy pitching coach hire by adding Mike Maddux.
The starting rotation starts with Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano, both of whom are locks. Newly-acquired Grayson Rodriguez will hopefully step in as the third starter to go with converted reliever Reid Detmers, but there’s still time for additions or subtractions in the back of the rotation.
The bullpen features plenty of interesting names. The Angels signed relievers Drew Pomeranz, Kirby Yates and Jordan Romano to one-year deals, and Robert Stephenson will join them in the pen if he’s healthy. Ben Joyce could join them in the pen, and there are other names who could catch on.
Bollinger listed plenty of other names in his rundown, but it’s really too soon to project a lot of the backups and players who will just be competing for a job. Those are the big names to know when the Angels report to Tempe, pending another serious move or two between now and then.