Here are some of the key questions the Angels hope to answer during spring training:

How is Grayson Rodriguez?

Rodriguez is a huge question mark for the Angels.

The right-hander has shown the stuff to be a front-line starting pitcher, and he’s still just 26 years old. If he can be what he looked like he would be with the Baltimore Orioles, the Angels look like a different team.

Rodriguez suffered a lat strain in the summer of 2024, and then last season he had another lat strain, followed by elbow problems. He had surgery to remove bone spurs in August. Rodriguez said he believes the bone spurs were the root of all the problems, and he’ll be good to go now. Obviously, the Orioles were skeptical of that or they wouldn’t have traded four years of Rodriguez for one year of Taylor Ward.

How is Mike Trout?

This has been a standard question the Angels face every year. The three-time American League MVP has been on the injured list at least once for each of the past five seasons, missing at least half a season three times.

Last year he was healthy enough to come to the plate 556 times – his most since 2019 – but he didn’t play the field after returning from a monthlong IL stint in May.

If Trout is feeling good enough to return to the outfield, it would help by allowing Soler to stick to DH. The Angels won’t push it, though. If Trout needs to DH to stay in the lineup, that’s what he’ll do.

Spring training performances don’t mean much, but it will be nonetheless worth something to see how Trout hits in Arizona. He was in a slump for most of the season last year, but he finished strong when he discovered a mechanical tweak.

Who will be the center fielder?

This has been an ongoing issue for the team ever since Trout began having injury issues that took him out of his normal position. Then last season the Angels moved Trout to right field.

Jo Adell got the first crack at the spot, and he didn’t handle it well, so the Angels put defensive specialist Bryce Teodosio there. Now, they still have Adell and Teodosio, but they’ve added Josh Lowe to the mix.

Lowe played center field in the minors but he’s played there just 25 times in the majors. The Angels would have their best lineup if Lowe can handle center, because that allows them to also have Adell, Trout and Jorge Soler in the lineup, with one at DH.

If Lowe can’t play center, the Angels have a problem. They’d either have to try Adell again or go with a subpar hitter, like Teodosio.

Who will be the fifth starter?

Assuming all are healthy, left-handers Yusei Kikuchi and Reid Detmers and right-handers José Soriano and Rodriguez will have the first four spots in the rotation.

The leading candidate for the No. 5 spot is right-hander Alek Manoah, who was an All-Star in 2022 but has since had his career derailed by injuries. Manoah could pitch in the bullpen and he can even be optioned, so he’ll have to win a rotation spot in the spring.

If it’s not Manoah, there is a long list of pitchers who could slip in there with a good spring: right-handers Caden Dana, Jack Kochanowicz, Ryan Johnson and Victor Mederos, and left-handers Sam Aldegheri and Mitch Farris would all have a shot out of camp.

Who will be the closer?

The Angels’ bullpen has been revamped, which is a good thing after last year’s group ranked 28th in the majors in relief ERA. As camp opens, they have four pitchers who look most likely to have a shot at winning the closer job.

The safest bet is veteran Kirby Yates, who was a dominant closer as recently as 2024. He was hurt most of last season with the Dodgers. Right-hander Jordan Romano had good seasons closing for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022 and 2023, but he’s been hurt much of the past two.

Right-hander Robert Stephenson is back for his third season with the Angels, even though injuries have limited him to just 10 innings the past two. He was electric in the brief time he pitched, so if he’s healthy he could do the job.

Of course, Ben Joyce remains the logical long-term answer, if he’s healthy. Joyce can throw 105 mph, and he can be dominant. His problem is he’s been on the injured list each of the past three seasons, including shoulder surgery last year. He’s still pitched just 49 innings in the majors.