The Los Angeles Angels are making their final roster decisions, so there’s a lot of body shuffling going on. This camp has been full of surprises, and Rhett Bollinter of MLB.com did a rundown on who’s going to make it, who will be sent down and which players will be sent packing, so let’s go there with some of his projections.
Second base and infield roles
The big surprise here is that prospect Christian Moore has already been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake, and manager Kurt Suzuki looks to be leaning toward veteran Adam Frazier to help stabilize the infield at second base.
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Oswald Peraza has had an impressive spring and could be in the mix at second, while Chris Taylor has already been let go and Vaughn Grissom had a cortisone shot in his ailing left hand this week, according to Bollinger. Don’t count out Jeimer Candelario, either, as he’s had a strong camp and could step in at third if incumbent Yoan Moncada doesn’t hit.
The rotation
The first three names here are familiar, with Jose Soriano, Yusei Kikushi and Reid Detmers lining up as starters. But Grayson Rodriguez isn’t healthy and Alek Manoah has been hit hard, so Jack Kochanowicz is the current leader to be the temporary fourth starter.
Bullpen and closer
The competition here was fierce, but this isn’t an impressive group. Bollinger named the likes of Kirby Yates, Jordan Romano, Drew Pomeranz and Brent Suter as locks to make the bullpen, with Chase Silseth, Sam Bachman and Ryan Zeferjahn putting themselves in position to make the team. Walbert Urena could also make the pen as a swing pitcher, with Yates first out of the gate as closer. Expect a lot of changes here, though, as manager Kurt Suzuki still has a long way to go to finalize the bullpen.
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The Angels also made some other moves reassigning several players that were significant. Left-handed prospect Mitch Farris was optioned to Salt Lake, which wasn’t surprising given how hard he got hit this spring, while George Klassen was also reassigned despite making a strong early bid to join the rotation.
The outfield group is more stable, especially with Mike Trout expected to play at least some games in center field, which will allow Jo Adell to shift over to a corner outfield position. And at least some of the DH at-bats will go to Jorge Soler, who’s hit well throughout the spring.