STARTING ROTATION

If you squint and look for the glass-half-full perspective, the Angels could have their best rotation in years. Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi and right-hander José Soriano both provided quality work over more than 30 starts last season. Each had a relatively down season, so there’s upside. Left-hander Reid Detmers pitched well as a reliever last season, after being up-and-down as a starter. If he can take the lessons from the bullpen into the rotation, he has the stuff to be a mid-rotation starter, at least. Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez has the stuff to be a front-line starter, but he’s been hurt for a season and a half, and the Angels slowed him down last week. The race for the back end of the rotation was wide open late in camp, with right-handers Ryan Johnson and Jack Kochanowicz pitching the best and locking down spots to begin the season. If injuries or ineffectiveness hit the rotation, the Angels will have little hope of covering that deficiency with their offense or bullpen.

BULLPEN

The top two relievers from last season – Kenley Jansen and Detmers – are gone. Jansen left as a free agent and Detmers moved to the rotation. The Angels are turning to a cast of veterans with varying degrees of recent success. Right-handers Kirby Yates and Jordan Romano were All-Star closers before injuries. Both were healthy in spring training. Left-handers Drew Pomeranz and Brent Suter were both healthy last season and this spring. The Angels hoped that veteran right-hander Robert Stephenson would join them, but he had a setback with his arm late in spring training and will likely miss significant time. Right-hander Ben Joyce has the highest upside of all of them, with a fastball that has hit 105 mph. The Angels cautiously rehabbed him from shoulder surgery in spring training, so there’s hope that he’ll be ready to go shortly into the season. Beyond that group, right-hander Sam Bachman had the most impressive spring. He’s now a year removed from his last health issue, after an injury-filled start to his career.

INFIELD

The two fixtures are shortstop Zach Neto and first baseman Nolan Schanuel. Neto hit 26 home runs and stole 26 bases last season, with a .793 OPS. Schanuel is a bat-control specialist who hit .264 with a .353 on-base percentage. The other two spots are much less certain. The Angels have gotten some of the worst production in the majors at second and third for two years in a row. Veteran Yoán Moncada begins the season as the third baseman. He was productive when he was healthy, but he’s often injured. His defense was also disappointing last season. Christian Moore opened camp as the likely second baseman, but he had a rough spring and was sent down, leaving Oswald Peraza as the leading candidate for the job. Although Peraza hasn’t shown much with the bat throughout his young career, he had an encouraging spring.

OUTFIELD

The Angels are returning three-time American League MVP Mike Trout to center field, a year after shifting him to right in an effort to keep him healthy. He said he’s excited about getting back to a spot where he’s most comfortable. If he can do it – from a physical standpoint and by covering the ground – the Angels’ lineup works much better. Jo Adell and newcomer Josh Lowe are both better suited defensively as corner outfielders, and Jorge Soler is a DH. However they’re lined up, it’s a group that has a chance to provide solid production at the plate. Adell hit 37 homers in a breakout season last year. The next step for him is to improve on his .236 batting average and .296 on-base percentage. Although Trout was limited to DH duty for most of the season, he still played 130 games and hit 26 home runs with a .797 OPS. He identified a flaw in his swing late last season, so he was optimistic that he can be better this year. Lowe struggled with the Tampa Bay Rays each of the past two years, largely because of oblique problems. He missed much of the spring with another oblique issue (on the other side) so the jury is out on what he’ll do at the plate.

CATCHER

Logan O’Hoppe started last season on a hot streak and then went into a four-month deep freeze. He struggled offensively and defensively. For most of the spring, he was one of the Angels’ better hitters. There’s also hope for his defense because the Angels now have Max Stassi as the catching coach.

DESIGNATED HITTER

Ideally, Soler will get most of the time at DH, with Trout playing mostly in the outfield. Soler had a good spring at the plate. Considering Trout’s injury history, though, it’s very possible that Trout ends up relegated to DH, which would push Soler into the outfield. The Angels would also like to be able to use the DH spot occasionally for O’Hoppe.

BENCH

Backup catcher Travis d’Arnaud is an important piece of the roster because the Angels would prefer that O’Hoppe gets enough rest to be productive. Jeimer Candelario and Adam Frazier each had good numbers at the plate this spring, and both can play multiple positions. Candelario is a switch-hitter and Frazier is a lefty, so that helps give the Angels some balance that their starting lineup doesn’t have. Bryce Teodosio is an excellent defensive outfielder with speed. Vaughn Grissom, who suffered a hand injury late in spring training, also could provide some versatility when he’s healthy.

MANAGER

Kurt Suzuki played his last game in 2022, so many of his players are former teammates or opponents. That creates an interesting dynamic. In spring training, the players seemed to enjoy the mood that Suzuki set in the clubhouse. If he is going to keep his job beyond the one-year deal he received when he was hired, the Angels will need to show some positive results in the season, too.