1 Angels reliever who should make the Opening Day bullpen, 1 who should not

1 reliever who should make the Opening Day bullpen: Chase Silseth

Let's say the Angels do, in fact, add a back-end reliever. Would you feel more comfortable with Chase Silseth or José Suarez as your long reliever? Right now, Silseth would be a swing guy for the Angels bullpen -- meaning some games he can eat innings (either in long relief, or 2-3 innings of middle relief), and others he could act as a more traditional set-up man. He would be a solid swing guy, but a more traditional long relief duty would suit both Silseth and the Angels better. His arsenal of pitches is too deep, too nasty to reign in now for a back-end bullpen role. Silseth's five-pitch mix, perhaps even six-pitch, should remain effective

Silseth still has more to prove at the big league level coming off his lost 2024 season. A long relief role at the beginning of 2025 for Silseth could maybe lead him to harness his stuff, starting him down a path to become Joyce's set-up man down the road.

It's a close call between Silseth and Bachman as Opening Day relievers, if it came down to one to the Angels and one to the Bees. They both have the velocity. They both have upside. They are both coming into spring training stretched out. It feels like Bachman needs more time in the minors to prepare for a bullpen role than Silseth, just for the mere fact that Bachman's an absolute sicko (complimentary) when it comes to his preparation. Silseth seems more Opening Day-ready and malleable than Bachman. If the Angels were to cut bait with Suarez, thus putting the team in need of a long-relief option, then Silseth is better equipped for that role.

Other relievers who should make it: Ben Joyce (obviously), Brock Burke, José Quijada...Ryan Zeferjahn is close and he likely gets in, but he's not a lock like those three.