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

The Angels might turn up the hot stove here relatively soon, and some current pitchers on the roster will have to earn a job when spring training begins in less than a month. On paper, the Angels need a whole lot of help out of the 'pen despite having a lot of internal options who they can turn to should they strike out in free agency. If the season started tomorrow, the bullpen would likely look like this:

Closer: Ben Joyce 
Set-up/middle relief: Brock Burke, Ryan Zeferjahn, José Quijada, Hans Crouse
Swing guys: Chase Silseth, Sam Bachman 
Long relief: José Suarez

Well, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Angels told an agent that they want to upgrade "two or three bullpen spots." FanSided's Robert Murray reiterated that the Angels are going to be active in the free agent reliever market. Supplanting some of those names is not the highest bar in the world, but a bigger name (like David Robertson) would be much appreciated. The corresponding moves for two-three additions in the bullpen would be interesting.

Let's start with who should not make the team of that group, as that will roll into who should.

1 reliever who should not make the Opening Day bullpen: José Suarez

Why did the Angels non-tender Patrick Sandoval but tender a contract to Suarez again?

Angels fans know that Suarez pitched fairly well at the end of 2024, granted he labored in his last outing of the year against the historically awful White Sox. However, his September was basically the MLB equivalent of an NBA player putting up stats while the team is down 50 points. Suarez pitched for a team that was far out of playoff contention with zero expectations, zero stakes, and it was a small sample size of four outings.

We've all been tantalized by Suarez before. He was terrible in April and June, but showed some flashes in May and September (again, September was a small sample size in meaningless games). Just when you think you're out on Suarez, he pulls you back in. We all know the drill -- if he makes it to spring training, he will look good in ST games, his velocity will be up, and fans and reporters will be back in on him. He's just far too streaky to be trusted for an Angels team looking to contend. The project should be over, he's just not the same guy from his breakout campaign in 2021 and solid follow up in 2022.

If the Angels waive Suarez then he will probably get claimed off waivers. If he doesn't, then even better as the team could retain the asset. Perhaps he would turn it around after a change of scenery, like many Angels players do. It's just not going to happen with the Halos, it appears.

Furthermore, the Angels have far better long relief options than Suarez. Let's get to one here next.

Other relievers who shouldn't make it: Hans Crouse and Sam Bachman. Suarez, Crouse, and Bachman are the three likely candidates for replacements on the open market. Crouse is likely the first to fall.

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.