2 glaring mistakes the Angels made setting Opening Day roster

In many ways, the Angels made the right call more often than not when it came to deciding who to keep on the opening day roster. While many feared the team would keep underperforming bullpen arms over more promising young players, the team did what it had to do, DFA'ing the likes of Jose Quijada and Angel Perdomo and trading away Jose Suarez to add balance to the pen.

They also made the right call on Kyren Paris, keeping the youngster with the big-league club after a scorching spring that has carried over and seen him become the team's best hitter in the early going, though it remains to be seen if the club will use him correctly.

While there's a lot to like about the decisions the Halos made when setting the opening-day roster, two eye-catching issues stand out. Unfortunately, these two head-scratching decisions are related to one another, further complicating the situation.

The Angels kept too many shortstops on the opening day roster

With Zach Neto recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, it became clear that the Angels' top priority was to ensure they had someone who could keep the position afloat until his early-season return.

As a result, the Angels went with a shortstop-by-committee approach, with three different players getting the starting nod through six games. That cast of characters includes Kevin Newman, Tim Anderson, and Nicky Lopez.

Newman was an early offseason addition, seemingly indicating that he was one of the Halos' prime targets, which makes sense. A strong defender with a below-average but capable bat, the 31-year-old put up a respectable 1.4 fWAR season for the Arizona Diamondbacks, playing multiple positions and handling the bat well enough to finish with a .278 average.

The common assumption throughout the offseason was that Newman would be the starter until Neto returned, which would then push the versatile veteran into the utility infield role that he is best suited for. That logic was sound, however, a backup would've been needed.

The Halos seemed to provide that in minor-league free-agent signee Tim Anderson. The former Chicago White Sox has had a rapid fall from grace going from two-time All-Star and 2019 batting champ to one of the worst hitters in the league over the past two seasons.

Further confounding things was the eleventh-hour decision to sign the slick fielding Nicky Lopez. Another natural shortstop, Lopez is an extremely gifted defender who, aside from one outlier year in 2021, has been a negative with the bat. Still, his defensive prowess seemed to make him a fine backup option until Neto returned.

However, the Angels decided to keep all three, in addition to Kyren Paris, who is a middle infielder by trade but has now been seemingly pushed to roam the outfield exclusively. Unsurprisingly, Tim Anderson has been incredibly uninspiring in the opportunities he's received so far, and his presence on the roster is wholly unnecessary given Newman, Lopez, and Paris' ability to handle the middle infield roles.

Simply put, the Angels are now putting up unnecessary barriers to playing time for one of their best young hitters in Paris in addition to leaving another key need unfilled by creating a glut of shortstops.