Who will win the final few roster spots for the LA Angels?

Going into Spring Training the LA Angels had a pretty good idea who 80 percent of the roster would be for Opening Day, but the other 20 percent are always interesting battles and with opening day less than two weeks away let’s look at who could fill the final five roster spots.

Before we start let’s look at those players who are pretty much locks to be on the Opening Day roster for the LA Angels.

1B – Albert Pujols, Luis Valbuena.

2B – Ian Kinsler

3B – Zack Cozart

SS – Andrelton Simmons

C – Martin Maldonado, Rene Rivera

OF – Justin Upton, Mike Trout, Kole Calhoun

SP – Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs, Andrew Heaney, Matt Shoemaker, J.C. Ramirez

RP – Cam Bedrosian, Blake Parker, Kenyan Middleton, Jim Johnson, Noe Ramirez

These players despite a few of them, mainly the pitchers, struggling will almost for sure be on the roster when the Angels play Oakland on March 29th.

So let’s look at the candidates for the final five spots in no particular order.

Shohei Ohtani – Most people would have thought Shohei Ohtani was a lock to be on the Angels Opening Day Roster, but with his struggles both on the mound (0-1, 27.00 ERA), and at the plate (.100 0 HR, 1 RBI) Ohtani may have earned a trip to the minors for more seasoning.

If this does happen it will most likely not be a long trip, but it may be the best thing for him.  This way he will get a chance to work on his game while getting acclimated to American baseball and it will be in a much lower pressure situation.

For Ohtani a spot on the major league roster is still a possibility, especially if he can right his ship in at least one of the two areas; hitting or pitching. As of right now I would rate Othani’s chances of starting the season with the Angels at about 50-50.

The Fourth Outfielder – 

The battle for the fourth outfielder spot is pretty much a two-man race.  The winner will be someone with the last name of Young, but what the first name will be remains to be seen. Eric Young Jr. and Chris Young both have some good reasons why they should win this spot.

Eric Young Jr. Is a defensive specialist with tremendous speed and decent power.  When Mike Trout was out for close to seven weeks in 2017, Young Jr. Filled in admirably and became a fan favorite in Anaheim with his balls to the wall mentality both in the field and on the bases.

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In 47 games last season Young Jr.hit .264 with four homers and 16 runs batted in with 12 stolen bases.  He seemed to have the flair for the dramatic with three game-tying or game-winning homers and numerous clutch hits.

Chris Young on the other hand is a bonfire power bat who has 185 home runs and 577 RBIs in 11 seasons in the majors.  Young can also play all three outfield spot and is an above average defender with a career fielding percentage of .990.

This Spring Young Jr. has hit .324 with two RBIs and Young is only hitting .167 in limited action due to an injury.  If I were a betting man I would go with Chris Young as he has been signed to a major league contract by the Angels and Young Jr. Does not have that same situation.

Sentimentally I would like to see EYJ win the spot as he is a true underdog and that could happen especially if Young is not at full strength, but we will see.  I think the Angels should keep both of them especially if Shohei Ohtani does not make the opening day roster.

Filling out the staff –

The Angels have talked a lot about a six-man rotation mostly to accommodate Shohei Ohtani.  With Ohtani struggling and in danger of not making the opening opening day roster what will the Angels decide to do for their rotation is anyone’s guess. This decision will determine the fate of a couple of Angels starters as well as relievers.

As of right now it is looking like Nick Tropeano and Parker Bridwell are the odd men out in the race for a six-man rotation.  If it turns out the Angels go to a five-man rotation they both will almost definitely be on the outside looking in.  Both have options for the minors and with the way Bridwell has pitched (0-1, 9.22 ERA and a WHIP of 1.90). Tropeano on the otherhand had not logged many innings so far (3.1 IP in two starts) lead most people to believe that will not be in the Angels plans at least initially.

However, on Sunday Tropeano made a strong case for himself to be in the starting rotation talk as he was lights out throwing 81 pitches in 5.1 innings of shutout baseball allowing only two hits and striking out nine batters. So the jury is still out on Tropeano.

Whoever does not make the starting rotation Bridwell, Tropeano, etc. will be ready to come and fill-in if anyone goes down with an injury from the rotation this could change. As for the rest of the staff there a few pitchers vying for two bullpen spots. There is a plethora of left-handed relievers with major league exprience the Angels.

The left-handed specialist spot is a three-man race as Ian Krol, Greg Mahle, and Jose Alvarez all are vying for one spot.  Alvarez is the incumbent and has pitched very well this Spring throwing 8.1 innings giving up only one run with 8 strikeouts with a 1.08 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP.

Ian Krol is a non-roster invitee and has done well in most outings going 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA in 7.2 innings pitched with seven strikeouts.  The only negative is a 1.57 WHIP, but with Alvarez pitching well it may be hard for Krol to break through.  Greg Mahle on the otherhand has been great in limited action pitching in 2.1 innings and giving up only one hit not giving up a run and striking out one batter.

Mahle had a golden chance two years ago, but could not sustain after a stellar Spring and was subsequently sent down.  He most likely will not be able to unseat Alvarez this Spring unless he falters.  We will just have to wait and see.

Other pitchers that have an outside chance to make the roster are Felix Pena and Blake Wood. Pena has looked good this Spring pitching 7.1 innings with a 3.68 ERA and 12 strikeouts with a 1.50 WHIP.  The high WHIP looks bad, but the strikeout numbers put Pena in the conversation.

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As for Blake Wood he probably had a spot coming in this Spring, but he has not pitched well at all.  Wood has posted an 8.10ERA in 6.2 innings with a 2.55 WHIP so his chances of making the roster are now slim at best.

There maybe a surprise addition or omission to the roster at the end of the Spring, but more than likely the players that have been mentioned in this article is where the 25-man roster will be formed from.  Feel free to comment and give your dark horse candidates for the roster.  We will find out in less than two weeks.