3 Angels players who will be on short leashes if they make the 2025 roster

Reid Detmers

Reid Detmers has a body language problem, and his Angels tenure might have become too toxic in order to continue rostering. After a terrible outing against the worst baseball team ever, Ron Washington said, “You can see the body language out there. He didn’t have the feel for the things he wanted to do. And when it didn’t happen, he didn’t stay focused and try to make it happen. Looked like he just gave in to it. That’s the type of thing that he’s got to fight. We all know what his ability is, but the mental side of it is where he has to fight.”

A full demotion to AAA Salt Lake helps nobody, as Angels fans saw last year. Detmers' development must continue at the big league level one way or another. He's simply too talented to hide in the Minor Leagues, and the Salt Lake City altitude is the worst place to develop pitching.

The Angels have a crop of pitchers who could supplant Detmers in the rotation, but none are ideal. Tyler Anderson, José Soriano, Detmers, Griffin Canning, and Jack Kochanowicz are the current favorites to start for the Angels in 2025, with Chase Silseth, José Suarez, Davis Daniel, Kenny Rosenberg, and Samuel Aldegheri representing semi-viable options to crack the rotation.

Detmers might be in need of a change of scenery, and if Detmers struggles at the beginning of 2025 the 25-year-old, former 1st round pick should retain trade value.