3 players who will eventually steal a roster spot for the Angels in 2025

As is the case every year, the players who start the season on the 26-man roster likely won't all maintain their spots until the end of the season. This is especially true in 2025 with the Angels, a team in transition with a collection of burgeoning youngsters knocking on the door of the majors.

Spring performances will play a role, as will minor league stats during the season and past track records. For the Angels, this is a bit of a tough exercise. Some roster spots are currently up for debate, but what is a near-certainty is that the team will move on from veterans in favor of up-and-coming young talents as the season progresses.

These three stand as the players with the best shot the grab a roster spot in 2025 and also look to be building blocks for the future. Their big-league roles once they arrive may start small and their ascent might be accelerated due to injury-related needs, but ultimately all three have a good chance to make it onto the major league roster and make their case for even larger roles in 2026.

Matthew Lugo will crack the outfield rotation

Matthew Lugo is often overlooked. Depending on the source, he's ranked anywhere from 13th to 32nd among Angels prospects, in a system that the experts rank as nearly unanimously the worst in baseball.

He was an overlooked part of the Luis Garcia trade last season as well, as pieces that got big league exposure immediately like Ryan Zeferjahn and Niko Kavadas receive more attention than Lugo. His 2024 season was ended prematurely by a hand injury on August 2nd, shortly after the Angels acquired him.

While the injury was less than ideal, Lugo split time between AA and AAA and tore the cover off the ball. He clocked 17 long balls with a combined line of .287/.376/.578 with an eye-watering .291 ISO, showcasing his power potential.

In big-league camp, he's picked up where he left off this spring with a .321/.357/.509 line, which has generated very little buzz. Lugo's only walked twice in 56 spring plate appearances, but his 10.1% walk rate from last season indicates he can display the requisite plate discipline to make the rest of his offensive skills play.

Lugo turns 24 in May and has multiple pathways to a big-league spot. He could be the first man called up should someone get hurt in the outfield. He could also be brought up in the event that the Jo Adell-Mickey Moniak platoon falls flat in center. Lastly, if the Angels fall way out of the race and decide to sell veteran assets at the trade deadline, Lugo could be fast-tracked to a starting role.

It's a near-certainty that Lugo will make his arrival on the major league team in 2025, and should very quickly establish himself as a player who can compete for a starting role in 2026, if not earlier.

Ryan Johnson will be a member of the Angels pen, perhaps even by opening day

Regardless of whether or not he actually earns an opening-day roster spot, Ryan Johnson seems destined for the majors in 2025. The 6-foot-6 righty has impressed in spring training despite surrendering a couple of earned runs in his last outing.

Through 9.1 spring innings, the 22-year-old has posted a 3.86 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. His control has been great giving up 0 walks so far, and he's shown he can get outs in a variety of ways despite zero prior professional experience.

Johnson, drafted in 2024, ended up being the result of the comp pick the Angels received for losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency. The sting of losing Ohtani will never fully subside, but Angels fans should find some solace in the fact that Johnson appears to be a building block for the future.

With a deceptive and jumpy delivery and a strange three-quarters arm slot, Johnson has the look of a reliever who can get outs by keeping hitters off balance. However, he did start some in college and his repertoire is that of a starter.

Featuring a five-pitch mix that includes a fastball, slider, cutter, curveball, and changeup, Johnson has plenty to do battle with. His fastball doesn't have elite velocity, though he can reach back and put a little extra on it if need be, and his delivery makes it appear as if it's coming in quicker.

His secondary stuff, in particular the slider, plays up and can generate whiffs. The reliever delivery paired with the starter arsenal makes him a bit of an interesting case. While he's only pitched in relief this spring, the Angels could decide to try him out as a starter in the minors. That would delay his ascension, however.

With his skill set, he could become a versatile and highly effective reliever at the MLB level. The Angels have a lefty-heavy pen, so Johnson, as a reliever, has a shot to make the team out of the gate, but if not, could be the first bullpen option brought up when one of the uninspiring lefty veterans struggles.

Keeping in line with the Angels philosophy of drafting polished college players and fast-tracking them to the show, Johnson should make his appearance in 2025, and maybe won't ever spend a day in the minor leagues.

Kyren Paris won't start out 2025 in the majors, but he'll be a part of the big league club yet again

Unlike the first two players on our list, Kyren Paris has racked up previous major league experience, but unfortunately, those prior stints couldn't have gone worse. His spot on the 40-man roster was, at one point, thought to be in jeopardy but thanks to his drastic shift in approach at the plate he appears not only safe but vital to the Angels.

Paris has been a revelation this spring offensively, posting a .361/.425/.694 line with a pair of homers over 40 plate appearances. Spring stats aren't always what they appear, but after Paris sought out Aaron Judge's personal hitting coach the near-wholesale changes he's made seem to indicate that he's the real deal.

While fans have begun clamoring for him to make the opening-day roster, it doesn't seem likely. For one thing, much of his production has come later in games against lesser pitchers, so the Angels will likely want him to continue refining his new swing in AAA to start the year.

Secondly, while Paris has played a little bit at second, short, and third, the defense hasn't always been as solid as you'd like. The versatility is nice, but the club will likely want him to iron out the kinks a bit more before trusting him on the big-league roster.

Yet it's that versatility that will likely earn him yet another big-league opportunity in 2025. Should someone go down in the infield, a real possibility given the fragile natures of Yoan Moncada and Luis Rengifo, Paris will likely be the replacement called upon.

Furthermore, other infield options that may make the team out of spring training like Tim Anderson and J.D. Davis may not hold on to those spots long if they struggle and Paris continues what he's done this spring down in AAA.

One way or another, Kyren Paris will find a place on the 2025 Angels, and likely this time he won't look like a completely overmatched kid. He might not be all the way back just yet, but that prospect glow that many thought had been extinguished is starting to shine again, and he could find himself back in the team's future plans.

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