4 Angels players who are getting their last chance down in spring training

For many players, spring training is an exciting time that represents opportunity. Prospects look to break in and earn their first big league opportunity. Young players look to prove that they've leveled up their skills. And veterans look to prove they still have something left to offer. However, for certain Los Angeles Angels players, this spring down in Tempe could represent the end of the line.

The Angels come into the spring with much unsettled. There will be battles for spots in the starting rotation and the bullpen. Second base and center field will also be competitions that need to be settled. That means more players than most will have an opportunity to prove their worth.

For some, the cost of not winning one of those competitions could be grave. While a prospect can simply be sent down for further seasoning, some of these more veteran options might be out of chances to prove they belong.

To be clear, we're not talking about players who must perform during the 2026 season to keep their jobs long-term. So, while a guy like Logan O'Hoppe is definitely on the hot seat this season, a poor spring doesn't necessarily pull the curtain down on his future with the Angels.

Instead, a better comp is where Reid Detmers was at this time last year. At that point in time, struggling in the spring might have been the end of the road for him, so while he didn't win the fifth starter battle, the 2.79 ERA he put up last spring was good enough to earn him a spot in the Halos bullpen. Now, he'll get another crack at being a starter, but the club has the luxury of knowing they can throw him in the pen if it doesn't work out.

Here are four players who stick out as guys who could be at the end of the line if they don't impress this spring.

These 4 Angels are facing make-or-break situations during spring training

Jack Kochanowicz

Last year's victor in the fifth starter competition, Jack Kochanowicz, has seen his struggles put him firmly on the chopping block this go around. While he put up solid production in an 11-start sample in 2024, it came with laughably bad peripherals like a 9.4% strikeout rate as the tall right-hander relied on his sinker and nothing else to get the job done.

It was clear that the performance without any semblance of secondary stuff was smoke and mirrors, and the 25-year-old went into 2025 trying to expand his repertoire. While he cut his sinker utilization from 72.4% down to 46.7%, his walks and homers skyrocketed, and the boost in strikeouts was minimal. His 6.81 ERA was disastrous and proof that a one-trick pony isn't going to work. If he can prove that he can throw at least one other effective pitch, his future with the team will be toast.

Oswald Peraza

Back in 2023, Oswald Peraza was the No. 52 overall prospect in baseball, ranking one spot ahead of Logan O'Hoppe on MLB Pipeline's list. Since then, his stock has tumbled dramatically. Last year, he failed to take advantage of the New York Yankees' void at third base, slashing just .152/.212/.241 in the Big Apple. Things didn't get better once he landed in Anaheim at the deadline, with him hitting .186/.245/.267 down the stretch. That type of performance has been commonplace for him throughout his career.

Peraza will have a chance to win the starting second base job, but one has to imagine that if all things are equal, that will go to Christian Moore. He could still land a role on the Halos' bench, but not if he continues to perform so putridly with the bat. The 25-year-old is out of options, so failing to turn heads could mean he gets cut loose. The way he's played to date, the Angels will be able to find similar production from any old guy off the street. He'll need to prove something has clicked, otherwise he's a goner.

Chase Silseth

Over each of the past four seasons, Chase Silseth has gotten a chance to prove he can be a productive member of the Angels' pitching staff, and every year he fails to stick for one reason or another. He's gotten looks as both a starter and a reliever, but neither has seemed to suit him thus far.

The starter experiment is likely over, but he'll be fighting for one of the open bullpen jobs this spring. While the 1.64 ERA he posted over 10 innings last year seems encouraging, his 4.05 xERA and 3.86 FIP indicate that it was largely luck-driven, small-sample-size noise. Like Peraza, his lack of remaining options further hurts his position.

Vaughn Grissom

Everything that's been said about Peraza also applies to Vaughn Grissom. A former top prospect with the Braves, Grissom has failed to hit whenever given the opportunity. The Angels represent the third franchise to take a chance on the 25-year-old, and he last appeared in the majors in 2024 with the Boston Red Sox.

Grissom is in the mix for second base or a utility infield role, and it's true that the Angels don't have a lot of depth here. However, his status as the definition of a replacement-level player means alternatives will be easy to come by, unless he does something to change the narrative. Like Peraza, he's also out of options, which makes Grissom's status even more tenuous.