Angels drop first spring training lineup ahead of opener vs. Mariners

The Angels' are about to begin their first exhibition game of the 2025 season at Tempe Diablo Stadium, looking to bounce back from a franchise worst 63-99 season. They are playing the Seattle Mariners to kick off their spring training games, and just unveiled their first lineup of the season. Fans have been eagerly awaiting this moment -- Angels baseball is officially back! Whether you watch for fun or hate-watch the team, this is your moment.

Many teams try experimental lineups and play around with players' positions during spring training, and the Angels are doing something along those lines for the game.

Angels release first spring training lineup with Jo Adell in CF, Tim Anderson at 2B, and Christian Moore backing him up

Right off the bat, the Angels are showing off their new leadoff hitter in the form of Taylor Ward. Ron Washington mentioned Ward will be his everyday leadoff man, opting for his left fielder hitting first and Jorge Soler batting cleanup. This should be a mainstay for the Halos all year, even if there's an argument to be made that they should be swapped.

Another mainstay all year will be Jo Adell in centerfield, especially during spring training. Adell and Mickey Moniak are Mike Trout's centerfield replacements, and Adell surely will receive more game reps than Moniak in order to get him acclimated. Moniak has much more MLB experience in centerfield than Adell.

Nolan Schanuel should be in line to play a whole lot of first base this season, as his regular season backup is unclear at this moment (perhaps Kevin Newman?). Speaking of Newman, he will be playing shortstop against Seattle. The starting shortstop position while Zach Neto is absent is Newman's to lose.

Jack Kochanowicz will be starting and his battery mate will be Logan O'Hoppe. Kochanowicz is looking to start off his season strong as he competes for a spot in the big league rotation.

Tim Anderson will be shaking things up in his Angels debut, playing second base instead of his natural position of shortstop. Anderson needs to show during games that his bat-to-ball skills are back and he has improved his positional versatility. Anderson will be playing a lot of second base and maybe even centerfield the next month. J.D. Davis is making his Angels debut at third base.

Finally, Christian Moore will be coming off the bench at some point to replace Anderson. Angels fans should not read into Anderson starting and Moore coming off the bench too much, Moore will get a fair shake to break camp with the big league team should he perform well. Washington will likely want Anderson as he loves his veterans, but Moore has a whole lot going for him and has been turning heads during camp. Nelson Rada is another hotshot prospect who will be seeing playing time, as he will be spelling Adell in centerfield mid-game.

The notable absent position players: Mike Trout will not play until the Angels play the Giants on February 24th, Neto is progressing through his shoulder rehab and still has a ways to go, Travis d'Arnaud is no spring chicken and will likely be eased in slowly, Yoán Moncada is experiencing soreness and needs to be built up, and finally there's no word on Luis Rengifo's absence but he is likely being eased in as well. Rengifo is coming off a prolonged absence from games following his wrist injury last year.

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