Angels’ increasingly important roster battle has few possible positive outcomes

Almost immediately after the Los Angeles Angels drafted Christian Moore, there were rumors that the team could fast-track him to the majors. Part of that is due to the Angels' well-earned reputation for rushing prospects through the minor leagues, but Moore put on a show in his first look at professional baseball and seemed like he could actually rise to the occasion.

Unfortunately, that isn't exactly how things turned out. Moore didn't make his big league debut until last season, and he was hampered by a thumb injury in July. Having a .655 OPS through your first 53 games in the majors isn't really cause for concern, and his numbers in the minors were significantly better (.853 OPS overall across 300 plate appearances), which provided confidence that he would be just fine.

However, the Angels don't seem to be leaving anything to chance, including hoping Moore figures things out against MLB pitching. Moore is among a slew of infielders the Angels are giving a shot in camp, and they are characterizing second base as a true competition. That is a nice idea in theory, but in practice, the number of actually good outcomes that are even remotely likely is not a big number.

If Christian Moore or Vaughn Grissom doesn't win Angels' second base job, fans should brace for (more) disappointment

Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with making Moore earn a starting job. He did struggle in his first look at the big leagues, and having guys like Vaughn Grissom (who hit well in Boston's minor leagues, but who also seems to be a bit of a malcontent), Adam Frazier, Chris Taylor, Oswald Peraza, and Nick Madrigal pushing Moore while also competing for bench roles makes a ton of sense.

However, if this is a true competition, the Angels had better start crossing their fingers and toes. Moore has the highest upside by a mile, and LA invested a top draft pick in him. Grissom's stock is admittedly down after a tumultuous tenure with the Red Sox, but the guy did produce in Triple-A at the plate. If neither of those two guys plays well enough this spring and a slap hitter like Frazier or Madrigal gets the nod at second base, the Angels have bigger problems than how to set their lineup. If LA is going to have any prayer of putting together a decent season, it is going to have to include one of Moore or Grissom winning the job and performing.

It isn't uncommon for teams to say that a competition in camp is truly wide open, even though they know it actually isn't. The odds are very high that Moore is still the prohibitive favorite to win the starting second base job, and it would require a collapse of epic proportions this spring to change that. However, if that happens, the Angels will be in a worse spot than anyone thought, and that is saying something.