Angels may have sent subtle Opening Day message with Cactus League starter

Once the Los Angeles Angels started spring training, it seemed clear that the Angels weren't going to make an addition to their starting rotation. The Angels may have been falsely holding out hope that one of Framber Valdez or Zac Gallen would fall into their lap, but that was never a realistic ending to the offseason. Instead, Los Angeles' rotation will be headlined by Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano, and they may have just tipped their hand with their Opening Day starter decision.

The Angels announced that Jose Soriano will get the nod in the team's Cactus League opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. There's not always a correlation between the starter who takes the bump in the Cactus League Opener and the one who gets tabbed for the Opening Day start, but the impression is that Soriano could push Kikuchi for the honor.

Jose Soriano could suddenly be emerging as the Angels' ace

It's not like the Angels are rich with strong candidates to get the Opening Day. Kikuchi may be the leader in the clubhouse simply because of his age and experience. Reid Detmers is making his return to the rotation after spending the 2025 season as a reliever, Grayson Rodriguez is returning to a pitching mound after being sidelined since the middle of the 2024 season, and Alek Manoah is a reclamation project.

There's a need for the Angels to be realistic about what their 2026 represents. This isn't a season where veterans should be catered to. No, Kikuchi getting the Opening Day start wouldn't be as egregious as Mike Trout returning to center field, but now is the perfect opportunity to see if Soriano can ascend to the top of the rotation.

Armed with a fastball capable of reaching triple digits last season, Soriano flashed signs of being a capable top-of-the-rotation arm last season. He still needs to harness his command, but an xFIP of 3.54 suggests he's a far more suitable option for Opening Day than Kikuchi. For reference, Kikuchi had a xFIP of 4.28 last year.

Identifying exactly what they have in Soriano should be one of the top goals for the Angels in 2026. Starting by giving him Opening Day honors, if the Angels walk away from the season with the confirmation that Soriano is their ace, it would be an encouraging step forward.