Angels reliever has a curious case to make the 2025 Opening Day roster

There are a few players on the Angels' 40-man roster who have tenuous grasps on their status with the team. Hans Crouse is likely one of them, just given the nature of relief pitchers in today's game. Relief pitchers are often passed around the league unless they are closer candidates, and Crouse is more of a swing guy between middle/ long relief and MLB/AAA.

The 26-year-old does have some solid potential at the big league level. Of Angels' pitchers to throw at least 9 innings (basically just eliminating Andrew Wantz, Amir Garrett, and Chase Silseth), Crouse's 12.08 K/9 led the entire team. While he is not a power pitcher, the Angels could certainly use Crouse on the team if he can strike players out at that clip. He was a former 2nd round pick for a reason! A few seasons after getting drafted 66th overall, the Rangers traded Crouse, Ian Kennedy, Kyle Gibson, and cash to the Phillies for Spencer Howard, Josh Gessner, and Kevin Gowdy. After a season and a half with the Phillies organization, including his MLB debut in 2021, Crouse opted for free agency and eventually signed a minor league deal with the Angels.

The former starting pitcher does have the arsenal of a starter more so than a reliever. His sinker does not have much giddy-up relative to modern-day relievers, as it only averaged 92.6mph last season. He is a truly unique pitcher, who has an over-pronation issue. His slider, which is his second most-used pitch, does not move like a slider at all. His slider has arm-side run, rather than sweep. Normally, you do not see pitches like that at the major league level. Crouse's main issue last season was he walked the world, which basically negated his gigantic K/9. Despite some solid flashes, including a 2.84 ERA in 25.1 MLB innings, Crouse was about 50/50 last season between Anaheim and Salt Lake City. He made his Angels debut on June 22nd, optioned back to Salt Lake on August 21st, then recalled for one September game before getting immediately optioned back to AAA for the rest of the season.

Crouse does have one remaining MiLB option. If the Angels do acquire a reliever this offseason (any day now, hopefully), they could DFA Crouse off the 40-man, hope he passes waivers (he likely would), and option him to AAA Salt Lake as a corresponding move. If they stand pat, Crouse would likely break camp with the Halos likely alongside Ben Joyce, Brock Burke, Ryan Zeferjahn, José Quijada, Chase Silseth, Sam Bachman, and José Suarez. The Angels had a real issue striking guys out, and could keep Crouse on the active roster if he can show the club that he will continue to send hitters walking sadly back to the dugout like he did in 2024.

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