Are the Angels doomed in centerfield after top options' poor spring showings?

For a brief moment in time, it looked as if the battle for the centerfield job was about the heat up. While it's been a while since either Jo Adell, once the no. 3 prospect in baseball, or Mickey Moniak, a former no. 1 overall draft pick, had their full prospect glean, the Angels hoped that one of these outfielders now in their mid-20s would take the opportunity and run.

The decision to move franchise cornerstone, Mike Trout, to right field was not an easy one but was necessary. As much as it may feel as if it opened up a new hole in the lineup, it didn't. The focus simply shifted from whether or not the pairing of Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak could cut the mustard in right field, to if they could make it work in center.

While giving the two aspiring young talents to opportunity to take over as the captain of the outfield may be seen as a vote of confidence, the Angels openly flirted with Anthony Santander, a right fielder by trade, all offseason.

Moving Trout to a corner outfield spot is less about a vote of confidence in their abilities and more a reaction to the Halos' plan A not working out. In a perfect world, Santander would've displaced Adell and Moniak as everyday lineup candidates and Trout would still be roaming center.

After losing out, the team was forced to pivot, making a decision that had everything to do with Trout's importance to the team and nothing to do with faith in these younger players.

Neither Jo Adell nor Mickey Moniak have distinguished themselves this spring

In 16 spring games and 46 plate appearances, Mickey Moniak is slashing just .209/.239/.419 with 2 homers, 3 walks, and 13 strikeouts. Ever the free swinger, that performance is very similar to Moniak's stat line for his career where he's been a .230/.272/.402 performer.

You can see flashes of the power he can provide, but the plate discipline is sorely lacking as he's struck out 28.3% of the time in his spring plate appearances, right in line with his 2024 K-rate of 27.3%.

Defensively, Moniak's made some nice plays in center, a position he's always had the chops to handle. Instead, he's continued to show zero offensive development, which makes him a fine fourth outfielder, but a shaky starter.

Adell on the other hand has been ice-cold save for a couple of mammoth blasts this spring. In 17 games and 50 plate appearances, he's posted a .128/.160/.255 to go along with those two homers.

Many veterans have poor spring showings due to tinkering and making various adjustments throughout the warm-up period, something that Adell has experimented with as well. Last season, his in-season experimentation with a toe-tap to replace his leg kick ignited a near-two-month stretch where he seemed to finally be putting it all together.

Still, owner of a career .211/.268/.381, Adell hasn't earned the vote of confidence to say this is just a veteran working through some tweaks. Instead, he might just be a youngster flailing in an attempt to marry his superb athleticism with actual baseball skill.

While it's important not to overreact to small spring samples where players are still shaking off rust, these poor spring showings rightly raise some concern as these two players who have never realized their potential despite multiple opportunities, have failed to give any sign of optimism for 2025.

This is the bed the Angels have made for themselves, and they can only hope that as the bright lights of the regular season come on, at least one of these fallen prospects can find his footing and become the centerfield answer they've been searching for.

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