Infielders (6) - Nolan Schanuel, Luis Rengifo, Kevin Newman, Anthony Rendon, Scott Kingery, Niko Kavadas
MiLB: Christian Moore, Matthew Lugo, Ryan Noda, Kyren Paris, Carter Kieboom, J.D. Davis, Tim Anderson
Injured List: Zach Neto
It is not yet known whether Neto will begin the season on the 10, 15, or 60-Day Injured List. There has been zero transparency in that regard. All Angels fans and staffers know is that the lineup and infield sure do look more formidable with him in it. Without him...yeesh.
Schanuel, Newman, and Rengifo are locks for Opening Day. Where it gets interesting is the Rendon, Kingery, Kavadas group, as the Angels have a multitude of internal options who could supplant any of those three. It honestly seems like Kavadas has the best case for the Opening Day roster of those three, given that the Angels do not have a left-handed power hitter in the entire organization other than him. Ryan Noda plays better defense, but Kavadas' AFL performance and overall raw-power make him the more enticing and necessary bench option/back-up first baseman.
The fun outcome here is the Angels going for Moore and Lugo over Rendon and Kingery. Moore would slot in as the every day second baseman, and Rengifo as the third baseman. Lugo could take Kingery's role as the right-handed utility player off the bench, who can filter into either the infield or outfield. The more likely outcome is the Angels send Moore and Lugo back to the minors for seasoning. Kingery over Moore and Lugo makes sense, since Kingery has more positional versatility and does not need to play every day. Rendon over Moore and Lugo makes far less sense, but the Angels probably will not want to eat his money just yet.