LA Angels 2025 Opening Day Roster Projection 2.0: Is Christian Moore in or out?

The Angels are trimming their roster in order to allow the roster probables to ramp up with big league game reps in anticipation of the regular season. Gone are the guys who the Angels are no longer considering for the Opening Day roster, as the evaluators want to focus on the player development of guys who actually have a chance of making the team at this point in camp.

The team is looking much different now, and much of the original projections have been tweaked by many of the people who cover the Angels. Anthony Rendon is out for the season -- not that he was a lock for the team in the first place. Niko Kavadas is officially out of the race, as are Hans Crouse, Shaun Anderson, and Caden Dana. Zach Neto is not going to be ready for Opening Day. Mike Trout is officially a full-time right fielder.

Let's see how the team might shape up as of now.

LA Angels 2025 Opening Day Roster Projection 2.0

Starting Rotation (5) - Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano, Tyler Anderson, Kyle Hendricks, Jack Kochanowicz

MiLB: Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, Víctor Mederos

Not too much is different here, other than our prediction for who wins the fifth spot in the Angels' rotation. Originally, Detmers was the choice but it's seeming more and more apparent that the team prefers Kochanowicz.

Chase Silseth started and Detmers made a long relief appearance in a game against the Rockies, which The OC Register's Jeff Fletcher surmised was solely because the team wanted Silseth to get an opportunity to start. That game was the only one Silseth had started in camp, and he's technically still a candidate. However, you cannot say that the team did not want to evaluate how Detmers took to a bullpen role. Everything the players do is under a microscope, and nothing the coaches do is accidental. By the way, Detmers looked really good.

A long relief role for Detmers, who has yet to pitch out of the bullpen in his professional career, could be a reality check for a young pitcher who might need to be taken down a notch in order to to be built back up. His development has hit a snag, and it might benefit both sides if he accepts a new role despite being the longest tenured Angels starting pitcher. Sending him back to Triple-A might completely shatter his confidence, but a move to the bullpen might allow him to dial it in and pitch a little more inspiredly.

Kikuchi, Soriano, Anderson, and Hendricks are all flashing positive signs in their outings. Kikuchi is deploying a sweeper, Soriano is pumping gas, Anderson is trying out different deliveries/release points, and Hendricks is getting educated at the Travis d'Arnaud school of keeping hitters off-balance.