Latest round of Angels roster cuts are massive and include many top prospects

The tertiary round of Angels roster cuts contained a number of top prospects and intriguing names who were on the roster bubble. The Angels optioned five players to Triple-A who are all on the 40-man roster, although they will stay in big league camp. Those players are Caden Dana (the Angels' no. 2 prospect according to MLB.com), Sam Aldegheri (no. 5 prospect), Niko Kavadas (no. 30), Jack Dashwood, and Gustavo Campero.

They sent 11 players to minor league camp, including George Klassen (Angels' no. 3 prospect), Nelson Rada (no. 6), Denzer Guzman (no. 9), Samy Natera Jr. (no. 16), Cole Fontenelle (no. 23), Connor Brogdon, Victor González, Michael Darrell-Hicks, José Fermin, Carter Kieboom, and Sebastián Rivero.

Just a reminder: these players are still with the organization, they are either being sent to minor league camp to play in their games or it's just an indication that they are not making the Opening Day roster.

Latest round of Angels roster cuts are massive and include many top prospects

Caden Dana is officially out of the running for a spot in the rotation or as the team's long reliever, and rightfully so. The 21-year-old has many facets of his game he needs to clean up over the course of the 2025 season, which led to up-and-down results during his MLB stint last year and so far in camp. He has an issue with an inconsistent release point on his four pitches, which could tip hitters off as to what is coming. Aldegheri, who "was a little weak in the beginning" of spring training, according to Ron Washington, was optioned to Triple-A as well.

Niko Kavadas had a great shot of breaking camp with the Angels, but he was lapped by Ryan Noda (amongst others) during spring training. Kavadas tore up the Arizona Fall League, but was unable to carry over that momentum into the spring. In his 22 plate appearances, Kavadas was only able to slash .100/.182/.150.

Klassen, Rada, Natera Jr. and Fontenelle had no chance of making the Opening Day roster, but could easily debut at some point this season. Guzman was having a fantastic camp and is hoping to carry over his success at the plate to Double-A (where he will likely begin the minor league season). Guzman's defensive ability is second-to-none, and he is showing flashes of a more developed offensive skillset that should delight Angels fans and staffers.

The Angels took fliers on three veteran relievers with a prior track record of success at the major league level this offseason, and all three are now all in minor league camp. Dakota Hudson, Connor Brogdon and Victor González were all brought in and had an outside shot of making the Opening Day roster if they looked solid during spring training. However, all three did not show nearly enough and are now out of the running.

The notable players on the roster bubble who remain in big league camp/were not optioned to Triple-A: Christian Moore, Kyren Paris, Ryan Noda, Matthew Lugo, Tim Anderson, Scott Kingery, David Mershon. On the pitching side: Ryan Johnson, Chase Silseth, Garrett McDaniels, Hans Crouse, Shaun Anderson, and Michael Petersen.

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