3 Angels who don’t deserve to be on the 40-man roster

The Los Angeles Angels 40-man roster is maxed out. In addition to those 40 players heading to Tempe for spring training, the Halos have another several non-roster invitees who'll be on the field when pitchers and catchers report next week.

While the Angels fanbase is still reeling from losing the reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani, the club has made some measured improvements to the roster this winter. Robert Stephenson and Aaron Hicks will help, plus the Halos were able to retain left-handed reliever Matt Moore.

However, despite the offseason additions, some of which required a corresponding subtraction, there are some players currently on Los Angeles' roster who don't belong. Which three players don't deserve to be the Angels 40-man roster?

These Angels players don't deserve to be on current 40-man roster

Andrew Wantz, RHP

Andrew Wantz's claim to fame was plunking Jesse Winker in 2021 which led to a benches-clearing brawl between the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners. While Wantz no longer deserves to be part of the Angels' 40-man roster, he's at least had more success than Winker since that incident.

Wantz adds depth to the Angels roster, but had an inconsistent 2023 campaign. The right-hander was shuttled between Triple-A Salt Lake and the Halos active roster last season. Ironically, Wantz had better numbers in the big leagues than he did in the minors. Wantz was 2-0 with a 3.89 ERA in 27 games with the Angels, but posted a 4.62 ERA in 22 relief appearances with the Salt Lake Bees.

Entering his age 28 season, the Angels would seem to have some younger pitching prospects they'd prefer to work into a more permanent role with the club ahead of the upcoming season. Pitchers like Nick Jones, Eric Torres, and Travis MacGregor will be looking to make an impression this spring, and that could come at the detriment of Wantz.

With minor-league options remaining, it's possible that Los Angeles takes the path of least resistance and sends Wantz back to Triple-A to begin the year. But if any of the Halos' non-roster invitees or top pitching prospects makes a push to land on the Opening Day roster, the right-hander will likely be one of the first players dismissed.