3 Angels players who made the Opening Day roster but shouldn't have a long leash

2) LA Angels catcher Matt Thaiss shouldn't have a long leash

Matt Thaiss is in a similar position as Davidson as he also entered Spring Training without options. He got off to a strong start this spring but really struggled towards the end, and ended up hitting just .194 without a home run in 36 at-bats.

The former first round pick hasn't done much in professional baseball. His minor league numbers don't blow you away, and his MLB numbers are subpar at best. Thaiss is still here because he can catch, and finding catchers who can swing the bat are hard to find.

The Angels lucked into carrying both Thaiss and top prospect Logan O'Hoppe on the Opening Day roster because Max Stassi is on the Injured List to begin the season. Once Stassi comes back, the Angels will have to decide between Thaiss and O'Hoppe in terms of who to send down.

Obviously we need to see how the games play out, but I'm way more confident in O'Hoppe than I am in Thaiss who has had his chances at the MLB level before and done nothing with them.

Thaiss being a former first round pick and being out of options shouldn't hold him on the roster all year. If he struggles like he did at the end of spring and like he has in the 93 games he's played for the Angels in his career, just let him go. If he goes through waivers unclaimed that's great, and if he gets claimed then so be it.

3) LA Angels reliever Jaime Barria shouldn't have a long leash

Jaime Barria had a 2.61 ERA in 35 appearances last season for the Angels. When starting pitchers were pulled early or the Angels were getting blown out late, Barria was there to eat innings and he did a really nice job on the surface. A 2.61 ERA is nothing to scoff at. The problem is, I think that result had a ton of luck involved.

Barria had his 2.67 ERA but had a 4.11 xERA and 4.39 FIP. Opponents had just a .230 BAbip against Barria which is 70 points lower than league average. Considering the fact that Barria struck out just 6.1 batters per nine last season and 6.8/9 in his career, Barria will have a lot of trouble if these batted balls result in hits. With Barria ranking in the ninth percentile in barrel rate last season according to baseball savant, it's very possible that this happens.

Barria has his uses as a guy who can give the Angels a bunch of innings in relief, but Andrew Wantz can get more than three outs in an outing as well and he's much better than Barria in my eyes. Also, this rotation shouldn't require too many long Jaime Barria outings as it's one of the better staffs in baseball.

It's possible Barria lasts the season because of his low ERA in 2022 and the fact that he's out of options, but I think he should be on a relatively short leash.