Angels roster projections 1.0: Who makes the Opening Day roster?

Angels 2023 Opening Day roster predictions: Bench (4)

Max Stassi, Gio Urshela, Luis Rengifo, Brett Phillips

As mentioned prior, I have O'Hoppe starting and Stassi coming off the bench as the backup catcher but there're a bunch of options the Angels have in front of them in regard to that position.

Gio Urshela is going to play a ton in a couple of spots. He'll give Rendon the opportunity to take more days off. He'll play a lot of first base, likely against southpaws. He'll get occasional starts at shortstop too most likely. He won't have an official starting spot unless someone gets hurt but expect to see his name in the lineup a lot.

Luis Rengifo is in the same boat. He could easily be starting at shortstop on Opening Day, I just don't trust his defense there at all. He can play all over the infield and even in the corner outfield spots if the Angels are desperate (unlikely). Rengifo and Urshela are two starting-quality MLB players who will have undefined roles which is cool to see for a team that's struggled so much with depth.

Brett Phillips won the fourth outfielder job when the Angels gave him an MLB contract. He wouldn't have been the guy I signed but he does give the Halos an opportunity to have Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak play every day in the minors, something they could really benefit from. The Angels' bench is much improved.