Ranking the 5 AL West shortstops heading into the 2023 season

The Los Angeles Angels opted to stand pat with the shortstop position. There were four star shortstops available in free agency, but the Halos opted to spread their money around rather than use it all on one player as they had done in the past.

The Brandon Drury signing and Gio Urshela acquisition gave the Angels more infield depth but they're still lacking a legitimate shortstop. Drury and Urshela have minimal experience at the position, Rengifo is not a good defender, and Fletcher is better at second base defensively.

The Angels will likely roll with David Fletcher and Luis Rengifo most of the time at shortstop. How do those players compare to the other starting shortstops in the AL West?

5) Nick Allen - Oakland Athletics

Oakland finds itself with the worst shortstop in the AL West. Nick Allen played in 100 games last season. 60 of them came at shortstop. Allen is a terrific defender, ranking in the 95th percentile in outs above average according to baseball savant, but struggled mightily at the plate.

Allen slashed .207/.256/.291 with four home runs and 19 RBI in 326 plate appearances. Allen has just a .699 OPS in five minor league seasons so his lack of production offensively shouldn't be too surprising.

Allen could be a decent utility man because of his defense but his bat is so subpar to the point that he should not be playing every day. He's pretty easily the worst shortstop in the AL West.