Robert Stephenson signing puts these 3 Angels players in danger of getting booted from the 40-man roster

1) Livan Soto

This one is a bit sad, as it looked like Livan Soto might have some sort of a future with the Angels. After never hitting much in the minors, he came up in 2022 when the Angels were out of it in September and recorded 22 hits in 55 at-bats (.400 average). He was a bright spot in what was a brutal season.

While Soto wasn't going to make the Opening Day roster in 2023, that hot stretch made him a potentially valuable depth piece. Unfortunately, Soto struggled in the minors leading him to be demoted from AAA to AA at one point.

The Angels did wind up promoting Soto a couple of times due to the bevy of injuries the team suffered, but he had just two hits in nine at-bats in his four MLB appearances this past season. The simple reality when it comes to Soto is the Angels have many more appealing middle infield options than him.

Brandon Drury and Zach Neto are the starters in the middle infield with players like Kyren Paris, Michael Stefanic, and Luis Rengifo all on the 40-man roster with the ability to play both second base and shortstop when needed. That's not even including players who aren't on the 40-man roster like Charles Leblanc and Richie Martin who were signed to minor league deals this offseason and might be better prepared to succeed at the MLB level.

Soto's age (23) might keep him on the 40-man roster for now, but his ability being subpar will eventualy catch up to him.