Who should get the last Angels bench spot?
The Los Angeles Angels have done a nice job adding to an offense that finished 25th in all of baseball in runs scored. They have the high-end talent, obviously, with guys like Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani leading the charge but failed to put the requisite talent around them necessary to win. The biggest issue of last season for the Angels was their lack of depth, and they seemed to have remedied that situation with the moves they've made this offseason.
The Angels have gone from Matt Duffy hitting cleanup on Opening Day and having Andrew Velazquez start over 100 games to having guys like Gio Urshela, Jared Walsh, and Luis Rengifo fighting for everyday roles.
With the Angels having an open spot for a position player, who should be the final bench piece?
The Angels have most of their position player roster set. Barring any trades or injuries, the Opening Day depth chart looks something like this:
C: Logan O'Hoppe, Max Stassi
1B Jared Walsh, Gio Urshela
2B Brandon Drury
3B Anthony Rendon
SS Luis Rengifo, David Fletcher
LF Taylor Ward
CF Mike Trout
RF Hunter Renfroe
DH Shohei Ohtani
The Angels obviously have to decide if O'Hoppe will be their Opening Day catcher, and if he ends up in AAA, Matt Thaiss would be the backup catcher to Stassi.
Guys like Urshela and Fletcher aren't going to be strictly bench players, but the Angels do realistically have ten starters for seven spots.
The other options for bench slots include Mickey Moniak, Jo Adell, Andrew Velazquez, Michael Stefanic, and Livan Soto.
Looking at the depth chart, the Halos would likely be better off having Adell or Moniak on their roster for now. They do have guys like Drury and Walsh who can play in the outfield but the only center fielder on the roster is Mike Trout. They'd benefit from having Adell or Moniak there strictly for that reason.
The Halos could also opt to sign a free agent or make a trade for a fourth outfielder. How the roster is constructed right now, even if Adell or Moniak aren't the best players, they're the best fit on this roster right now.