Ron Washington responds to a massive question concerning Angels' Opening Day infield

The Angels' have a couple major league roster spots up for grabs, but one candidate might not be as viewed as seriously as some may have thought. Fans are clamoring for Kyren Paris to make the Opening Day roster because of several clutch hits and a new approach at the plate thus far in spring training. However, it appears fans' reactions to his performance thus far are, in fact, over-reactions. The Angels' skipper just down-played the notion that Paris might make the Opening Day roster.

Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register provided crucial insight into how the Angels and Ron Washington view the contenders for the Opening Day roster:

"When Washington was asked Saturday if he’d like to start seeing more of Paris against the big-league pitchers who work the beginning of games, his answer was telling.

'At the beginning of the game is for the big boys,' Washington said. 'He has to make his way to the big boys section.'

Washington’s response made it clear that the Angels don’t yet view Paris as a candidate for the Opening Day roster."

Jeff Fletcher

Ron Washington responds to a massive question concerning Angels' Opening Day infield

Just because Paris is not yet a "big boy" in the eyes of the team's evaluators does not mean his strong showing in camp is all for naught. The infielder is clearly not a prospect bust, and that should be good enough for both the Angels organization and fans. He is still just 23-years-old and should be viewed as a high-end prospect, despite 36 games played at the big league level which promoted him from prospect status.

Barring an injury, the Angels are certainly going to roll with an infield of Yoán Moncada, Kevin Newman, Luis Rengifo, and Nolan Schanuel. Zach Neto is progressing through his offseason shoulder surgery rehab, and he will be activated off the injured list sometime in April. The rest of the position player locks are Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell, Mickey Moniak, Logan O'Hoppe, Travis d'Arnaud, and Jorge Soler. That leaves two roster spots open, and the Angels will fill those with two full-time infielders, two utility players, or one of each.

With Paris apparently eliminated, despite still playing in big league spring training games, the prospective players who are in the midst of a spring training try-out for those two spots are Christian Moore, Matthew Lugo, Scott Kingery, Tim Anderson, Ryan Noda, J.D. Davis, and David Mershon (highly unlikely). Niko Kavadas was just eliminated after he got optioned to Triple-A.

Despite previous experience in the infield, the Angels are committed to Lugo's full-time transition to the outfield that he began while with the Red Sox. It appears they do not want to try him out as a super-utility player as of yet. Lugo has yet to take any in-game reps in the infield during games, so he will likely begin the season at Triple-A due to the Angels' crowded outfield. Davis was brought in for depth because of his power tool, but he has been struggling mightily at the plate following a down-year in 2024. Davis did crush a 2-run home run against Milwaukee on March 8th, which was a good sign of life for the corner infielder.

That leaves Moore, Anderson, Kingery, and Noda. Kingery and Noda are already on the 40-man roster, so that could give them a leg up in the race. The Angels would not need to DFA anybody in order add those two to the team, unlike with Moore and Anderson. The case for Kingery is he would be a true bench player who does not need to play every day (given that he is not a priority player in the organization), and the super-utility man could merely filter into games when needed to spell nearly anybody in the field. Noda is having a good spring, and the Angels lack a true backup first baseman/left-handed pinch hitter. He just played right field against the Brewers, which helps his contention some.

Adding either Anderson or Moore would mean they could play a whole lot of second base, which would allow the Angels an ideal infield framework of a third base platoon consisting of Rengifo and Moncada. The case for Anderson is he is a veteran with solid bounce-back potential, who is expanding his positional versatility during camp (he is being showcased in centerfield). In the scenario where the Angels add Anderson, Rengifo would assuredly play more second base.

The case for Moore is he is seemingly ready to face big league pitching, and the Angels could be awarded draft pick compensation if he wins the American League Rookie of the Year award. He probably has the highest ceiling of the four candidates given his prospect status and innate tools. In the scenario where the Angels add Moore, he would play second base every day and Rengifo would only play second on the days where Moore needs a breather.

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