The Angels retain a much needed depth piece after recent designation for assignment

The Angels are getting off scot-free this offseason in terms of designating players for assignment but not losing them in the waiver process. Of late, the Angels have DFA'd both Kelvin Cáceres and Scott Kingery and returned them both to their minor league ranks. Both might not be the most important players, but the Angels need every ounce of depth they can get their hands on.

For Kingery, there was a slim chance of him getting claimed off waivers but it was a non-zero chance for sure. Getting Kingery back into the organization is a huge win for an Angels team that already has massive concerns in the infield and a long history of players getting injured.

The Angels needed to make room on the 40-man roster for Angel Perdomo, so they temporarily parted ways with Kingery. By accepting his outright assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake, Kingery will keep his $770,000 salary for 2025. It's the best move for Kingery, as he retains his money and has a clear path to the big leagues despite needing to be added back to the 40-man to do so.

There are question marks surrounding Yoán Moncada's health right now and over the course of the season. The same goes for Luis Rengifo. There are concerns regarding those two players' on-field production as well (less so for Rengifo), and with Tim Anderson and Kevin Newman too. Moncada, Rengifo, Anderson, and Newman are not exactly a Murderer's Row, so retaining Kingery in the likely case that any of those four flop is a big turn of events.

Despite the emergence of Kyren Paris and the presence of Christian Moore, Kingery could still make the big league roster at some point this season. Kingery faltered at the plate during spring training to the tune of a .138/.257/.172/.430 slash line, but he has a proven track record of success at the Triple-A level the past couple of seasons. Factor in that he is going to a relatively loaded Salt Lake roster at a high altitude, and he could cement himself as a call-up candidate again sooner rather than later.

Kingery is no longer the top prospect he once was with Philadelphia, but keeping him is a win for the Angels. It never hurts to have a super-utility player who could provide something with the bat in your system. If he does end up back in the major for the first since 2022, then he will not play every day but he could certainly make some kind of impact on winning this season.

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