Vaughn Grissom could force Angels into controversial roster call

The Los Angeles Angels' second base battle is something of a race to the bottom. Christian Moore's 2025 struggles haven't completely taken away the top prospect shine he once had, but it became clear he had more work to do in order to be a viable big leaguer. Meanwhile, his chief competition, Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom, have long seen their prospect hype vanish.

As the trio battles a number of other veterans, not only to be the starter at the keystone, but also for roles on the bench, certain things have become clear. Oswald Peraza's blistering hot spring has guaranteed him a spot, although his versatility might make a utility role the best fit for him.

That means that Moore and Grissom are battling for one spot, and the decision might come down to something that has nothing to do with what's going on on the field.

Grissom is hitting just .192/.344/.308 over 10 games. Despite his connection to Perry Minasian dating back to their time with the Atlanta Braves, that normally would be enough to have the Angels moving on.

The problem is, Moore hasn't done much to prove he's a better option today than Grissom is. The 2024 first-round pick is slashing .219/.286/.313, on-par if not worse than Grissom.

Spring sample sizes are small, and frankly, it's foolish to draw too many conclusions from stats that can be the victim of a lot of noise. That means one critical factor could be the difference between Grissom and Moore when it comes to the Opening Day roster — minor league options — Moore has them, and Grissom does not.

Vaughn Grissom's lack of options could decide this Angels roster battle

Grissom is just 25 years old and has a top-100 pedigree. So while his career has been uninspiring to date and he's shown little this spring, if Los Angeles tried to send him to the minors, another team would likely take a flier on him.

Meanwhile, Moore can be sent down without issue. With neither youngster truly standing out, keeping Grissom and demoting Moore might be the best call to buy additional time to come to a firm conclusion as to who the best choice really is.

On top of that, it might be what's best for Moore. The Halos have been giving him third base reps as well, but if that's to try and make him into a utility man, he's better off getting everyday at-bats down in Salt Lake. Not to mention, he's got a serious issue with whiffs in the strike zone that he needs to work through. Triple-A would be a lower-pressure environment to iron out the kinks.

It's an unfortunate and egregious misstep in terms of team building that we're at the point where LA is deciding between two bad options for such a key role. But given the reality of the situation, the sensible choice is to carry Grissom, not only to evaluate him, but also to help with Moore's development.

If history has taught us anything, the Angels rarely choose the sensible option, but this one might be too overwhelmingly logical to ignore.