One of the biggest stories in Angels camp is who they will look to as their starting second baseman. They narrowed down the field over the weekend, choosing Christian Moore again Kyren Paris. They will each open the year at Triple-A Salt Lake.
Moore seemed to like the job a little bit going into Spring Training. He was certainly very interesting internal options as a 2024 top ten pick who hit well in the minors. Moore really struggled following his promotion to the big leagues last season, however. He batted over a third of the time while hitting .198/.284/.370 with 184 trips to the plate.
The Angels would like Moore to take the job in Spring Training. That didn’t happen, as he hit .175 with just one extra-base hit (a homer) in 40 at-bats. Moore will look to address some of the turnover and miss concerns in Salt Lake to put himself in a position for a midseason promotion.
Paris is a career .157/.244/.290 hitter. He wasn’t going to win a second job and probably needed a monster spring to consider a bench spot. He hit well in the faceoff (.333/.419/.556) but struck out nine times in 31 plate appearances. Paris has raw energy but has held herself back from anxiety throughout her career. This will be his final major league option year, assuming he spends at least 20 days there during the season.
With Moore out of the mix, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes that the undrafted invitee Adam Frazier is a favorite in the second role. The left-hander has been solid in camp, hitting .348 while striking out four in 23 at-bats. Frazier’s profile is well established. He puts balls into play with little power and has been a below-average hitter since his 2021 All-Star season. He owns a .241/.302/.343 batting line in over 1800 plate appearances between four teams over the past four years.
Manager Kurt Suzuki tells Bollinger he’s open to a team plan to pair Frazier with the right bat. The 34-year-old is a .200/.273/.333 hitter against southpaws, so it’s only natural that they don’t ride lefties when he skips camp.
The Halos have several right fielders vying for one or two roster spots. Oswald Peraza again Vaughn Grissom they are out of options which are former prospects who have not played at the major league level. Chris Taylor and pressing a button Jeimer Candelario they are in camp on minor league deals.
Peraza offers great defensive value and has stepped up during Spring Training, hitting .351 with two homers in 13 games. Grissom, acquired from the Red Sox in an offseason trade, is hitting .185 despite hitting twice throughout camp. Candelario and Taylor performed well in the exhibition game but haven’t hit much in the regular season over the past two years.
The Angels will need to create a 40-man roster spot for either Frazier, Candelario or Taylor. They have a 60-day injured candidate list Robert Stephenson again Anthony Rendon. That gives them two free spots to play with.
