Tension in Tempe: An Outlook of Four Potential Position Competitions in Spring
February 17, 2025 - Written by Jack Argent
VFL Christian Moore is all smiles as @Angels Spring Training kicks off.⚾️#GBO🍊 | #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/l3cWqW6N1Z
— Tri-Star Network (@TriStar_Network) February 17, 2026
With the Angels first spring training game around the corner, a few internal position battles begin to take form. Although virtually four-fifths of the starting rotation has been filled up, it seems that a mix of players can compete for that fifth and final starting pitcher slot.
In the infield, Zach Neto has all but secured the starting shortstop role for an extended period of time, returning veteran Yoán Moncada has a grasp on the starting third baseman spot, and Nolan Schaunel will more than likely be penciled in as the starting first baseman. However, the 2nd base position appears to be an open competition with a lot of new acquisitions and young guys in the mix.
Moving over to the outfield, with the recent news stating that Mike Trout will return to center field, new acquisition Josh Lowe slotting into left field, and Jo Adell setting his sights on once again being the everyday right fielder, the starting outfield appears to be solidified. However, the possibility of a 4th outfielder position battle can still take place.
Finally, Kenley Jansen’s departure opens the door for competition to nail down a new closer. So, here are four potential spring training position battles to keep an eye on during spring training.
Second Baseman:
Christian Moore/Kyren Paris/Chris Taylor/Vaughn Grissom/Adam Frazier
Going into spring, most fans would bet on 2024 first round pick Christian Moore to be penciled in as the everyday 2nd baseman as he was able to show flashes of what he can bring to the ballclub long term this past season. However, with utility man Chris Taylor and Adam Frazier being signed to minor league deals, there is a possibility that the Angels can take the route of playing an experienced option as Taylor and Frazier have logged a respectable amount of plate appearances and innings at the big league level.
This decision could allow Moore to make major strides as a ball player in the minor leagues and come back to the big club more big league ready. In addition to Taylor and Frazier posing as potential candidates, former Red Sox and Braves prospect Vaughn Grissom and former Angels 2019 2nd round pick Kyren Paris could also put themselves in the mix.
Paris was able to put together an unforgettable month of April this past season where he slashed .393/.485/1.000, hit 5 home runs, and drove in 8 runs all in his first 34 plate appearances, and although major league pitchers picked up on how to attack Paris which would eventually lead to a slump resulting in him getting sent down, the young 2nd baseman has an opportunity to show the organization he is capable of making the necessary adjustments.
As for Grissom, he has shown his ability to find success as a young player in the past. In 2022, at age 21, Grissom posted a .291/.440/.792 slash line, a 119 OPS+, 5 home runs, and 18 RBIs in 156 plate appearances. Unfortunately, Grissom hasn’t been able to re-capture some of that success as of late. After being traded to the Red Sox in December of 2023, Grissom hasn’t been able to see much time as he hit .190 in just 114 plate appearances in 2024.
Even though Grissom was unable to log any major league time in 2025, he put together an encouraging campaign at Triple-A Worcester in which he batted .270 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs. Along with his bat coming along, he made just 5 errors in 405 innings while playing 2nd base. This success could allow him to get in on the large mix of potential 2nd base candidates.
5th Starter:
Alex Manoah/ Caden Dana/Chase Silseth
Based on previous success, Alek Manoah makes a strong case to grab the 5th and final starting rotation spot coming into spring as he has previously put together an all star campaign for the Blue Jays in 2022 where he posted a 2.24 ERA, 180 strikeouts, and an impressive 0.992 WHIP in 31 starts. Unfortunately, the few years that would follow these career best numbers wouldn’t be in his favor as he would only make 5 starts in 2024 due to a UCL tear in June of that season.
In 2025, it only got worse, Manoah would enter a brutal struggle in the minor leagues that would lead to him being sent down to rookie ball by the end of the season (he would continue to struggle at that level.) The hope for the Angels organization is that Manoah can use a new environment and spring competition to bring his spirits back up and reclaim the success from early in his career.
Another candidate up for the spot is young righty Caden Dana, Dana has spent the early part of his career at most levels of the organization but has struggled at Triple-A and the majors. But, the hope is for this new found competition to mold Dana’s development and maybe give him confidence to dominate Triple A or impress the club enough to get a long relief role out of spring.
Finally, another potential candidate for this spot is 5th year righty Chase Silseth. Silseth also has a lot to prove to this organization as the opportunity to regain his 2023 season where he posted a 3.96 ERA and provided steady innings for the Angels that year. However, the song reminds the same as the other 2 previously mentioned arms, a promising stretch of games followed by a lapse in performance.
So, these arms have a lot at stake going into what appears to be a crucial spot to round out the starting rotation.
Closer:
Ben Joyce/Jordan Romano/Kirby Yates/Robert Stephenson
With Kenley Jansen’s decision to sign with the Tigers in the offseason, it is possible that the Angels may not find their true closer until after the start of the regular season due to the new acquisitions Kirby Yates and Jordan Romano previously being primary closers for multiple parts of their career. In addition, Ben Joyce and Robert Stephenson are on track to be opening day ready, as reported by Jeff Fletcher on X, both relievers threw their first bullpen session of Spring today off of a full-size mound.
As for Kirby Yates, his case to become the closer has a lot to do with how he performed in 2024 under new Angels pitching coach Mike Maddux, who was the Rangers pitching coach at the time. During this season, Yates recorded a 1.17 ERA, 33 saves, a 326 ERA+, and an elite 0.847 WHIP in 61 appearances, good enough to earn an all star appearance.
Despite this success, Yates would struggle in 2025 with the Dodgers where he posted 5.23 ERA, a much worse 1.33 WHIP, and a deep decline in his ERA+ with a below league average mark of 80. Even if he doesn’t win the closer job, Yates can still solidify himself as an important arm for Maddux’s bullpen.
Looking into the other new acquisition, Jordan Romano is coming off one of the worst seasons of his professional career. While pitching for the Phillies, Romano struggled to the tune of a 8.23 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and just 8 saves in 41 innings of work. Even with this disaster of a season, there’s still another chance for Romano to reclaim the elite stretch of pitching from 2021-2023.
In these seasons, he recorded a 2.14 ERA in 2021, a 2.11 ERA in 2022, and a 2.90 ERA in 2023. All these seasons also included more than 20 saves and 58 or more appearances. So just like his fellow former Blue Jay teammate Alex Manoah, he has an opportunity to get off the mat and get his career back on track.
Moving over to Stephenson and Joyce, they are both coming off injury riddled seasons but both arms still have some juice to bring to the pen. As for Joyce, his ability to light up the radar gun and generate strikeouts could pave the way to be the guy called upon to shut the door in the 9th. As for Stephenson, his role would more than likely be a setup man or a 6th-7th inning arm, but the option to be the “emergency” guy is still open for consideration.
Fourth Outfielder: Bryce Teodosio/ Matthew Lugo/ Jorge Soler/Jose Siri
With the recent news of Mike Trout announcing his return to center field, despite his last start in center being almost 2 years and the obvious concern for his ability to stay on the field consistently, the importance of a backup center field option is very important to new manager Kurt Suzuki.
The first and likely front running candidate for this spot is last year’s surprise breakout Bryce Teodosio, Teodosio, an undrafted free agent out of Clemson, made his season debut in August of 2025 and immediately made an impact with defense that jumped off the page and speed that turned heads in the clubhouse. Although Teodosio has proven to the organization that he can be an elite defensive center fielder with an impressive 7 defensive runs saved in 406 innings, a glaring hole in his game is struggles at the plate. These struggles take away his ability to use his speed as a .248 on-base percentage is far too low to fully maximize the player Teodosio can become.
One of Teodosio's challengers for this role is Jose Siri, whose has elite defense and speed in his own right. In 2024 with the Rays, Siri led the league with a 2.63 range factor per game. In addition to his previous success as a defender, Siri also showcased an ability to hit for power with 43 home runs in 231 games between 2023 and 2024.
However, after joining the Mets, Siri had a disaster of a 2025 season where he appeared in just 16 games, hit .063, reached base only 16.7% of the time, and posted an abysmal OPS+ of -15. So one of the deciding factors between Teodosio and Siri is who can swing the bat better.
Moving over to the other two potential candidates, Matthew Lugo and Jorge Soler have different situations. As for Lugo, he is more of a corner outfielder who’s most likely outcome will be getting called up just in case a starter goes on the shelf. As for Soler, Trout’s decision to move back to center opens up a chance for Soler to see plenty of at bats as a designated hitter with the hope that him not playing the field puts less stress on his body over an 162 game season.
These tightly contested position battles should bring a ton of excitement for the fanbase. In addition to interest from the fanbase, a very microscopic evaluation of every swing, pitch, and play in the field will be taking place over this next month of spring training baseball. All and all, new skipper Kurt Suzuki and general manager Perry Minasian will have to make some very tough decisions for this ballclub.
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