One of the Angels’ biggest camp storylines is who they’ll tab as the starting second baseman. They narrowed the field over the weekend, optioning Christian Moore and Kyren Paris. They’re each going to open the year at Triple-A Salt Lake.
Moore seemed like a slight favorite for the job entering Spring Training. He was certainly the most exciting of the in-house options as a 2024 top ten pick who has hit well in the minors. Moore really struggled following an aggressive big league promotion last season, though. He struck out more than a third of the time while hitting .198/.284/.370 through 184 trips to the plate.
The Angels would have loved for Moore to seize the job in Spring Training. That’s not what happened, as he hit .175 with just one extra-base hit (a homer) in 40 at-bats. Moore will look to address some of the swing-and-miss concerns at Salt Lake to put himself in the running for a midseason promotion.
Paris is a career .157/.244/.290 hitter. He wasn’t going to win the second base job and probably needed a monster spring to put himself in consideration for a bench spot. He hit well on the surface (.333/.419/.556) but struck out nine times in 31 plate appearances. Paris has raw power but has held back by whiff concerns throughout his career. This will be his final minor league option year, assuming he spends at least 20 days there over the course of the season.
With Moore out of the mix, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes that non-roster invitee Adam Frazier is the favorite for the second base role. The lefty hitter has made a strong impression in camp, batting .348 while striking out just four times in 23 at-bats. Frazier’s profile is well established. He puts balls in play with minimal power and has been a below-average hitter since his 2021 All-Star season. He carries a .241/.302/.343 batting line in more than 1800 plate appearances between four teams over the last four years.
Manager Kurt Suzuki tells Bollinger he’s open to a platoon arrangement that’d pair Frazier with a righty bat. The 34-year-old is a career .200/.273/.333 hitter against southpaws, so it’s natural they’d keep away from lefty pitching if he breaks camp.
The Halos have a few right-handed infielders vying for one or two roster spots. Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom are out-of-options former prospects who haven’t performed at the big league level. Chris Taylor and the switch-hitting Jeimer Candelario are in camp on minor league deals.
Peraza offers the most defensive value and has stepped up during Spring Training, hitting .351 with a pair of homers in 13 games. Grissom, acquired from the Red Sox in an offseason trade, is batting .185 despite only striking out twice all camp. Candelario and Taylor have each shown well in exhibition play but haven’t hit much in the regular season over the last two years.
The Angels would need to create 40-man roster space for any of Frazier, Candelario or Taylor. They have a pair of obvious 60-day injured list candidates in Robert Stephenson and Anthony Rendon. That essentially give them two free roster spots with which to play.
