The Angels announced nearly a dozen roster moves as they prepare their Opening Day lineup. The team confirmed the signing of lefty reliever Joey Lucchesi to a one-year free agent deal. They also selected veteran infielders Adam Frazier and Jeimer Candelario onto the big league roster.
Vaughn Grissom lands on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left wrist. Pitchers Ben Joyce (shoulder inflammation), Alek Manoah (middle finger contusion), Kirby Yates (left knee inflammation), and Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder inflammation) all land on the 15-day injured list. Those five placements are all retroactive to March 22.
The Angels needed to open three spots on the 40-man roster for Lucchesi, Frazier and Candelario. Two of those are procedural moves, as Anthony Rendon and Robert Stephenson have been placed on the 60-day injured list. The one roster casualty of the whole series of transactions is left-handed reliever Jayvien Sandridge, who was designated for assignment.
Most of these transactions had either been announced or strongly telegraphed by prior moves. Frazier and Candelario were each expected to break camp after offseason minor league contracts. The former is ticketed for the majority of the playing time at second base. Frazier’s left-handed bat and plus contact skills make him a rarity in a heavily right-handed lineup. He hit .281 with a .452 on-base percentage this spring but has been a below-average hitter in four consecutive seasons. Frazier ran a .267/.319/.365 slash in 459 plate appearances between the Pirates and Royals a year ago.
Candelario, 32, returns to the majors after finishing last season in Triple-A in the Yankees system. The switch-hitter turned in a meager .207/.265/.394 line while battling various injuries over a season and a half with the Reds. He popped four homers this spring but struck out 17 times in 56 plate appearances.
Candelario is primarily a corner infielder, but the Angels have also gotten him acclimated to second base in camp. He’ll work as a backup infielder alongside the out-of-options Oswald Peraza behind Frazier and third baseman Yoán Moncada. The Angels will only pay him the $780K league minimum while he’s on the roster. The Reds are still covering the rest of his $13MM salary after releasing him last June.
Of the injured list assignments, only the Yates move comes as a surprise. The 39-year-old righty signed a $5MM free agent deal over the winter. That was the biggest investment the Halos made in a quiet offseason. Yates was one of a handful of reclamation fliers who’ll slot into the bullpen. He had been expected to share closing work with Jordan Romano and Drew Pomeranz on Opening Day. That’ll be on hold for at least the first 12 days of the regular season. Yates pitched four times this spring, allowing one earned run over four innings.
More to come.
