TEMPE, Ariz. – Billy Eppler apparently looks at a baseball season like a season of “Survivor.”
“Right now, the island of the AL West belongs to Texas,” the Angels general manager said, referring to the 2016 division champions. “We’re looking up at a number of teams. For us to take that island, we’ve got to climb some teams and knock some teams out. Time will tell if we were able to do that.”
That question will begin to be answered this week, as the Angels’ pitchers and catchers report for spring training. On the eve of Wednesday’s first workout, the Angels have quietly flipped over a significant chunk of their roster.
Barring injury, there will be at least six players on the opening-day roster who weren’t there at the end of last season, and there could be as many as eight or nine, depending on who wins jobs in the bullpen.
There figure to be at least four others who Eppler acquired before the end of last season, as he continues to churn the roster in the search of the combination that can help the Angels win a playoff series for the first time since 2009.
The goals for this offseason were to upgrade in left field, at second base and possibly at catcher. They also wanted to get more left-handed, and add pitching depth.
They definitely upgraded in left (acquiring Cameron Maybin and Ben Revere) and at second (Danny Espinosa). They definitely added a left-handed presence, with Revere and Luis Valbuena and the switch-hitting Espinosa.
As for pitching, there’s no doubt they added quantity. They picked up 10 pitchers who pitched in the majors last season, mostly on waiver claims or low-profile trades. Having such an inventory of pitchers is a requirement for a staff that is full of question marks, some of the biggest issues the Angels will face in spring training.
Who is going to be pitching in which roles? Normally, a team might have a question about a fifth starter or the last two spots in the bullpen. The Angels have essentially six jobs claimed and six open.
Garrett Richards (more on him later), Matt Shoemaker and Ricky Nolasco will be in the rotation. Huston Street, Cam Bedrosian and Andrew Bailey (more on them later) will be in the bullpen.
Beyond that, the Angels have a bucket full of pitchers who are competing for jobs in the rotation or the bullpen. Tyler Skaggs, Jesse Chavez, Bud Norris, Alex Meyer, Yusmeiro Petit, Brooks Pounders, Manny Banuelos, Vicente Campos, J.C. Ramirez, Daniel Wright, Nate Smith and Troy Scribner are all coming to camp as starters.
Of that group, Skaggs and Chavez probably are the top two. Skaggs finished last season in the rotation and Chavez signed a major league deal to be a starter.
Obviously, not all of them can start Cactus League games, so the Angels will try to get all the innings they can for them before deciding which ones go into the bullpen competition.
Expect lots of B games and pitchers going to get innings in minor league games.
Who will the closer be? Street, Bedrosian and Bailey all have a chance to win the closer job, making for an intriguing three-way competition in Arizona.
It would seem that Street probably begins camp as the No. 1, just because of his experience and the fact that last year’s struggles can probably be attributed to injury. Bedrosian, however, had the best season last year, before he also got hurt. Bailey, who is trying for a career revival after injuries cost him a few seasons, is the longshot in the group.
How is Richards? Initially pegged for Tommy John surgery after he damaged his ulnar collateral ligament in May, Richards decided instead to try to see if stem-cell therapy could heal the joint.
It worked. Or so it seems.
Richards passed all the tests, up to a five-inning performance in instructional league in October. But now he’s going to start into the rigors of a normal major league season. The Angels can’t be good without him leading the way as the ace, but they also need to be careful with how hard they push him.
It will be fascinating to watch Richards’ progress through the season, not only for the hopes of the Angels, but for the future of treating elbow injuries.
How is Albert Pujols? Pujols had foot surgery in December, after a couple months of rest didn’t help sufficiently. Now, he’s doing physical therapy and running on an “anti-gravity” treadmill.
The initial prognosis after his surgery called for Pujols to be ready just about by opening day. He was on the same time frame after his 2015 surgery, and he made it by opening day 2016, so no one would be surprised if he gets there again. The bigger question might be how effective he is after an injury-interrupted winter.
What about Valbuena and C.J. Cron? While Pujols is out, or limited, this isn’t really an issue. One of them can play first and the other can be the designated hitter. However, at some point Pujols will be 100 percent and the Angels will have just one spot left to split between Cron and Valbuena. Spring training will be the beginning of the competition between them.
Going into the spring, the plan seems to be to play Valbuena, who just signed a $15 million deal. So it will be up to Cron to win time in the lineup. Cron also could become an interesting trade chip for the Angels – once Pujols proves he's healthy – so he might also be auditioning for other teams this spring.
Contact the writer: jlfletcher@scng.com
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