Spring Training Questions
Half the rotation and half the bullpen are undecided, as are C and, ultimately, how to sort out roles for Steve Garvey, Elmer Valo, and Kal Daniels.
Injuries
Damage to Julio Teheran‘s rotator cuff probably took him out of the running for a spot in the Angels’ bullpen to start the season. Of more concern, Jonny Venters, one of the most effective relievers in the league last season, will miss the entire year with an injury to his rotator cuff.
First Cuts
Despite Nolan Ryan and Harry Howell‘s early struggles, John Lackey and John Harshman were the only starters sent to the minors, along with bullpen arms Joey Lucchesi and Bryan Harvey.
None of the catchers in camp have done much of note, but only Gus Triandos was demoted, although Mark Salas has certainly plummeted in the pecking order. Mike Jorgensen, Wally Pipp, and Pedro Álvarez were also sent to the minors, with Wally Joyner looking likely to follow.
Marcus Semien was returned to the minors along with Xander Bogaerts as the Angels are clearly focused on going with their veteran talent on the IF.
In the OF, early struggles by Kal Daniels, Mike Trout, and rookie Ichiro Suzuki keep the situation a bit muddled, although Billy Hamilton, Curt Motton, and Brian Giles were all moved out. Nobody has hit very well, although Jack Gleason has been the best of the bunch.
Second Cuts
Harry Howell and Carlos Mármol were sent down, and while Nolan Ryan has struggled, the young flamethrower will be given some more opportunities in WBL camp.
Gus Triandos and Mark Salas were sent down, with John Stearns staying in camp by the thinnest of margins. Wally Joyner and Marcus Semien joined them.
But that was it, and the Angels still face a dilemma in the OF, where Ichiro Suzuki has yet to really show his talent and everybody else is essentially indistinguishable.
Third Cuts
Julio Teheran came back from injury and pitched well, keeping all 15 arms in camp for the time being.
C continues to be a mess. John Stearns is struggling mightily, but his performance last year keeps him in the conversation. Jeff Torborg–the longest of shots when camp opened–is tearing the cover off the ball. So the Angels are one of the few teams retaining 4 catchers at this point in camp.
Late season star Wally Backman was sent down, as was Bill Doran and young SS Xander Bogaerts.
The OF situation cleared up a bit as Ichiro Suzuki caught fire and Frank Catalanotto, Albie Pearson and Ender Inciarte were all sent down.
Final Cuts
RP Ross Reynolds was the first to see the door. He is likely to be followed very soon by Nolan Ryan, whose talent is only matched by his wildness at this point. But for now, Ryan is safe as the Angels remain more committed to Steve Garvey than Wally Moon, sending down the 31 year old Moon.
Los Angeles is a bit of a mess behind the plate, but they’ve decided to trust John Stearns‘ potential over Ron Hassey‘s, sending Hassey to AAA to start the season. A few days later, they even jettisoned Stearns, preferring to go with two rookies behind the plate in Jeff Torborg and AJ Pierzynski.
Ichiro Suzuki has looked excellent, stepping directly from the draft into the starting RF spot and costing Jeromy Burnitz his spot on the WBL roster.
Bobby Grich‘s ability to backup George Wright at SS means Andrelton Simmons needed a fantastic Spring to make the opening day roster. He didn’t have one, so he’s off to AAA.
Neither Cookie Lavagetto nor David Wright are particularly likely to see much time at 3B for the Angels. Lavagetto has hit slightly better in the Spring, while Wright seems to have more strike zone control. In the end, Los Angeles retained Lavagetto at least for a few more days with Wright heading to AAA.
Randy Tate was a pretty easy choice, bringing the staff down to a dozen. If they need to jettison more arms, the decisions will become much harder.
Especially with Elmer Smith being used both ways and able to fill in at the corner OF spots, veteran Elmer Valo was moved to the minors, as was CF Jack Gleason, despite his solid Spring performance, along with Cookie Lavagetto. That leaves the Angels without a reserve RF, but an assumption that Mike Trout can fill in there occasionally.
That leaves another pitcher needing to be sent down. The challenge is Nolan Ryan was a hot mess all Spring, with 13 walks and 15 hits–and 4 homeruns allowed–in 15 innings. Anthony DeScalafani, Roy Patterson, and Noah Lowry were all significantly better than Ryan, but lack the fireballer’s ceiling for sure. In the end, the Angels moved Ryan to AAA, hoping that regular starts helped him find his form.