2026 looks likely to be another year of the Angels more or less spinning their wheels. With minimal changes to the roster coming off a 90 loss season (even in spite of a relatively healthy season for Mike Trout), the Halos will need a lot to go their way if they’re going to have any hope of being competitive this year.
One of the first things that the team will need to decide is who’s going to play second base. Luis Rengifo walked in free agency, leaving a hole at the keystone. Rather than bring in a more surefire addition like Gleyber Torres or Brandon Lowe, the Angels settled on having a number of players battle for the job this spring. In all, there are half a dozen candidates for reps still in camp. The Halos are surely hoping that one of those names will rise above the pack and run with the job, but who might that be?
Christian Moore is a former top-10 pick in the draft and top-100 prospect in the sport. He made it to the majors last year after rocketing through the minors in a speedy fashion that’s become typical for Halos prospects in recent years. He seemed to hit a wall once he reached the big leagues. In 53 games as a major leaguer, he hit just .198/.284/.370 with a wRC+ of 82. That first stint in the majors was far from a disaster, especially for a player who played all of last year at 22 years old. But a 33.7% strikeout rate suggests he might not be quite ready for the show yet, and his difficult spring (.175/.233/.250 in 40 at-bats) certainly isn’t helping matters. While Moore undoubtedly remains a big part of the club’s plans, it would not be a shock if the team decided he needs more time to develop in the minors.
Pivoting away from Moore would open the door to a cadre of non-roster veterans and out of options pieces on the 40-man roster bubble. Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom must either be carried on the roster or be designated for assignment and exposed to waivers. Peraza is regarded as a better defender than Grissom, capable of handling not only second base but also the hot corner and shortstop if needed. While Peraza hasn’t hit much in his career and is coming off a putrid .164/.223/.250 showing, Grissom has a below average hitter (82 wRC+) for his career and didn’t crack the majors last season as he posted middling numbers in Triple-A for the Red Sox. What’s more, Peraza is having a very strong camp with a .324/.378/.647 slash line in 37 trips to he plate. Grissom is carrying a .185/.333/.269 line across 33 plate appearances.
While Peraza appears to be a real threat to make the roster, it’s possible the Angels would prefer to keep him in a utility role given his ability to back up Zach Neto at shortstop and Yoan Moncada at third base. If that’s the case, they could turn towards their group of non-roster veterans. Nick Madrigal, Adam Frazier, and Chris Taylor all have ample experience at the keystone and are in camp on minor league deals. Taylor hasn’t hit much at all in either of the past two years, however, and while he’s had a solid camp (.241/.389/.483 in 36 plate appearances), he might be better suited for a bench role given his trademark versatility.
Frazier is in a similar boat as a player who has hit an excellent .353/.476/.412 in ten spring games. He could be an interesting choice if the team wants to add another lefty bat to their heavily right-handed lineup, but he could also be tapped to serve as a lefty bench bat with relative ease given his ability to play both second base and the outfield. As for Madrigal, he’s coming off a lost season due to injury. The former top prospect can play decent defense at either second or third base. While he’s a career .274/.323/.344 (88 wRC+) hitter in the majors, he brings an unique proclivity for contact to the table as evidenced by his career strikeout rate of just 9.0%. In 23 spring plate appearances, he’s hit a solid .333/.391/.429.
One wild card in the second base mix could be veteran infielder Jeimer Candelario. Candelario has played almost his whole career on the infield corners, with his pro experience at the keystone limited to just two innings of work in the Dominican Winter League over half a decade ago. That would make the 32-year-old an unorthodox choice to take over at second, especially given that he hit just .113/.198/.213 (10 wRC+) in 80 plate appearances with the Reds last year. Despite those question marks, Candelario’s solid camp (.267/.353/.567 in 32 plate appearances) has seemingly impressed Angels brass enough to give him a look at the position to see if he can be squeezed onto the roster. Whether the team will feel confident enough in Candelario’s ability to handle second base to actually give him regular reps at the position remains to be seen, however.
How do MLBTR readers think the Angels will settle their second base battle. Will they give the keys to Moore for another extended run right out of the gate? Or will they pivot to another option like Peraza, Frazier, or Madrigal? Could they roll the dice on Candelario despite his lack of experience? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will win the second base job for the Angels this year?
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Christian Moore 29% (682)
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Adam Frazier 23% (537)
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Vaughn Grissom 13% (296)
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Oswald Peraza 12% (290)
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Jeimer Candelario 9% (215)
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Nick Madrigal 9% (212)
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Chris Taylor 4% (103)
Total votes: 2,335
Wow! Zero votes for Chris Taylor?!?
There’s six as of my post.
And no, he won’t be the starting 2nd baseman. It will either be Moore or Frasier, depending on what happens with 3rd.
@kellin. Neto at second base and soler at SS. im here before halo11fan says something about his range.
Hyperbole much. The Angels should have drafted to replace Neto at short the moment they drafted him.
Worst defense in baseball last year, probably one of the worst this year.
Winning isn’t even a top 5 priority for fans.
Does it really matter?
Does anything?
I think it’s only appropriate that the Angel’s starting 2nd base job should be determined by a poll.
Honestly, if all their upper managerial decisions were made via poll, they’d probably have more success.
Really. Moore has a lot of work to do. I still can’t believe they drafted a work in progress secondbaseman instead of a shortstop.
But they did what the Angels do, draft inferior talent in the first round, then sign him for under slot value, leaving better players on the table.
Pure stupidity. Minasian should already be out of a job.
I still can’t believe they drafted a work in progress secondbaseman instead of a shortstop.
==================
These things are kind of random, but having Konnor Griffin chosen with the next pick kind of rubs it in.
Maybe the Angels fans can help me out, but it looks like LAA spent about $2M less than Pitt. That would’ve been enough to afford Griffin. Was there a reason for that?
It looks like Moore was rushed through the minors. He looked great at Tennessee, leading them to a national championship. I was hoping the Red Sox would draft him.
Joe, The Angels purposely draft lesser talent in round one, pay less, and then give one or two bigger bonuses later in the draft.
Minasian skills and ability are pretty much non-existent, so it has no chance of working.
He was a secondbaseman who couldn’t play second. Very very common at the college level.
If that’s the case, MLBTR please start a poll titled “Should Arte Sell The Angels?”
Oh and please calculate the percentage to the hundredths. I want to see if it comes out 99.98% or 99.99%. Thanks.
Maybe more. Should Arte sell the the team and should Minasian be fired should both be 100%.
Who cares? They won’t be good anyways
My sentiments exactly sir! More to the point, What difference does it make? LOL
Nobody we have heard of
What’s on second.
I don’t know.
If you haven’t heard of any of those people in the poll, it explains so much about your comments on here. Try the hockey rumors site. Maybe you know enough about that sport to comment intelligently there.
You haven’t heard of a player that played for your team for several seasons?
I did a write in vote for Bobby Grich, hope that was okay. 🤣
No way he beats out Johnny Ray.
Adam Kennedy was underrated.
You could see this coming from a mile away. 200 Ks/600 ABs in AA, 200 Ks/600 in AAA. Is it a surprise that he averaged 230 Ks/600 ABs in the pros? How many times do they need to see this movie before remembering how it ends?
He was only 22 last year and would have still been in the minors with most other organizations.
A pet peeve of mine. You got those two kids from the Red Sox. They probably won’t make it (but you gave up nothing). But both guys are at the age where they aren’t going to do much development in AAA, and at the age where they need to prove themselves.
But like you said, at 22, Moore could easily put in a full season in AA/AAA and still be a young kid when he gets promoted.
Nice article Nick Deeds – I voted for Nick Madrigal as the starter but its hard to fend off Frazier. A bench of D’Arnaud, Siri, Frazier and Peraza would be solid.
After reading the article, Im leaning towards cutting Taylor, Candelario and Grissom. Moore in AAA.
It should be Frazier. He’s the most established and doesn’t strike out a ton. This team is horrible with K’s.
But this is not a well run organization. Moore will continue to get to swing at everything simply due to his draft status.
Old has-beens shouldn’t get playing time.
Frazier put up more WAR last year than the rest of the list combined.
He’s also you get than Mike Trout
Madrigal has been surprisingly good. No, he doesn’t hit HR’s, but he’s a pest who can play good defense.
When I looked up his numbers on BB-Ref, it reminds me that he actually was decent with the White Sox, batting .300 and hitting doubles.
Then the Cubs happened.
I have no idea what happened with the Cubs, but I wouldn’t hate it if he made the team and got some reps at 2B.
Moore needs to develop at AAA, the Angels aren’t a playoff team, so, I mean, why the hell not give Madrigal a shot?
He spent his whole time on the Cubs on the IL or rehab, That’s what happened.
I might be in the minority of Cub fans that enjoyed Nick Madrigal’s time with the Cubs. Nicky 2 Strikes and Nicky Barrels is what myself and a few other Cub fans called him. Social media fan community.
@Johnnyangel. I can see him knocking peraza off the roster. He also might’ve a opt out. Maybe angels could re-sign peraza .
Dansby Swanson happened.
What a well-thought out post, considering Grissom is injured and has been for some time. Can’t hit well if your left wrist is hurt.
I thought who was on 1st?
Wild Wing? The Philly Fanatic? Joe Blow Tornado the parking attendant? The Starting 2B at St John Bosco High?
Every last one of them can hit better than the MLB roster trash we call a lineup
My point is who cares. They are not going to make a difference in a 110 loss season
@@soccer_ref. Did you sing off on it or was it signed.
is it too late to trade for and overpay luis garcia jr ?since they’ve done so well with ex-nationals in the past
It will be Moore. That is not the best choice, but it is the Arte choice.
They won’t want to admit they promoted Moore too soon, so they will start him.
Candelario probably makes the team because he can play 1B/3B, Taylor and Frazier can both play the Outfield so they both likely make the roster which means one out of the Moore/Peraza/Grissom group makes the team. Moore should probably head to AAA which means trying to sneak Grissom and/or Peraza through waivers
Scotty Jetpax!
Mike Trout. Because, why not?! He should probably be the opening day SP too!
…until he gets injured in game #50 of the season.
After the first few weeks of spring training, I thought it was Moore’s to lose. Unfortunately, it looks like he’s about to lose it unless he puts together a good final two weeks. It doesn’t help that he still has options and shouldn’t waste his development if he isn’t starting everyday.
Donovan Walton is also a quality option.
Trout played SS in High School. He can transition to 2B.
If I’m the Angels, I’m calling the Brewers on the availability of Brice Turang. I’m serious, they need a 2B and the Brewers are open game to trading away their best players last 3 years. They obviously have no interest in wanting to win the division again, so if if I’m the angels why the heck not call the brewers!
And how do you plan on acquiring Turang?
Thin ice? Minasian is entering year six with a 358–452 (.442) record. He’s also Moreno’s team accountant at this point.
Minasian is not responsible for that. Arte is. Go listen to what Arte has said about that subject over the years. He has refused to allow a high school player to be taken in the first 2 rounds since 2018 and he has said he feels 1st round picks should start producing in the majors asap to start paying for the signing bonus he had to give them. Its Arte, not Minasian making that call. Minasian just picks the college player that he thinks will be able to make the jump as fast as possible.
Maybe you mean since the pandemic? The Angels first two picks in 2018 were high schoolers, and their picks 2-4 in 2019 were also prepsters. They went collegiate in 2020 with pick one (and rightly so – Detmers was the BPA), but their second and third selections were also high schoolers.
The Angels actually consistently drafted prep within their top two selections from 2013-2020. Yes, they went heavy college 2021-2024, but last year was rather unusual for how many prep picks they actually took – 9 of 21, and almost all of those were pitchers. No other team went that prep arm heavy in the last draft.
I have to wonder if whoever wrote this article is familiar with baseball at all? Or maybe it’s polls they don’t understand?
No way to vote for multiple of the players to “win” time at second base
Always splitting hairs. So you want a platoon option? Or you want an additional poll where you can input how many games each of those above players will play 2B? I’m sure FG already has those predictions.
YBC
“Always splitting hairs”
The poll makes no sense
I don’t think any of those guys it’s going to win the job outright
A more pertinent question, what difference will it make? The Angels are the most hopeless franchise in baseball.
Trade you the Rockies for the Angels, even up!
The Rockies are sad, while the Angels make moves that entertain the masses. Who does recall, with delight, when the Angels drafted nothing but pitchers?
And the Angels are safer than the Rockies.
Who will play 2B for the Angels? So grateful for BR conducting this poll. I’ve been losing sleep for weeks ruminating over this dilemma.
Angels in the Infield? Danny Glover: “Im too old for this”
Christian more has a lot of talent, he probably will start at 2nd. Rodriguez can pitch, this will be a big help. Kurt Suzuki is a smart game player. He got strategy. He knows about small ball. My old friend Soler is healthy this year. How about Oswald. I love all the talent. Maybe this is the year for the angels, for everything to click. Arte should jump in at the end of July and attract whatever they need. Probably just another reliever, but a great one.
Remember the 02 angels, didn’t they when it all🌝🌝🌝
Doesn’t really matter. Zero chance of making the playoffs.
Moore was just sent down. Right now he’s still a work in progress both offensively and defensively. I can’t believe anyone knowledgeable fan would have selected him.
We’ve discussed Adell’s history at length. As soon as Moore has a good week, he’ll be back up.
This team should have signed Urais
Scotty Jetpax will be making a return to finally see his talents through
Arte will have Moore back up and starting by June no matter who performs. Frazier will win the job and settle to a utility role. The 5 million signing bonus is like a one year contract to this team. They will play him bc of it. Bremmer will pitch this year as well even if he’s having a down year. Development at its finest
Madrigal at 2B, Peraza for backup IF, Moore to Salt Lake.
Who’s on first!
Everyone
The good news is the waver wire will get really active in the next couple of weeks. For MORONassian that’s like hitting close out sales at JC Penny and the clearance racks at Ross.
He can find a couple more middle infielders who can’t hit to up the competition