Up until about halfway through the 2014 season, the Angels had been the handicap of the ballclub. Dipoto went and fixed all that, but then he unfixed it a bit this offseason by letting some of his relievers go. The Angels bullpen still figures to be solid, but there are some roles and roster spots that need sorting out. Let’s go ahead and sort it.
Huston Street
Pro: He’s the closer and he’s really good.
Con: He’ll probably get hurt at some point.
Handicap: 100%. As long as “at some point” isn’t before the season, Street clearly isn’t going anywhere.
Joe Smith
Pro: He throws sidearm.
Con: None. Sidearmers are the best.
Handicap: 100%. See above.
Fernando Salas
Pro: Scioscia has a lot of confidence in him and he’s got a little bit of a reverse platoon split. He barely walks anyone.
Con: Scioscia’s confidence is misplaced because Salas struggled mightily with inherited runners and his extreme flyball tendencies make him homer prone.
Handicap: 100%. His roster spot is secure, but his role remains to be seen. Right now, he’s the frontrunner to take over the seventh inning role vacated by Kevin Jepsen.
Mike Morin
Pro: DAT CHANGEUP. Death on righties. Highly adept at inducing groundballs in GIDP situations.
Con: Struggled down the stretch in 2014 and had a lot of problems with left-handed hitters.
Handicap: 99%. He could also take over Jepsen’s role but his struggles in the final month also present a very tiny risk that he could be a mess this spring and start the season in the minors.
Cesar Ramos
Pro: Um… he’s left-handed? Other than that, I’ll get back to you because his stats don’t really look all that enticing.
Con: He’s not actually all that good against left-handed hitters. Had major struggles away from Tropicana Field in 2014.
Handicap: 100%. He’s perfectly lined up to be totally miscast as a LOOGY in the Angels bullpen.
Vinnie Pestano
Pro: Another sidearmer. Right-handed hitters can barely touch him.
Con: See Joe Smith’s comment.
Handicap: 95%. He’s out of options and has a guaranteed contract, but he is still on the comeback trail from over a year of arm problems, so there is a possibility he could fall apart this spring.
Hector Santiago
Pro: Left-handed. His velocity would play up in relief and he’d be able to simplify his pitch mix to get away from his kitcken sink approach as a starter.
Con: He has actually been a little bit worse in his career as a reliever, which is weird.
Handicap: 60%. He really should be a reliever, but he’s going to get a shot at the rotation first. If he loses out, the final Angels bullpen spot is almost certainly his and he could be given a shot at a significant role to boot.
Cory Rasmus
Pro: The closest thing to a power arm that the Angels have. Was quietly very good last season. His stint as a starter might have actually helped him take his game to the next level.
Con: Homer prone. Sheltered from high leverage last season. Slated to work as a starter in training camp. Patchy facial hair.
Handicap: 25%. Rasmus flashed enough as a starter late last season that the Angels would be foolish not to give him a few months in Triple-A to see if he can’t stick in that role.
Cam Bedrosian
Pro: Electric stuff with the ceiling to become a closer. Misses a ton of bats. Genetically predisposed to being a stud reliever.
Con: Struggled mightily in his MLB call-ups in 2014 where he was plagued by fastball command issues.
Handicap: 10%. He wasn’t quite ready in 2014, so he might be better off pitching regularly in the minors rather than seeing sporadic work in MLB.
Matt Lindstrom
Pro: Lots and lots of grounders and lots and lots of veteran experience.
Con: Lost some velocity, then suffered a major ankle injury. He’s 35 years old now. This is a bad combination.
Handicap: 8%. He appears to have a giant fork sticking out of his back as his struggles predated his injury. If he can pull it out, he has a small chance of stealing a role as a middle relief groundball specialist.
Jeremy McBryde
Pro: Lots of under-the-radar minor league success. Inexplicably got a 40-man roster spot despite no MLB experience. Obliterates right-handed hitters.
Con: More of a minor league journeyman who has had good stats, but never been treated as much of a prospect.
Handicap: 1%. Total wild card. Someone in the Angels scouting department obviously saw something they really liked.
Scott Snodgress
Pro: Left-handed, has a pulse. Previously worked as a starter, making him a candidate to unlock some magic by shifting to relief.
Con: Struggled in his brief tenure as a reliever in 2014. Righties hammer him.
Handicap: 1%. LOOGY potential, but from a sheer depth chart perspective, he’s buried behind Ramos and Santiago.
The Field
Pro: Plenty of options in camp. Most guys in competition for the final bullpen spot are either on a minor league contract or have options, so they aren’t locked into anyone from a roster logistics standpoint.
Con: None of the options really have a ton of upside and those that do (Gott and Reynolds) don’t look to be close to big league ready.
Handicap: 1%. Nobody expected the Angels to carry Shoemaker out of training camp, so weird things have been known to happen. The status of Garrett Richards’ recovery could convince Scioscia and Dipoto to use the final rotation spot on a longman (i.e. Drew Rucinski) rather than a specialist.
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