Angels brass stamps belief in young core

TEMPE, Ariz -- While the Angels acquired several players via free agency and trade this offseason, they never made a huge splash financially to improve the ballclub.

But general manager Perry Minasian, speaking on Wednesday with pitchers and catchers holding their first official workouts of the spring, said he believes in his current group and that he thinks it’s important to continue to develop the club’s youthful core.

“One of the things we wanted to commit to was our young players,” Minasian said. “It’s something I've talked about the last couple of years. So making that commitment with some of our internal guys, we wanted to give them some opportunities.”

Minasian acknowledged that most of the club’s offseason acquisitions carry some risk but said they have upside because they’ve had success in the past at the Major League level.

The Angels added right-hander Grayson Rodriguez to the rotation in a trade with the Orioles that sent slugger Taylor Ward to Baltimore and also signed Alek Manoah to a one-year deal. Both have had success as starters in the big leagues but didn’t pitch last year due to injury.

They also signed veteran relievers Kirby Yates, Jordan Romano, Drew Pomeranz and Brent Suter to one-year deals while also trading for utilityman Vaughn Grissom and bringing back third baseman Yoán Moncada on a one-year pact. The Angels are hoping for bounce-back years and better health from several of those veterans.

Minasian understands the skepticism that comes with that strategy because of the inherent risk involved, but he believes it’s the right thing to do given the young nature of the club.

“I know we took some chances and now we're relying on some guys to bounce back and all those things,” Minasian said. “And I can understand maybe some hesitancy in believing in it or whatever it may be, but in our eyes, we're really, really excited about the group we have.”

Minasian also said they could still add more this spring, much like they did last year when they signed closer Kenley Jansen and Moncada after players had already reported to camp.

But the Angels sound comfortable with Manoah and Rodriguez joining a rotation that includes José Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi, Reid Detmers, so they don’t sound likely to go after a free agent starter such as Zac Gallen or Chris Bassitt. But they could use another infielder to push Christian Moore at second base, as he’s currently competing for that spot with Oswald Peraza, Grissom and non-roster invitee Nick Madrigal.

“We'll always look to improve the club,” Minaisan said. “With that being said, we like what we have.”

Minasian also said his club is nearly totally healthy heading into Spring Training, as relievers Ben Joyce and Robert Stephenson are the only players currently behind in camp. Joyce is coming off shoulder surgery in May, but threw off the slope of the mound during his bullpen session on Wednesday without any issues. Stephenson dealt with nerve issues and thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms this offseason after he was shut down with right elbow inflammation last September, but will throw his first bullpen later this week.

Joyce’s status for Opening Day is up in the air, while Stephenson believes he still has time to get ready for the start of the season.

“With Joyce's injury, we're going to take that slow to a certain extent,” Minasian said. “We're not going to rush that. He’s going to be ready when he's ready. With Stevenson being injured to end the year, he's another one that we're going to make sure he's healthy.”

Otherwise, the only pitchers not in camp are Mexico native Samy Natera Jr., who is dealing with visa issues, and non-roster reliever Kaleb Ort, who is attending the birth of his child. Caden Dana also missed Wednesday’s workout due to illness.

Kikuchi is ahead of everyone in camp and threw to hitters on Wednesday because he’s pitching for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Kikuchi looked to be in midseason form, as his fastball reached as high as 97 mph on the radar gun.

With Kikuchi eventually leaving to join Team Japan, it’ll allow younger pitchers to get a chance to show what they can do. They have several of their top prospects in camp like Tyler Bremner, Ryan Johnson, George Klassen, Chase Shores, Chris Cortez and Nate Snead, so now they can show what they can do.

“There's a lot of great young arms that might not be well-known yet that we feel very excited about,” said manager Kurt Suzuki. “We’re going to give them opportunities to put themselves on the map.”