Two Spots Left on Angels 40-Man Roster, But Why?
Something has been concerning me about the Angels lately. It isn't a major concern, but rather one of those small lingering questions in the back of my mind. Spring Training is on the cusp of getting under way, but for some reason the Angels still have two spots open on their 40-man roster. This might seem like something trivial, but when I do the roster math, it just doesn't add up (either that or my sixth-grade geometry teacher was right and I suck at math).
Sorry kids, there are two roster spots left, but the Angels aren't THAT desperate.
The only real point of adding anyone to the 40-man roster at this stage of the game is if the Halos are adding that person to the Opening Day 25-man roster as well. That's all find and good, but almost all the 25-man roster spots in Anaheim are spoken for. They've already got eleven pitchers and twelve hitters locked in for active roster slots, leaving just two bench spots. With those spots, the Halos can carry another reliever and one position player or just add two position players. Based on the totally uninspiring list of non-roster invitees that the Angels are bringing to camp, those two spots are almost assuredly going to be filled by guys already on the 40-man roster. The only non-roster guy with a shot is Robb Quinlan.
Now, adding Quinlan to the roster could definitely use up on of the open slots, but it really won't since carrying Q on the active roster means that Bobby Wilson and/or Terry Evans won't make the team and must thus be dropped from the 40-man roster, leaving the Angels at just 38 players still. And therein lies the rub. Thus there are only two plausible baseball reasons for keeping two slots vacant:
Sorry kids, there are two roster spots left, but the Angels aren't THAT desperate.
The only real point of adding anyone to the 40-man roster at this stage of the game is if the Halos are adding that person to the Opening Day 25-man roster as well. That's all find and good, but almost all the 25-man roster spots in Anaheim are spoken for. They've already got eleven pitchers and twelve hitters locked in for active roster slots, leaving just two bench spots. With those spots, the Halos can carry another reliever and one position player or just add two position players. Based on the totally uninspiring list of non-roster invitees that the Angels are bringing to camp, those two spots are almost assuredly going to be filled by guys already on the 40-man roster. The only non-roster guy with a shot is Robb Quinlan.
Now, adding Quinlan to the roster could definitely use up on of the open slots, but it really won't since carrying Q on the active roster means that Bobby Wilson and/or Terry Evans won't make the team and must thus be dropped from the 40-man roster, leaving the Angels at just 38 players still. And therein lies the rub. Thus there are only two plausible baseball reasons for keeping two slots vacant:
- The Angels are scared to death of more injury issues and want to keep maximum roster flexibility option should a player or two (or twelve if the Angels bad injury luck from 2009 carries over to this year) opens the season on the DL.
- Despite being seemingly satisfied with their roster, the Angels are still kicking around trade and free agency ideas that would necessitate them having to keep room on the roster open.




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