Will Angels trade Shohei Ohtani? 5 storylines to watch on Angels

Twins third baseman Gio Urshela fields a ball during a game on Sept. 27, 2022.

(Bruce Kluckhohn / Associated Press)

Minasian followed through on building depth with proven major league talent, picking up infielders Gio Urshela and Brandon Drury, outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Brett Phillips, starter Tyler Anderson and relief pitcher Carlos Estévez.

The GM confirmed that Mike Trout will remain in center and Renfroe will play in right field, shifting Taylor Ward to left with Phillips being the fourth outfielder. That leaves Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak at the end of the pecking order.

It’s even more crowded in the infield. Anthony Rendon, who has been injured most of the last two seasons, will play at third base. Urshela and Drury are also third basemen, though they have experience elsewhere in the infield.

Having two more bona fide third basemen solves the Angels’ lack of depth at the position if Rendon is unable to play during the year. Where everyone else gets regular reps is the question. Urshela and Drury join an infield that also includes Luis Rengifo, David Fletcher and Jared Walsh.

There’s also Andrew Velazquez, who impressed early last season at shortstop, and Livan Soto, who was called up at the end of last season, who got most of his reps at that position.

Minasian has intimated that with how injuries affect his team, the Angels will need everyone. It’s up to Nevin to decide who will be his regular starters and if he needs to switch them depending on matchups.

On Tuesday, Nevin didn’t say whether Urshela or Drury would have regular positions. He did offer that Drury could get most of his reps at second base this spring and though Urshela will miss much of the Angels’ camp while playing for Colombia in the WBC, Nevin envisions him playing various parts of the infield depending on matchups.

Nevin also compared Urshela’s situation to DJ LeMahieu’s with the New York Yankees when they signed him in 2019: He played 145 games between first, second and third. Nevin also said he doesn’t view shortstop as needing to belong to one player, but that it could be platooned.

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