Last Saturday in Washington D.C., Kyren Paris got a look in right field for the first time in his career, and the ball found him right away. He misplayed a line drive for a hit, another reminder that he should not have been put in that spot in the first place.
That moment fits the bigger picture around the Angels right now. Paris has gone 0 for 15 since being called up, while bouncing around the diamond to fill holes.
For a player who had a hot start to the 2025 season, the bigger sample has not looked like that of a future big league regular. Still, because he was already on the active 40-man roster, he got the call to The Show again while more highly regarded outfield prospects stayed in Triple-A.
That roster choice matters even more with a looming lockout hanging over the sport. Once the current collective bargaining agreement expires in December, players on 40-man rosters will be locked out. For the Angels, that means the rushed promotion of Christian Moore has already put the club’s 2024 first-round pick in that group, right alongside Paris.
Both players padded their numbers in Salt Lake City, where the Pacific Coast League gives hitters a lot of help. The thin air helped mask some shaky swing decisions, and the results looked better on the surface than the underlying approach.
Paris opened the year with a rough stretch in Double-A, hitting .200/.280/.248. After moving to Triple-A, he put up a much louder .307/.427/.554 line with 13 home runs in 62 games. Even there, the chase rate and whiff rate remained high, but with the season winding down, the Angels brought him up anyway.
Moore’s path followed a similar shape. He wasn’t ready for MLB competition when the season began, so he went to Triple-A. In the PCL, he hit .302/.431/.512 with 11 home runs in 86 games, but those contact issues have shown up again against major league pitching.
The Angels’ prospect picture makes the long game pretty clear. Nelson Rada has sat near the top of the organization’s rankings for a couple of years, while Raudi Rodriguez has climbed quickly this season.
Both are real outfielders, and Rada’s defense is exceptional. Rodriguez, meanwhile, put together an outstanding Double-A season built on doubles power.
If you’re looking at the next Angels core, those are the kinds of names that make more sense than Paris.
But putting Rada and Rodriguez on the 40-man roster now would expose them to the lockout in December. By leaving their better prospects in the minors, the Angels are making sure they get a full spring training and another season of development no matter what happens at the major league level.
This isn’t just an Angels decision, either. September call-ups around the league are down, and minor league games are carrying more top prospects than usual for this time of year. Since minor leaguers fall under a separate collective bargaining agreement that does not expire, clubs are trying to squeeze every bit of development out of their closest-to-ready talent.
For now, Paris and Moore are giving the new front office a chance to evaluate them at the highest level, and maybe show a few signs that they belong. Perry Minasian took the shortcut with Moore in a bid to save his job, and Moore not being ready yet is fine.
Until the lockout situation is settled, plenty of players who deserve a call-up won’t get one. The upside for fans is that the Arizona Fall League rosters are loaded, so there will still be quality baseball to watch while the big leaguers and owners work toward a new CBA next year.
In Other News...
Angels Lose A Rare Bullpen Bright Spot At The Worst Time
For much of a lost season, the Angels have been hunting for any reliable arm they could find, and rookie Natera had become one of the few bullpen success stories worth noting. The right-hander turned in a solid first big league season, working in 28 games with a 3.13 ERA and 48 strikeouts across 31.2 innings, giving the club a rare late-inning option it could actually lean on.
Now the Angels will have to finish without him. Natera was placed on the injured list retroactive to Sunday because of left forearm inflammation, and with the team set to wrap up before his mandatory 15-day stay is complete, his season is over. In a corresponding move, the Angels activated right-hander Sam Bachman from the injured list, adding another familiar name back into the mix as the bullpen tries to get through the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Top Prospects Are Forcing A Bigger Anaheim Timeline Conversation
Arjun Nimmala and Tyler Bremner are giving the Angels plenty to think about as the organizations top two prospects get their first taste of playoff pressure in the Southern League semifinals. Bremner handled his side of the bargain with five innings of two-run ball and four strikeouts, while Nimmala supplied a solo homer in Rocket Citys 9-2 win over Knoxville, a tidy little reminder that the systems best young talent is not just showing up, but performing when the stakes rise.
For an Angels club always searching for the next wave of help, nights like this can sharpen the conversation about how soon the future should matter in Anaheim. Nimmala is headed to the Arizona Fall League after the season, and with both prospects continuing their development on a bigger stage, the organization suddenly has a pair of players making the case that the timeline might need a closer look. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Johnson Is Giving The Angels A Rotation Question They Needed
Ryan Johnson gave the Angels another dose of the kind of pitching they have been searching for in the stretch run, working six innings in a 2-1 win over the Mariners and helping Los Angeles lock up the series. He allowed one run on six hits and struck out seven, a performance that fit right into a rotation that has been trying to find steadier answers while the club stays in the race.
Kurt Suzuki pointed to Johnsons improved execution and consistency afterward, crediting some of that progress to his work with pitching coach Tim Leveque. Since August, Johnson has trimmed his ERA significantly, and outings like this one only sharpen the question around how the Angels choose to use him next. [Read more 🡒]