The Angels have a new closer in Cody Allen and there isn't any manager in baseball who knows him better than Indians skipper Terry Francona.

The Angels believe they can help newly acquired catcher Jonathan Lucroy improve both offensively and defensively.

The next five weeks will see lots of shuffling on Major League rosters. Here are the most intriguing positional battles on each of the 30 MLB clubs.

The Angels will be without left fielder Justin Upton early in Spring Training, as he's dealing with right knee patellar tendinitis but is expected to be ready for Opening Day, manager Brad Ausmus said on Monday.

Mike Trout and owner Arte Moreno met separately with the media on Monday, but neither would confirm that extension talks have begun between the Angels and Trout's agent, Craig Landis.

On this opening week of Spring Training, all 30 Major League teams have one thing in common: optimism. Here's an optimism cheat sheet for each of them.

Shohei Ohtani is continuing to make progress in his rehab from Tommy John surgery. On Sunday, he said he is hopeful he'll be able to start hitting off a tee in the next week.

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols met with the media for the first time this spring on Sunday and said he's fully healthy after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in late August.

The Angels announced their Minor League coaching staffs on Saturday, including former Major League catcher Lou Marson being named the new manager of Triple-A Salt Lake and former big leaguer David Newhan as the new skipper at Double-A Birmingham.

The Angels added a veteran lefty reliever, as Dan Jennings officially signed a Minor League deal on Saturday and joined the club for workouts at the club's Spring Training complex. Jennings will earn $1 million, plus incentives, if he makes the club.

After undergoing surgery in late June to repair a torn left labrum in his left shoulder that required nine anchors to be inserted to keep everything in place, Zack Cozart is healthy and looking for a bounce-back season with the Angels.

The 2019 MLB season feels so close now. Spring Training has begun. Players are taking the field. So it's time to rank the best of the best.

The 30 prospects below all are getting very long looks this spring with an eye toward breaking camp with the parent club. Even if they start the year in the Minors, they all should get the chance to contribute at some point in the very near future.

After Ohtani's nearly unprecedented two-way success during his American League Rookie of the Year campaign last year, more clubs are looking into the possibility of having players who can both pitch and play a position. Walsh fits that bill, as he has been a power-hitting first baseman and outfielder in the Minors, but he's made 10 pitching appearances over the past three seasons as well. The Angels are experimenting with him doing both this spring and this upcoming season.

Right-hander Matt Harvey sustained a glute strain while participating in agility drills on Wednesday and will be out for roughly a week and a half, Angels manager Brad Ausmus said Thursday.

Shohei Ohtani, who is aiming for a return in May as a designated hitter but won't pitch in 2019, isn't able to participate in the on-field workouts with his teammates, but has progressed to swinging the bat and working out indoors.

Brad Ausmus held his first media session of the spring on the day pitchers and catchers officially reported on Tuesday, giving updates on rehabbing players such as Shohei Ohtani, Albert Pujols and Zack Cozart.

Spring Training is officially here for the Angels, with pitchers and catchers reporting to Tempe Diablo Stadium on Tuesday. And there's a new face at manager, with Brad Ausmus replacing longtime skipper Mike Scioscia this offseason.

Fans and analysts spend the entire offseason speculating where the top free agents could go, but sometimes an under-the-radar pickup can end up making a world of difference. As positional competitions begin to heat up at Spring Training camps this month, MLB.com's beat writers were asked to identify one potentially overlooked acquisition for each of the 30 clubs. Here's who they came up with.

All 30 Major League teams will wear special "MLB 150" patches on their uniforms for the entire 2019 season in honor of the 150th anniversary of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first openly all-salaried professional baseball team.

The Angels head to Spring Training with most of their roster set, but there will be competition for a few spots. Here's a look at the projected roster for the Angels, as they begin their first campaign under manager Brad Ausmus.

Trout pops up at Lakers-Sixers game in Philly

Shohei Ohtani remains a must-watch player for Angels fans in 2019, and his recovery from Tommy John surgery will be worth monitoring throughout the season as he prepares to pitch again in '20.

MLB Network's countdown of baseball's best players at each position continued with the third installment of the "Top 10 Right Now!" series, featuring the game's top left and center fielders.