SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Hunter Strickland turned in a 2.61 ERA over 57 appearances with three teams in 2021. By almost any metric, it was a career year. He struggled to follow that up with the Reds in ¡®22, and in May ¡®23, he was released by Triple-A Louisville and didn¡¯t pitch in the big leagues all season.

¡°Last year was a blessing, to be honest with you,¡± he said. ¡°I went home, and it was a really good reset for me. I thought I was done playing, you know, I made peace with it. But there was still some fire burning in there, so we put in the work and here we are.¡±

¡°Here we are¡± is Angels camp, where Strickland is battling for a spot in a bullpen that looked to have seven of eight spots locked up from Day 1.

¡°Coming into it, I knew this was a tough bullpen to break [into],¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of talent here that kind of got their foot in, but I think healthy competition is a good thing. Like I said, I¡¯m just coming here day after day and taking it one at a time, and we¡¯ll see how it plays out.¡±

So far it has played out pretty well for the veteran right-hander, who has a 1.23 ERA after seven appearances (7 1/3 innings) with nine strikeouts and, most importantly, no walks.

¡°That¡¯s always the key, just attack the zone and put yourself in the best position possible,¡± Strickland said. ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯ve been preaching around here in a way for the entirety of the camp.¡±

Strickland appears to be in a battle for the final slot with rookies Ben Joyce, Kelvin Caceres and Guillermo Zu?iga and fellow non-roster veteran invitee Drew Pomeranz. The Angels¡¯ 40-man roster is full, so it would take a roster move to open a spot for Strickland or Pomeranz.

There looks to be another opening while offseason signing Robert Stephenson recovers from a sore shoulder that has kept him out of camp and will possibly keep him from being ready by Opening Day. However, that spot may go to Jos¨¦ Soriano.

Soriano has been getting stretched out as a rotation option this spring after a solid rookie season in the Angels¡¯ bullpen in 2023. The original thought was that he¡¯d be sent to Triple-A as the first rotation depth option, but he could also stick with the big club and fill more of a swing-man relief role until Stephenson is ready.

Wash turning up the intensity

Starting with Sunday¡¯s matchup against the Diamondbacks, Angels manager Ron Washington said he planned to treat the Angels¡¯ final 10 exhibition games more like the regular season.

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¡°I¡¯m going to start putting on more signs. I¡¯m going to start trying to execute things. I¡¯ve already gotten with the guys who will be my execution-ers,¡± Washington said. ¡°You might all of the sudden start seeing hit and runs, you might start seeing squeezes.¡±

The Angels¡¯ Cactus League finale is slated for Saturday, then they finish the exhibition season with a three-game Freeway Series -- two at Dodger Stadium March 24-25 and the preseason finale at Angel Stadium on March 26. The Halos open the regular season on March 28 against the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Worth noting

• There was a scary moment for Angels fans in the bottom of the second inning of Sunday's 2-0 loss to the D-backs at Salt River Fields when center fielder Mike Trout crashed into the wall on Alek Thomas¡¯ deep triple. Trout remained on the ground briefly before getting up and visibly shaking it off while catcher Logan O¡¯Hoppe made a mound visit to give him time. Play resumed with Trout appearing to be OK.

¡°He said he was fine, and when he came in, we checked him again and he said he was fine,¡± Washington said. ¡°I¡¯m glad he was fine.¡±

• Patrick Sandoval turned in a good outing against the D-backs, allowing one run on five hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings. While his command has been inconsistent this spring, he threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 19 batters he faced.

¡°Offspeed is still getting there, but [there were] positive signs,¡± he said. ¡°Emphasis all spring is just to get ahead, get strike one. ... I think I did a pretty good job of executing first-pitch strikes.¡±