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 Zuñiga 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 José 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.

• Washington perfectly blends 'old school' thinking with modern-day nuance

“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.”