With the demotion of Parker Bridwell and Nick Tropeano, Ramirez appears to have won the Angels' sixth and final rotation spot, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
The converted reliever was the leading candidate to win the job entering camp after posting a 4.15 ERA and 1.34 WHIP over 147.1 innings as a starter last season. The Halos' roster moves Thursday indicate that Ramirez will in fact begin the year in the rotation. He said that he is making an effort to induce more contact in front of the Angels' improved infield defense, and while that may impact his pedestrian 6.4 K/9 from a year ago, it could also result in gong deeper into games and posting a few more quality starts.