ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels' rotation will be imposing: John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Kelvim Escobar, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver.

If and when Lackey, Santana and Escobar get healthy.

As the Angels head into opening day, their cry might be "Just wait till May."

Their starting rotation for the first month or so figures to be Saunders, Weaver, Dustin Moseley, Shane Loux and Nick Adenhart.

Lackey has a strained forearm, Santana a strained elbow ligament and Escobar is coming back from shoulder surgery. The Angels hope all three will be available in May.

Other significant questions: Can Bobby Abreu help fill the power void left by Mark Teixeira's departure? Can Kendry Morales, Teixeira's replacement at first base, play any defense? Will Howie Kendrick stay healthy and make a run at a batting title? Can Vladimir Guerrero, who's been hampered by injury, have another MVP-type season? And, down the road, can the Angels win the division for the fifth time in six years — and get out of the first round of the playoffs?

The AL West champions boast one of the majors' deepest, strongest outfield corps with Abreu, Torii Hunter, Guerrero and Juan Rivera as the fourth outfielder, and an infield that can also be productive at the plate.

Pitching, at least for now, seems to be the gray area. Not only are the three probable starters hurt, the Angels had to replace closer Francisco Rodriguez, bringing in veteran Brian Fuentes.

Coming off a major league-high 100 wins, the upbeat Hunter doesn't seem the least bit worried.

"I'm very confident, man. We left Arizona on a positive note and the team played well," he said, alluding to the 24-7 exhibition record that was the majors' best coming out of camp. "We have some guys in the starting rotation who are banged up, and that's always a key no matter what team you're on.

"But the positive thing is that they're going to come back. We've just got to hold the fort until then."

Lackey, who's beginning his second consecutive season on the disabled list, said the pitching depth is a positive.

"I definitely think we have confidence in the other guys. I might be a touch more concerned this year than last year because we have a few guys with less experience than the guys we were plugging in last year," Lackey said. "But we think their ability is good, especially for a short time."

He also believes Fuentes, a three-time NL All-Star who had 30 saves in 34 chances and a 2.73 ERA for Colorado last season, will be a capable replacement for Rodriguez.

"I think it should be more of the same. As far as stuff-wise, and his experience at the back end of games, he should bring us more success back there," Lackey said. "I think he's going to do a great job for us."

The 33-year-old Fuentes insists he feels no added pressure in replacing the closer who set the major league saves record with 62 last season.

"The only pressure I feel is just closing games. Granted, Frankie broke the all-time saves record, which is a very special feat in itself, but once you turn the page, it's time to move on," Fuentes said. "So that's the kind of mind-set I take every time I go out and pitch."

He especially likes being paired with setup man Scot Shields.

"He's one of the best. You don't hear too much about him and a lot of people don't know the type of guy he is," Fuentes said. "But if you look at the numbers, he's got to be up there in holds, appearances and innings pitched every year. Even though he's not a real big guy in stature, he's definitely a workhorse."

Mike Scioscia likes the Angels' big picture as he begins his 10th year as the manager.

"I thought we did a lot of important things in the spring. First of all, our batters' box offense picked up. We were certainly working counts better, getting into hitter's counts and taking advantage of it," he said. "We ran the bases like demons.

"Our pitching staff definitely carried the lion's share of what we did in the first half of last year, and the offense picked up in the second half. I think we're going to have better balance coming out of spring training because we definitely have a deeper club, offensively. I think it has the potential to do more things than we've seen here in a while."