TEMPE, Ariz. -- Off Chone Figgins' right shoulder in the home clubhouse at Tempe Diablo Stadium sit Gary Matthews Jr., Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero. To his left is Figgins' buddy Garret Anderson.

You'll win a lot of races, Figgins was saying, with four engines and eight wheels as classy as these.

But Matthews, Hunter, Guerrero and Anderson are just the start. Surveying the clubhouse, Figgins sees Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits, Nathan Haynes and Robb Quinlan, Chad Hermansen and Dee Brown. Even young Terry Evans across the room has a Major League homer on his resume.

"Man, that's a lot of talent," Figgins, the Angels' dynamic catalyst, said.

Outfielders galore, door to door. What's a manager to do?

"It will work itself out," Mike Scioscia said. "It's great to have depth, and we certainly have quality depth in the outfield."

As the 2007 regular season closed and the Red Sox loomed on the horizon in the American League Division Series, the wheels came off, injuries and illness turning a superb Angels outfield upside down.

Figgins, with a damaged left wrist that would require surgery, was moved from third to right, plugging holes. Debilitated, no physical match for the Boston brigade, the Angels were swept three straight into winter.

"Every season I've been here," Figgins said, "I've ended up playing the outfield. I have that glove if I need it ... but I don't expect that to happen this year."

You might have to go back to the days of 16 teams and 500 names on organizational depth charts to find an outfield as complete and talented as the one the Angels have assembled for 2008.

Actually, there are four positions to fill, not three. Scioscia plans to deploy his outfielders in a designated hitter rotation, determined by health and matchups.

Even so, 10 proven Major League outfielders -- 11 if you include Figgins, the third baseman -- won't go into four slots very comfortably.

New to the club are Brown, a left-handed hitter with power, and Hermansen, a capable defender and solid player. Both have extensive big league backgrounds but were signed to Minor League contracts to provide depth at Triple-A Salt Lake along with Evans.

"Being 10th on the totem pole isn't the best place to be," Hermansen said. "But it's a job, and you never know what's going to happen. I'll just give it my best shot, try to force their hand. I've got a wife and three kids in Las Vegas to support. One week in the big leagues will pay more than a year in Triple-A."

Anderson, the dean, has spent his entire career, 13 seasons, with the Angels in the company of elite outfielders such as Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad, Jim Edmonds, Guerrero, Matthews and now Hunter.

"I've been in some deep outfields," Anderson said. "But never anything like this. One thing that helps is that you have guys who have been everyday players and guys who haven't, so the roles are pretty clearly defined."

Unless a deal is made -- and most of the 29 clubs will be keeping close tabs this spring on the Angels in the outfield -- there will be intense competition among Rivera, Willits, Haynes and Quinlan for roster spots.

Quinlan's ability to play both corner infield spots as well as both corner outfield positions improves his chances, but he knows he'll have to hit closer to his .290 career average than the .247 he posted in 2007 to make a strong statement.

"We got caught a little short last year, and one of our goals was to add depth," Scioscia said. "We've done that. We'll just have to see how it all works out."

Scioscia's decisions will involve more than who makes the 25-man roster and who doesn't. He'll have to appoint one of his outfielders -- each bound and determined to wear a full-time glove -- as DH each time he authors a lineup card.

Displaced in center by Hunter, Matthews is the team's most pivotal player in Hunter's view, given that he'll play all three outfield spots and DH at times.

"When you get to a certain point in your career," Matthews said, "it's all about winning. I want to get back in the postseason and play this time. It was unfulfilling the way last season ended, watching my team [with an injured left knee]. I don't want to be a cheerleader again. I want a better ending this time."

Denied a shot at the 2002 World Series by the Angels in the ALCS, Hunter hopes it all comes together on the left coast.

"Torii can help us in every way -- offensively, defensively, in the clubhouse," Angels general manager Tony Reagins said. "He's a special player and a special person. We're thrilled to have him."

The feeling is mutual. Signing his five-year, $90 million contract in November, Hunter -- a Rawlings Gold Glove winner seven years running with the Twins -- sounded like his son, Torii Jr., as he expressed excitement over the prospect of playing alongside Anderson, Matthews and Guerrero.

"I've never been part of an outfield like that," Hunter said, having spent a week running drills and pounding baseballs with his new companions. "It's amazing, really, what these guys can do. I'm excited about getting this thing going, seeing how explosive we can be."

Haynes, seventh on the depth chart and out of options, knows he'll be set free to find a new club if he doesn't make the Opening Day roster.

"I'm just going to do my work and do everything I can to make this team," said Haynes, a speed burner who hit .267 with the Angels and .386 at Salt Lake in 2007.

Haynes prefers not to look around at all the assembled talent during drills.

"That would be distracting," he said. "I want to focus on what I have to do, not think about all these other guys."

Rivera was the Angels' No. 2 power weapon in 2006 behind Guerrero, with 23 homers and 85 RBIs in 124 games. But a broken leg suffered in winter ball pretty much wiped out 2007, limiting him to 14 games in September.

"In Montreal in 2004, we had five good outfielders -- not seven, like here," said Rivera, 29, and a potential free agent after the season. "I'll just go play and see what happens."

Willits was competing for a job at this time last year. He made the Opening Day roster, and injuries to Anderson early and Matthews late expanded his role into a critical one, complete with 502 plate appearances.

Fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting after setting club rookie records for batting average (.293) and on-base percentage (.393), Willits is coming off gallbladder surgery in January.

"All you can ask for is a chance to compete," Willits said. "Obviously, there's a lot of talent here. I can control how hard I go out and play -- that's all I can control.

"Last year, if you had told me I'd have [500] at-bats, I'd have told you that you were crazy."

This year, he'd probably tell you he hopes you're clairvoyant.