Angels Option Jo Adell
The Angels announced this afternoon they’ve optioned outfielder Jo Adell to Triple-A Salt Lake. Utilityman Jose Rojas has been recalled to take his spot on the active roster.
Adell has been considered one of the sport’s most talented young players for some time. Baseball America slotted him among the top two prospects in the Angels’ system every year between 2018 (his first season after being selected 10th overall in the previous draft) and 2021, when he exhausted his prospect eligibility. Heading into last year, BA ranked him the game’s 13th-best prospect. Evaluators raved about his combination of power and speed, but the 23-year-old has yet to establish himself at the major league level.
During the shortened 2020 season, Adell broke into the majors and played 38 games. He hit just .161/.212/.266, and he spent the first half of last year on optional assignment. After beginning the season at the alternate training site, he was sent to Salt Lake. Through the end of July, he hit .289/.342/.592 in 339 plate appearances. That was above-average overall output highlighted by a massive 23 homers in 73 games, but Adell also struck out in 29.2% of his trips to the plate against a subpar 6.5% walk rate.
Upon being recalled to the big leagues in early August, Adell hit .246/.295/.408 in 35 contests. That marked a notable improvement over his 2020 production but was still ten percentage points below the league average, by measure of wRC+. He broke camp with the big league club this year but has gotten off to a disappointing start. Through 66 plate appearances, he’s hitting .231/.242/.431. Adell’s three homers and four doubles have led to a respectable slugging output — particularly in the context of a brutal offensive month leaguewide — but he’s punched out 24 times while drawing just a single walk.
In addition to those worrisome strikeout and walk numbers, Adell has had a rough go defensively. Statcast has pegged him as four outs below average to this point, tied for the second-worst mark among outfielders. The Angels will send him back to Salt Lake for further work on both sides of the ball in hopes that his next promotion to the big leagues can be permanent.
Adell entered this season with one year and 44 days of MLB service time. He has spent about 26 days on the active roster this year, bringing him up to around one year and 70 days altogether. Players are credited with a full year of service upon reaching 172 days on an active roster (or MLB injured list). If Adell is recalled before the last week of June and sticks in the majors from that point forward, he’d still remain on track to reach free agency after the 2026 season, as currently scheduled.
In the interim, the Angels will rely on Brandon Marsh, Mike Trout and Taylor Ward as their primary outfield. That group was the most productive in the majors through the season’s first month, with all three players off to fabulous starts. Rojas joins Jack Mayfield and Tyler Wade as infield/outfield hybrids who can over some depth on the grass.
Maddon: Mike Trout, Jo Adell Unlikely To Return This Season
Mike Trout hasn’t played since May 18 on account of a right calf strain, as his recovery has been frustratingly slow. With just over three weeks remaining in the regular season — and with the team set to miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year — it looks increasingly unlikely we’ll see Trout again in 2021.
Manager Joe Maddon acknowledged that Trout likely won’t make it back, telling reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and Jack Harris of the L.A. Times) he’d be “very surprised” if the three-time MVP returned this year. However, the Anaheim skipper added that the team hasn’t made any official decision about shutting Trout down as of yet, as the 30-year-old continues to work out with the team in hopes of getting back onto the field.
There’s little reason for the Angels to push Trout unless he’s fully healthy. The team has had another lost season despite his best efforts and an MVP-caliber year from Shohei Ohtani. Over 146 plate appearances, Trout was hitting .333/.466/.624 with eight home runs. That’s not only the best offensive production of any player in the league with 100+ trips to the dish, it was on pace to be the best season of Trout’s illustrious career. His 191 wRC+ suggests he was ninety-one percentage points better than the league average hitter on a rate basis. Had he carried that over a full season, that’d have narrowly edged out his 2018 output (.312/.460/.628) for his best ever offensive work.
When healthy, Trout is arguably still the game’s best overall player. The Angels plan to make another run at contending in 2022, and having him at full strength next Opening Day will be the top priority. The nine-time All-Star would love to make it back for at least a couple games in order to kick off a normal offseason, but the team surely won’t take any chances with an injury that has already proven extremely troublesome.
Jo Adell will likely be penciled in alongside Trout in next year’s season-opening outfield. The Angels placed the former top prospect on the 10-day injured list due to a left abdominal strain, though, and Maddon suggested he’s probably not going to return this year (via Fletcher). The 22-year-old mashed at a .289/.342/.592 clip in Triple-A this season, although his big league output (.246/.295/.408 over 140 plate appearances) has been a bit below average.
Adell hasn’t yet produced much in the majors, but he’s taken steps to put his disastrous rookie season behind him. Adell made his MLB debut last year but hit only .161/.212/.266 while striking out in 41.7% of his first 132 plate appearances. His bottom line numbers in 2021 represent a significant improvement, and that’s come with some encouraging process developments. Adell has cut his strikeout rate from that untenable 2020 mark to a 22.9% figure that’s right in line with the league average. He’s improved his contact rate by nearly thirteen percentage points in the process.
There’s still more to iron out, to be certain. Adell continues to be highly aggressive at the dish, chasing pitches outside the strike zone at an alarming rate. That has contributed to a very low 5.7% walk percentage that’ll need to be improved upon if he’s to reach his full potential. But Adell has made demonstrable strides this season, and he’s not much older than many of the top college prospects from this summer’s draft class. (First overall pick Henry Davis, for instance, was born in September 1999, while Adell was born in April of the same year).
Fellow top prospect Brandon Marsh should continue to get everyday reps over this season’s final couple weeks in hopes of locking down a big league job in 2022. Juan Lagares, Taylor Ward and utility men Phil Gosselin, Jose Rojas and Kean Wong are among the other options to see time on the grass through the end of the year.
Angels Promote Jo Adell, Chris Rodriguez
The Angels have recalled outfield prospect Jo Adell and right-hander Chris Rodriguez from Triple-A Salt Lake, per a club announcement. Rodriguez, who was in the team’s bullpen earlier this season, will make his first MLB start tonight against the Rangers.
This will be the second call to the Majors for Adell, 22, who struggle mightily in his first go-around last summer. At the time, Adell had just 27 Triple-A games under his belt when making the jump to the big leagues. He’d have garnered more experience there if possible, but the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season deprived him of that opportunity.
So far in 2021, Adell has certainly looked like a player who’s benefited from the extra developmental opportunity in Salt Lake. After hitting just .161/.212/.266 in 132 Major League plate appearances last summer, Adell has returned to Salt Lake and posted a hearty .289/.342/.592 slash with 23 home runs in 339 plate appearances. By measure of wRC+, that’s “only” about 19 percent better than league-average in a supercharged Triple-A offensive environment, but Adell’s recent work has certainly been improving. Since the calendar flipped to July, Adell has absolutely mashed to the tune of a .339/.387/.615 line. He’s dropped his long-problematic strikeout rate to 24.4 percent in that time.
Adell entered the 2020 season as a consensus Top 10 prospect in all of baseball and still ranked No. 13 on Baseball America’s preseason list heading into the current campaign. He fell a bit shy of a full year of service time in 2020, so the timing of his 2021 promotion has no real impact on his path to free agency. Adell accrued 153 days of service in 2020, leaving him 19 days shy of a full year. He’d have finished the current season as a one-plus player whether he was called up on Opening Day or called up on Sept. 1. The later nature of his promotion does remove the possibility of him qualifying as a Super Two player — barring future demotions that further alter his service time — but he’d have been controllable through the 2026 season in virtually any scenario that saw him called to the Majors in 2021.
As for Rodriguez, the 23-year-old righty is a well-regarded farmhand himself. He hasn’t drawn Adell’s level of national fanfare, but he impressed with 19 2/3 frames of 3.66 ERA relief as a 22-year-old earlier this season and will now transition into the rotation — a role the Angels hope he can hold down over the long term.
A back injury that ultimately required surgery has limited Rodriguez’s innings count since he was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. Accordingly, he’s pitched just 117 2/3 innings in total since that selection — including this year’s work both in the minors and in the big leagues. He’ll add a potential power arm to the team’s rotation mix, as he averaged just shy of 97 mph on his heater as a reliever earlier in the year. Given that lack of total innings, it’s not a surprise that the Angels started Rodriguez in the bullpen this year to limit his workload and build him up for future seasons.
Between Rodriguez and the recently promoted Reid Detmers, the Halos are hoping that some of their farm system’s most-promising arms can both help them claw back into the 2021 Wild Card hunt and also gain some vital experience for future seasons. Neither pitcher is guaranteed a spot in the 2022 rotation, but it stands to reason that the final two months could serve as an audition — as is the case with Adell in the corner outfield.
West Notes: Belt, Bellinger, Gonzales, Pomeranz, Adell
The Giants are placing first baseman Brandon Belt on the 10-day injured list with a mild left oblique strain and recalling infielder Jason Vosler, per manager Gabe Kapler (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). Kapler doesn’t expect Belt to miss more than 10 to 14 days, and in the meantime, Darin Ruf will get the lion’s share of playing time at first base. Even a short absence for Belt could be a tough blow for the contending Giants, though, considering he’s off to a .228/.350/.447 start with eight home runs in 137 plate appearances. However, Ruf has also hit well – albeit over a smaller sample of 97 PA – with a .228/.361/.506 line and six long balls.
- The Dodgers are hopeful that slugger Cody Bellinger will return from the injured list on Saturday, manager Dave Roberts told Juan Toribio of MLB.com and other reporters. Los Angeles has gone nearly the entire season without Bellinger, who suffered a hairline fracture in his left leg and hasn’t played since April 5. Nevertheless, the reigning World Series champions have more than held their own in Bellinger’s absence, having won eight straight to improve to 30-18.
- Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales, out since April with a forearm strain, is making progress and could come back during the team’s upcoming homestand (May 27-June 2), per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. Gonzales was one of the top starters in the league year, but he’s off to a rough beginning this season between the injury and his performance. Before going on the IL, Gonzales recorded a surprisingly poor 5.40 ERA/4.87 SIERA in 28 1/3 innings, and his walk rate skyrocketed compared to 2020. He issued walks just 2.5 percent of the time then, but he’s up to 9.1 now.
- Padres reliever Drew Pomeranz has suffered a setback in his recovery from a left shoulder impingement, manager Jayce Tingler announced to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com and other reporters. The Padres will shut Pomeranz down from throwing for about a week and then decide how to proceed. Unfortunately, injuries have been a common problem since Pomeranz’s career began in 2011. When healthy, though, he has been a revelation for the Padres since they inked him to a four-year, $34MM contract before 2020. Dating back to then, the 32-year-old has registered a 1.67 ERA with a highly impressive 38 percent strikeout rate in 32 1/3 innings, including 13 2/3 this season.
- Despite his encouraging start to the season at the Triple-A level, the Angels have not recalled top outfield prospect Jo Adell. That doesn’t look as if it’s going to change imminently, as general manager Perry Minasian said Tuesday (via Bill Shaikin of the LA Times): “He’s making some strides. He’s not there yet.” While the 22-year-old Adell has hit a power-packed .266/.326/.696 with 10 home runs in 86 plate appearances, he has posted a high strikeout rate of 33.7 percent at the same time. Strikeouts have been an issue over the past few years for Adell, including during his major league debut last season. He fanned in 41.7 percent of his 132 PA then and batted a woeful .161/.212/.266.
West Notes: Angels, Adell, Mariners, France, Diamondbacks, Widener
Angels manager Joe Maddon spoke with his GM Perry Minasian about potentially turning to top prospect Jo Adell in the wake of Mike Trout‘s injury, per Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (via Twitter). Ultimately, the Angels feel Adell needs more development time and that takes precedence to the team’s need in the short-term. Adell has hit .246/.319/.631 in Triple-A, but his strikeout rate remains disconcertingly high at 36.1 percent. Elsewhere out west…
- Ty France could be back as early as tomorrow for the Mariners, per Corey Brock of the Athletic (via Twitter). Left wrist inflammation sent France to the injured list in the middle of May. France has walked at a career-best 10.5 percent rate in 153 plate appearances this season, but his numbers have otherwise been a touch down from last year. Still, despite a .278 BABIP and .137 ISO, both of which should rebound at least a touch, France has still been five percent better than average with the bat. If he’s not back on Tuesday, the Mariners regardless expect him to return at some point in their series against Oakland.
- Taylor Widener was removed from his start today with right groin discomfort, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Widener had just been activated from the injured list after a groin injury, so this is certainly an unwelcome development for the right-hander. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings before handing the ball to the bullpen. The bullpen did a nice job keeping the Diamondbacks in the game, but they ultimately lost 4-3 to the Rockies, their eighth straight loss.
Angels Option Jo Adell To Minors
The Angels announced a series of Spring Training cuts tonight, as outfielder Jo Adell, infielder Matt Thaiss, southpaw Jose Suarez, and right-hander Kyle Keller were all optioned.
None of the cuts were unexpected, though it is noteworthy that Adell put in a very strong showing at the plate, posting an 1.072 OPS over 25 Cactus League plate appearances. It would’ve likely taken an even bigger spring to convince the Angels to include Adell (who turns 22 in April) on the Opening Day roster, given how he missed an entire year of minor league development in 2020.
Adell didn’t hit well (.264/.321/.355) over 131 Triple-A plate appearances in 2019, his only taste of action at the highest minor league level. In a normal 2020, Adell would have gotten some more Triple-A experience under his belt and then received a promotion to the big league club, though the cancellation of the minor league season meant that Adell’s development was shifted to the Angels’ alternate training site. Adell did end up making his MLB debut, but with lackluster results — he hit just .161/.212/.266 with a whopping 55 strikeouts in 132 PA, and also didn’t look good in the outfield.
While some contractual considerations were undoubtedly at play considering Adell already had 153 days of Major League service time, an argument can certainly be made that Adell needs a bit more seasoning before his next appearance in an Angels uniform. Los Angeles has a pair of veterans (Justin Upton and Dexter Fowler) looking for bounce-back years in the corner outfield, with Taylor Ward, Jared Walsh, and minor league signings Jon Jay, Scott Schebler, and Juan Lagares all providing further depth and platoon opportunities on the grass. Adell and fellow top prospect Brandon Marsh are both expected to be called up at some point in 2021.
AL West Notes: Mariners, Fiers, Adell, Whitley, Astros
The December 2018 trade that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the Mets was a transformational moment in Mariners history, as it allowed Seattle to both escape a major salary commitment to Cano and also re-stock its farm system with some prime minor league talent in Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto recently discussed the trade with The Athletic’s Corey Brock, looking back at how talks with the Mets developed, and how concurrent discussions with the Phillies about a Diaz trade helped make the Mets even more aggressive about swinging a deal to one-up their NL East rival.
More from around the AL West…
- An MRI revealed hip inflammation for Athletics righty Mike Fiers, and manager Bob Melvin told Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links) that Fiers will receive an injection and be rested for a couple of days. Fiers making the Opening Day roster is “a little bit of a long shot” for now, Melvin said. The manager said yesterday that A.J. Puk or Daulton Jefferies are candidates to fill in for Fiers if an IL trip is required, with Puk the favorite if he is able to get enough innings under his belt during Spring Training.
- Jo Adell is day-to-day with a knee contusion and will work out today, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). Adell had to leave Saturday’s game after a collision with the outfield wall, but the star Angels prospect doesn’t appear to have suffered any major injury setback.
- Top Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley will miss the 2021 season due to Tommy John surgery, but he won’t be moved from the 40-man roster to the 60-day injured list due to a roster rule, as The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan explains. Because Whitley doesn’t have any MLB service time and because he was optioned to the minors before March 16, the Astros can simply place him on the minor league IL. This means Houston will have to use a 40-man roster spot on Whitley all season, but the Astros are unlikely to burn a season of Whitley’s service time by moving him from the 40-man to the 60-day Major League injured list.
AL West Notes: Adell, Marsh, Flexen, Kozma
Jo Adell was removed during the second inning today’s game after the Angels outfielder collided with the wall in search of a fly ball. The move was made for precautionary reasons, as Adell said he “felt something” after the crash, manager Joe Maddon told the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters. Team trainers didn’t find anything in the way of a hyper-extension after examining Adell, so the youngster may have escaped any real harm.
Considered one of the game’s top prospects prior to his MLB debut last season, Adell is a big part of the Halos’ future outfield plans, along with fellow up-and-comer Brandon Marsh. A lingering shoulder injury from last season has kept Marsh from any outfield action this spring, though he is expected to be back on the grass next week and Marsh tells MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that he believes he’ll be ready for the start of the season. Adell and Marsh will both likely begin the season at the Angels’ alternate training site and then with their Triple-A team, before factoring into the Major League roster at some point during the year.
More from the AL West…
- Chris Flexen was one of a relative few free agent pitchers to sign a multi-year deal this winter, inking a two-year contract (plus 2023 club option) with the Mariners that will pay the right-hander at least $4.75MM in guaranteed money. Tom O’Connell, Flexen’s agent, tells The Athletic’s Corey Brock that Seattle was one of “four or five teams very interested in Chris,” and the Mariners sealed the deal after Flexen was impressed by GM Jerry Dipoto’s pitch of the organization’s merits during a Zoom call. The M’s had done their homework on Flexen in the KBO, as assistant GM Justin Hollander said that during the league shutdown, the Mariners had extra scouts breaking down film of games from Korea and Japan — both to give the scouting staff some work, and also to hunt for any potential hidden-gem offseason targets. Clearly Seattle liked what it saw in Flexen, who had only an 8.07 ERA over 68 career MLB innings with the Mets from 2017-19 but excelled with a 3.01 ERA and 28K% over 116 2/3 innings as a starter with the KBO’s Doosan Bears in 2020.
- The Athletics are giving Pete Kozma a long look in Spring Training, as the veteran infielder has thus far played in all of Oakland’s spring games, MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos writes. Kozma is trying to make his way back to the majors for the first time since 2018, and while Kozma has long been known as a glove-first player, he has been on fire at the plate in the Cactus League. The A’s already have Chad Pinder and Tony Kemp slated for both second-base duty and as utilitymen, though Kozma is making a case for himself for a bench job. It probably doesn’t hurt Kozma’s chances that Jed Lowrie (also in camp on a minors deal, and a veteran with a much longer MLB track record) has only just returned to game action as Lowrie tries to return from the leg injuries that have plagued his last two seasons.
Joe Maddon Discusses Adell, Ohtani
Jo Adell made his Major League debut to mixed results in 2020. The toolsy outfielder still has a bright future in Los Angeles despite an opening salvo of .220/.294/.266 across 132 plate appearances. His output last season can be taken with a grain of salt, however. If not for the bizarre circumstances of 2020, the 21-year-old likely would have spent the season in Triple-A.
Apparently, that’s where he’ll return at least for the beginning of 2021, per Maria Torres of the Los Angels Times. Manager Joe Maddon didn’t leave a lot of room for interpretation: “He needs more time in the minor leagues, no question.” Adell turns 22 years old in April, so more time in the minors hardly counts as a setback for the former first-rounder.
Still, the news might challenge some assumptions about the makeup of the Angels roster heading into 2021. With Adell ticketed for the minors, new GM Perry Minasian will no doubt explore free agent outfielders as a short-term stopgap.
Mike Trout and Justin Upton have hammerlocks on center and left. Taylor Ward and Jared Walsh are the only other outfielders on the roster. Both Ward and Walsh are 27 years old, and while they aren’t exactly top prospects, both raked with the Salt Lake Bees in 2019. Walsh stayed hot into the 2020 season, slashing .293/.324/.646 in 108 plate appearances. They both boast some power potential, but if the Angels anticipate Adell spending a healthy chunk of 2021 in Triple-A, they may want insurance beyond that pair.
David Fletcher has spent a fair amount of time in the outfield grass, but he’s presently slated for every-down reps at second base. Still, Fletcher’s presence gives the club some flexibility when looking to build out the roster for 2021. Prospects Jahmai Jones and Brandon Marsh could also theoretically enter the outfield picture while Adell gets more seasoning time in Triple-A.
As ever, don’t expect Shohei Ohtani to roam the grass. Maddon fully expects Ohtani to return to the rotation, and any other playing time is likely to come at designated hitter. Though Ohtani no doubt has the capability of playing the outfield, the Angels have long tabled that possibility.
Angels Don’t Expect Shohei Ohtani To Pitch Again In 2020
Angels right-hander Shohei Ohtani went down Monday with a Grade 1-2 flexor pronator mass strain. It looked then as if Ohtani wouldn’t make a return to the mound this year because of his four- to six-week timeline to begin throwing again. Manager Joe Maddon confirmed Tuesday that Ohtani is likely done as a pitcher for 2020, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (Twitter links). The team will reevaluate his forearm Wednesday, according to Maddon (via Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times).
Fortunately, as an ultra-rare two-way talent, Ohtani’s not finished contributing for the year. Even though he probably won’t pitch again in 2020, Ohtani’s healthy enough that he’ll continue factoring in as a designated hitter. He has been quite successful in that role (not so much in the early going this year), though it’s nevertheless a loss for the Angels and the sport itself that the 26-year-old hasn’t been able to complete a season as a pitcher. The former Tommy John surgery patient has just 53 1/3 innings under his belt since he emigrated from Japan before the 2017 campaign.
Elsewhere on the roster, Maddon revealed that just-promoted outfield prospect Jo Adell will play every day. The elite farmhand, 21, will make his much-anticipated debut against the Mariners on Tuesday. The hope is that Adell and the return of all-world center fielder Mike Trout, who has been on paternity leave, will give the 3-7 Halos a desperately needed shot in the arm.
With Adell now in the mix, the Angels will platoon fellow corner outfielders Justin Upton (a right-handed hitter) and Brian Goodwin (a lefty) through year’s end. That isn’t the outcome the Angels envisioned when they signed Upton to a five-year, $106MM contract before 2018, but his production has been lacking since last season. Goodwin has been a bright spot dating back to 2019, on the other hand, and he’s off to a dazzling .333/.412/.667 start over 34 plate appearances this year.