Angels’ Jo Adell playing less due to string of right-handed pitchers
With Ward in right field and Trout in center, Marsh has been getting more starts vs. righties, as Maddon believes there is playing time for all four of them
CHICAGO — The Angels were scheduled to face a right-handed pitcher for the eighth consecutive game Saturday afternoon, which has meant limited opportunities for Jo Adell.
Adell started just three of those games.
“It does make it more problematic,” Manager Joe Maddon said of all the right-handed pitchers. “I’ve gotta look for spots for him.”
Maddon wants Taylor Ward to play every day in right field. With Mike Trout in center, that leaves Adell and Brandon Marsh to split time in left. Marsh is the left-handed hitter, so right now he’s in line for the majority of the playing time.
The streak of righties is scheduled to end when the Angels face lefty Dallas Keuchel on Sunday.
Coming into Saturday’s game, Ward (1.347 OPS) and Trout (1.214) were among the hottest players in baseball, and Marsh (.858) had outperformed Adell (.715).
The Angels don’t believe it’s a problem, because none of the players – not even Trout – has played a full season in the outfield in the majors lately. They think there are enough at-bats to go around for all the players.
BRADLEY TO IL
The Angels placed right-hander Archie Bradley on the injured list with a left abdominal strain, which he suffered during his outing Friday night.
The Angels did not provide an estimate for how much time Bradley would miss, other than saying it would be more than the 10-day minimum.
Bradley has a 7.27 ERA in 8 2/3 innings, although he hadn’t allowed a run in any of his last three outings.
Elvis Peguero was recalled to take Bradley’s spot. At Triple-A Salt Lake, Peguero had allowed two earned runs in 10 1/3 innings, with 13 strikeouts and three walks. The Angels acquired Peguero from the New York Yankees last summer in the Andrew Heaney deal, and he gave up seven earned runs in 2 1/3 innings in the big leagues with the Angels.
SYNDERGAARD UPDATE
Noah Syndergaard, who was scratched from his scheduled start Friday with an illness, was feeling better Saturday, Maddon said.
The Angels were waiting until after Saturday’s game to decide when to re-insert him in the rotation. As of Saturday afternoon, the weather was questionable for the game, leaving open various options for the pitching staff if the game was postponed.
Syndergaard played catch and did some running on the field Saturday afternoon.
NOTES
Maddon said he moved Shohei Ohtani behind Trout in the lineup because Trout had gotten so hot that teams were pitching around him more, and he figured “there’s only one guy who can protect him.” Maddon had Ohtani in the cleanup spot, behind Trout, on Friday and Saturday. …
David Fletcher got the start at second base, with Tyler Wade at shortstop, on Saturday, because the Angels are trying to “take care of Fletch’s leg a little bit,” Maddon said. Fletcher just came back from a hip injury, and he conceded it might still affect his running. Although he said Friday it shouldn’t affect his defense, Maddon nonetheless believes he can ease the stress on Fletchers’ lower body by playing him at second. Fletcher is the second-best defensive shortstop on the team, behind Andrew Velazquez, so from a strictly defensive standpoint, he would play shortstop in all infield combinations except those with Velazquez…
Sam Bachman, the Angels’ top pitching prospect in the minors, traveled to Alabama on Saturday to begin his season with Double-A Rocket City. Bachman missed the first month of the season with back spasms. The Angels’ first-round pick in 2021, Bachman pitched 14-1/3 innings at Class-A last year.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Michael Lorenzen, 2-1, 2.93) at White Sox (LHP Dallas Keuchel, 1-2, 9.00), 11:10 a.m. Sunday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM