Angels manager Phil Nevin on struggling outfielder Jo Adell: “He was rushed here.”
SAN DIEGO — The Angels’ acquisition of veteran right fielder Hunter Renfroe will push Taylor Ward from right field to left field and Jo Adell to the bench or triple-A, further diminishing the role — and muddling the future — of a 23-year-old outfielder who was the organization’s top prospect for several years.
That doesn’t mean the team has given up on Adell, a 2017 first-round pick who has struggled both offensively and defensively during three big league stints over the last three seasons.
“I think everybody who was around us last year knows how I feel about Jo, and the relationship I have with him is something I feel really good about,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said at the winter meetings on Tuesday. “I love the kid, I love his work ethic, I love the way he goes about his game.
“He’s a talented guy, but he’s [23] years old, and he was rushed here. And he really hasn’t had one place to play or get better and create those valuable relationships with a coach, or where he can be comfortable and get better.”
Nevin, who replaced fired manager Joe Maddon last June, said Adell has been working out at the team’s spring training complex in Tempe, Ariz., three days a week, doing defensive drills as well as hitting.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Adell has been inconsistent with his reads off the bat and inefficient with some of his routes in the outfield, and a swing that has a tendency to get too long has contributed to a strikeout rate of 34.8%.
Adell has hit .215 with a .616 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 15 homers, 60 RBIs, 194 strikeouts and 26 walks in 557 plate appearances over 161 big league games. He has hit .289 with an .895 OPS, 71 homers, 245 RBIs, 409 strikeouts and 118 walks in 337 minor league games.
“He’s a talented guy,” Nevin said. “If you look around the room, I’ll put him up with Mike [Trout, three-time American League most valuable player] as far as the talent level goes. Am I saying he’s Mike Trout? Absolutely not.
“But you watch him take batting practice, he hits the ball farther than anybody. You watch him throw in the outfield, and he throws better than anybody. He threw 95-96 mph in high school. You watch him field balls in the outfield. You watch him run the bases, he’s in the elite category in all those levels.”
Adell has not done any of these things with the consistency to establish himself as a big league regular. That can only be achieved through “repetition,” Nevin said.
“It’s getting to play. It’s being in one place around people that he cares about and feels comfortable with,” Nevin said. “He’s somebody who … mixes well in our locker room. I’m not sure that was the case in the past. And I think he fits in great with our group and he’s a big part of this. He really is.
“How it’s going to be put together on the field at one time, I think it’s going to come at some point. And you’re going to see a really, really good major league player.”
Dave Roberts says Dodgers are likely to add outfielder, starting pitcher this offseason
Dave Roberts addressed reporters Tuesday during MLB’s winter meetings. Here are some of the highlights from his 20-minute news conference:
- In the wake of Cody Bellinger’s impending signing with the Chicago Cubs, Roberts said the Dodgers will add an outfielder this winter, and preferably one who can handle center field.
- Roberts also said the Dodgers will look to get another starting pitcher, but noted it could be a lower-cost addition capable of developing under the team’s pitching staff (similar to the club’s signing of Tyler Anderson this past year).
- Roberts said it’s “not a reach” that five or six prospects will “impact” the big league club this coming campaign. He said Miguel Vargas will likely be the first arrival. He indicated that pitchers Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Gavin Stone are all capable of contributing as well.
Cody Bellinger agrees to deal with the Cubs
SAN DIEGO — Cody Bellinger’s days as a Dodger appear to be over.
The former National League MVP agreed to a contract with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The terms of the deal are for one year with a mutual option for a second year. Bellinger would make $12 million in 2023, with a $5.5 million buyout if the mutual option isn’t picked up — essentially a one-year deal because the option isn’t expected to be exercised.
He moves on after the Dodgers non-tendered him last month, making him a free agent for the first time in his career. The Dodgers were open to re-signing Bellinger at a cheaper salary than the $18 million he was projected to make through arbitration in 2023.
Bellinger was open to a reunion at the right price. The Dodgers apparently weren’t willing to meet the center fielder’s demands so he’s off to the North Side.
Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player in the WBC? Japan’s manager hopes so
SAN DIEGO — Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama said Tuesday that he is hopeful of deploying Shohei Ohtani in the World Baseball Classic as a two-way player.
“I’m wondering if he can do both,” Kuriyama said in Japanese.
Ohtani announced last month that he informed Kuriyama that he would like to play in the tournament. Kuriyama said he has spoken to Ohtani about the different ways he could be used.
“I’m thinking about the possibility of him starting and I’m thinking of the possibility of him closing,” Kuriyama said.
Whether Ohtani pitches, and if so, in what role, won’t be decided until February, when Kuriyama has a better idea of where Ohtani is physically. Kuriyama said he would like for Ohtani to participate in Japan’s training camp in Miyazaki, which opens in February.
Angels general manager Perry Minasian said he wouldn’t place any restrictions on Ohtani in the WBC.
“I’m open to everything,” Minasian told reporters. “Play short. Go for it. I’m open to everything. So if he wants to close, he’s earned the right to close, in my opinion. If he wants to play center field, he’s earned the right to play center field for his country. I don’t have any issue with whatever he does. He’s not one I’m worried about. I trust him.”
Kuriyama was Ohtani’s manager on the Nippon-Ham Fighters when Ohtani was ruled out of the 2017 WBC because of an ankle injury.
“He really was looking for a way to participate until the very end,” Kuriyama said.
Kuriyama gained a commitment for another former Fighters player Monday night when San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish said he would play in the tournament.
Asked if he would make it a point to have Ohtani face Mike Trout if Japan plays the United States in the WBC, Kuriyama laughed.
“Forget about me being the manager,” Kuriyama said. “I just want to see that.”
Angels star Mike Trout helps Team USA net big fish for WBC
SAN DIEGO — The three-time American League most valuable player who was so reluctant to participate in the World Baseball Classic for the past decade helped unleash the wave of superstars who will populate Team USA’s roster for next year’s event.
When Tony Reagins was named Team USA’s general manager earlier this year, his first call was to Mike Trout, the Angels center fielder who was drafted out of high school in 2009, when Reagins was the Angels GM.
Trout turned down an opportunity to play in the 2013 WBC after his 2012 AL rookie-of-the-year season, with his agent, Craig Landis, saying at the time that Trout “just wanted a regular spring-training preparation.”
Trout turned down the WBC again in 2017, the year after he won his second MVP, saying at the time that “it was a personal decision” not to play in the event.
But when Reagins, who is also Major League Baseball’s chief development officer, asked Trout before last July’s All-Star Game if he wanted to play in the 2023 WBC, the response was much different.
“He was like, ‘Hell, yeah,’ ” Reagins said of Trout, who is among the game’s most popular players. “He’s into this thing.”
Reagins immediately named Trout Team USA captain, and he didn’t have to lay out a chum line to attract baseball’s biggest fish.
Stars such as Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts, J.T. Realmuto, Pete Alonso, Trea Turner, Kyle Tucker, Trevor Story, Devin Williams, Will Smith and Bryce Harper committed to Team USA, which will be managed by former infielder Mark DeRosa.
“That’s what’s been exciting about it — you’re not trying to convince guys to do this,” Reagins said. “They want to do it, they’re passionate about representing Team USA and being a part of something great. I think we have a chance to assemble one of the best teams ever assembled in the history of our game.”
Goldschmidt and Arenado — along with young stars such as Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich — played on the 2017 team that beat Puerto Rico for the WBC title, but that group wasn’t nearly as talented or deep as the 2023 club appears.
Many stars, especially marquee pitchers, have shied away from the WBC because of the early ramp-up required for players to participate in the tournament, which begins in early to mid-March.
“In conversations with agents, players and teams, timing in the year is always a consideration,” Reagins said. “Contract situations are always a consideration. I think those two things are reasons why guys may not want to do it, as is the risk of injury.”
But Trout’s early commitment — which amounted to an endorsement of the event for his peers — helped attract more stars to the event.
“Mike Trout putting his name in the bank right off the bat was huge,” Reagins said. “He was definitely a catalyst.”
In latest loss for Dodgers pitching staff, Andrew Heaney signs with Texas Rangers
The Dodgers pitching staff suffered another departure Tuesday afternoon.
According to multiple media reports, left-hander Andrew Heaney is in agreement on a two-year contract with the Texas Rangers that will pay the pitcher $25 million (with bonuses that could increase the value to $37 million) and include an opt-out after the first season.
After signing a one-year contract with the Dodgers last offseason, Heaney showcased improved performances despite missing significant time with shoulder problems.
In 16 games (14 starts), he went 4-4 with a 3.10 ERA. After developing a new slider to pair with his high-spin-rate fastball, he averaged a career-best 13.6 strikeouts per nine innings. And outside of problems giving up home runs (he surrendered 14 in just 72 2/3 innings) he served as a capable rotation member for a Dodgers team that battled injuries on the mound all year.
A return to Los Angeles in 2023 seemed feasible, with the Dodgers still in need of another starting pitcher.
However, in what has become an inflated starting pitching market, Heaney was able to garner a massive raise elsewhere — joining Tyler Anderson, Chris Martin and Tommy Kahnle as the latest Dodgers pitcher to land elsewhere in free agency this winter.
Rob Manfred: Angels would like sale of team completed by Opening Day
SAN DIEGO — In August, Angels owner Arte Moreno put his team up for sale. The bidding has not started yet, and that process is expected to begin no sooner than January.
When the 2023 season starts, will Moreno still be the owner?
“My understanding is that the club would like to have the sale resolved before Opening Day,” commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday. “Whether that happens, I think, depends in part on the bidding process and how quickly you can get documents done.”
Major League Baseball is processing potential bidders, because a background check is required to get approval to see the financial information necessary for a party to determine how much its opening bid might be. Manfred said “multiple parties” have cleared that step.
In the meantime, Moreno has approved spending toward what could be the first $200-million payroll in team history. The Angels have committed about $72 million to pitchers Tyler Anderson and Carlos Estévez, infielder Gio Urshela and outfielder Hunter Renfroe this winter, with the shortstop position still targeted for an upgrade.
On other topics, from Manfred’s news conference at the winter meetings:
— Baseball is making headlines in December. On Monday, Trea Turner got $300 million from the Philadelphia Phillies, with multiple reports that the San Diego Padres offered him $342 million. Any day now, Aaron Judge could sign for even more millions. And the vaults are open for lesser players too, as evidenced by those Angels signings.
Attracting that attention is good, Manfred said, but not all good.
Cody Bellinger receiving interest from “11 or 12” teams, says his agent Scott Boras
Less than three weeks removed from being non-tendered by the Dodgers, center fielder and former National League MVP Cody Bellinger is receiving plenty of interest as a free agent, according to his agent Scott Boras.
During a Tuesday afternoon media scrum at MLB’s winter meetings, Boras said that Bellinger has received interest from “11 or 12” teams and even has received multiple-year offers, though it’s still likely that Bellinger will take a one-year deal in hopes of rebuilding his value after two disappointing and injury-plagued seasons.
“He’s a player I think a lot of teams were surprised was available,” Boras said. “A 27-year-old MVP-type guy who suffered an injury, he’s getting his strength back. I think there’s a lot of teams that are drawn to him. There’s a very serious upside.”
The Dodgers, who decided to non-tender Bellinger rather than pay him the more than $18 million he likely would have received next season in his last year of arbitration, remain one of the interested parties, hoping they can still convince the left-handed slugger to return to Los Angeles on a cheaper salary.
“Andrew [Friedman, the Dodgers president of baseball operations] and I have talked multiple times about Cody,” Boras said. “They again still have interest in him as you’d expect.”
On Monday night, Friedman told reporters that the Dodgers’ talks with Bellinger had remained the “same” and that he believed the outfielder was still in the process of evaluating his various suitors.
Of the other teams interested, the San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs have reportedly emerged as other frontrunners for Bellinger — who Boras continues to insist is one of the most talented players in baseball, and was hampered by the lingering effects of the shoulder surgery he had before the 2021 season.”
“The key thing for him is, [this is] the first time he can get his strength back [since his surgery],” Boras said. “In ‘21, he played just a few months after major surgery and really wasn’t anywhere near the strength in the past he would be. And then after the lockout — this offseason has been great for him. He’s feeling much different than he did at the end of last season.”
A blue wave at Chavez Ravine? Here’s a look at the Dodgers’ top prospects
SAN DIEGO — The seed was planted in early November when Dodgers president Stan Kasten told The Times that “we think we are now on the precipice of the next wave of young guys” and that the team “needs to make room to allow that to happen.”
Does that mean a full-fledged youth movement is about to sprout amid the veteran core of a club built to contend for a World Series title every year? Probably not.
Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations, admitted in November that there is some risk to adding too many prospects at once, and that the Dodgers “need to figure out the right way and the right timing to integrate some of these talented young players.”
Whether that infusion of youth is more trickle than wave, there are at least five highly touted prospects — pitchers Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone, infielders Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch and outfielder James Outman — who appear poised to contribute at some point in Chavez Ravine next season.
“I think it’s one of those groups that has a chance to be impactful going forward,” said Travis Barbary, who managed all five at triple-A Oklahoma City at various points of the 2022 season. “You don’t know how soon that impact is going to come, but it’s a very special group.”
Who has the most upside of the five? Who has the best chance to carve out a significant big league role in 2023? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
A closer look at the Dodgers’ Fab Five prospects with input from Barbary and two major league talent evaluators — we’ll call them Scout One and Scout Two — who are familiar with the upper levels of the Dodgers’ system and were granted anonymity to speak freely about the players:
Evaluating the Dodgers’ options at shortstop
In the wake of the Trea Turner news Monday morning, revisiting this story from last month’s GM meetings:
It’s been a long time since the Dodgers have had a hole at shortstop.
Between six strong seasons from Corey Seager and a productive season from Trea Turner, the club has been able to count on All-Star-level performance at the position for much of the past decade.
Of the many reasons the Dodgers have remained annual World Series contenders in recent seasons, their shortstop play has ranked near the top.
New Angels reliever Carlos Estévez could get late-inning opportunities
SAN DIEGO — Free-agent right-handed pitcher Carlos Estévez on Monday signed a two-year deal worth $13.5 million with the team.
The Angels bullpen, to a certain extent, lacked power, general manager Perry Minasian said. Estévez’s “pure stuff,” as Minasian referred, along with his personality, are good fits for a wide-open bullpen.
Minasian hinted that Estévez could get opportunities to pitch in the eighth and ninth innings, but clarified that manager Phil Nevin would decide when Estévez would come in.
Estévez’s addition gives the Angels more relief options, especially for those late innings.
Former Angels, Dodgers beat writer John Lowe wins career excellence award
SAN DIEGO — Longtime Detroit Free Press writer John Lowe, who started his baseball-writing career covering the Angels for the Los Angeles Daily News in 1979, was named the 2023 winner of the Baseball Writers Assn. Career Excellence Award at the winter meetings Tuesday.
Lowe, who retired after the 2014 season and now lives in Seal Beach, will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. for his “meritorious contributions to baseball writing” on July 21-24.
Lowe, 63, narrowly edged the late Gerry Fraley in the closest vote since the mail-ballot process began in 2002, garnering 137 votes to 135 votes for Fraley, who died in 2019 at age 64 after a nearly 40-year career as a beat writer in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Dallas.
Bruce Jenkins, a San Francisco Chronicle columnist who has covered baseball for almost half a century, was third with 106 votes.
Known for his trademark straw hat, which he always wore with a blazer, collared shirt with tie and creased trousers, Lowe covered baseball from 1979 through 2014, the last 28 of those years as the Tigers beat writer in Detroit.
He often sought insight from trusted sources in both clubhouses and his countless conversations with managers, coaches, players, front-office executives, scouts and fellow writers equipped him with what seemed like an encyclopedic knowledge of the game.
Lowe covered the Angels in 1979-80 before taking over the Dodgers beat for the L.A. Daily News from 1981-84. After two years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Lowe moved to Detroit, where, during his tenure, he was credited with creating the quality start statistic that remains a measuring stick for pitchers.
Lowe, who mentored countless young writers over the years, covered more than 300 postseason games, including 147 in the World Series, and chronicled Cal Ripken Jr.’s breaking of Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-games record in 1995 and the culmination of the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run chase in 1998.
Clayton Kershaw happy to continue career with Dodgers
Last season, the Dodgers won 111 games. They had a Cy Young Award finalist. They boasted the best rotation earned-run average in Major League Baseball.
Still, as this offseason has progressed, their need for more starting pitching has been clear.
And though they did the expected Monday morning, officially re-signing Clayton Kershaw to a one-year, $20-million contract on the first day of the league’s winter meetings, they failed to pull off the spectacular, losing out in the Justin Verlander sweepstakes after news broke that the free-agent pitcher will be signing with the New York Mets.
Kershaw’s return had been in the works for weeks, ever since news emerged last month that the sides were close to a deal that would keep the three-time Cy Young Award winner in Los Angeles for a 16th season.
Though the Dallas native again considered signing with his hometown Texas Rangers, he said he and his wife, Ellen, decided pretty quickly into the offseason to return to the Dodgers. He added that the only reason his contract hadn’t been finalized sooner was that he had been “procrastinating” getting MRI exams to complete his physical.
“It just feels great to come back,” he said. “I feel like this is where we needed to be. This is where we want to be. And it just feels like we’re not done yet.”
Tommy Kahnle signs with the Yankees
Tommy Kahnle didn’t pitch much for the Dodgers during his two years in Los Angeles, missing all of 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and making only 13 appearances this past year because of more elbow troubles.
But when he was on the mound, his crafty arsenal was plenty good enough to make him a coveted free-agent target this winter.
On Tuesday, it resulted in the right-hander agreeing to a two-year, $11.5-million deal with the New York Yankees, according to multiple media reports, making him the latest Dodgers free agent to land elsewhere this winter.
Already, the team saw All-Star starter Tyler Anderson sign with the Angels and star second-half reliever Chris Martin go to the Boston Red Sox.
Andrew Heaney also remains on the market, where he will likely fetch offers bigger than what the Dodgers would probably be willing to spend.
It appears Kahnle’s free agency played out similarly, with the right-hander getting a two-year contract from the Yankees (whom he previously played for from 2017-2020) after posting a 2.84 ERA in 12 2/3 innings last year.
Don’t expect the pace to slow down at the winter meetings
SAN DIEGO — After a hectic first day of MLB’s winter meetings that saw one of the biggest-name pitchers (Justin Verlander) and position players (Trea Turner) sign lucrative contracts, plenty more is expected to unfold Tuesday.
Speculation about the future of Aaron Judge, considered the top player of this year’s free-agent class, has intensified, with the Giants and Yankees seen as frontrunners but other teams reportedly still haven’t gotten involved in negotiations as well.
Three other high-profile shortstops remain on the market in Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson.
And plenty of other free agents continue to be scooped up by teams too.
After losing Turner and watching Verlander pick the Mets, the Dodgers have many ways they can shift their focus.
They still need a starting pitcher, with Carlos Rodón now seen as the top remaining free agent. They have a hole at shortstop, one that could be filled by a splashy signing or with a simple internal replacement like Gavin Lux. And they have a couple of other familiar faces in free agency — Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger — they are continuing to try and keep in LA.
The Angels, meanwhile, continue to be more active, coming off another widely praised move Monday when they signed reliever Carlos Estéves to a two-year deal.
They also have a need at shortstop, but, similar to the Dodgers, might look for alternatives other than the remaining big three free-agent options to fill it.
If Monday was any indication, it shouldn’t take long for more moves to materialize in San Diego today — and continue to shape the offseason outlook for the Dodgers, Angels and baseball’s other 28 teams.