Angels leave Jo Adell off opening day list to beef up defense – Orange County Register

The future is not yet here.

When the Angels released their 30-man roster on opening day Thursday, Jo Adell was not there. One of the best prospects in all of baseball, Adell apparently still has a few things to figure out in his game.

General manager Billy Eppler said he had a “productive” conversation with Adell, in which the 21-year-old apparently recognized what he needs to work on.

The clear deficiency in his brief gaze at the Angels’ summer camp was the defense, as Adell had some flaws in right field. Eppler acknowledged that the sun at the time of the day the Angels played some of their games within the squad didn’t help, but it’s still an area Adell needs to improve on.

“I said to Jo, ‘Your bat, in my opinion, was even more impressive than I thought it was in Tempe,'” Eppler said. “But for Joe (Maddon) and me, we need all aspects of the game to be consistent. Because I told him: ‘When the time comes, you will come to play. You’re not going to come here and sit on the bench. Therefore, we must be able to know that all sides of the game, all aspects of the game, in attack, defense and base are completely adjusted. Because we will count on you when you come, man. “

Here’s the #Angels opening day list. Anthony Rendon is at it (not IL). Jo Adell is not. pic.twitter.com/5Cj9EO1RhQ

– Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) July 23, 2020

Adell will work out with the Angels’ reserve players in Long Beach, giving Eppler easy access to beat and check his progress.

“I challenged him. “Force me to make the call,” said Eppler. “I have an open mind to grab anyone I think can help.”

When asked if he expected Adell to be in the big leagues sometime during this 60-game season, Eppler said: “I never put schedules on anyone. Jo will dictate that. I’m clearly open-minded about that. “

Under current rules, if Adell is inactive for at least six days, he won’t rack up a full year of service this year, which could give the Angels an additional year before free agency. However, the collective bargaining agreement expires after 2021, so there is no guarantee that that will be the rule when Adell approaches free agency.

RENDON AVOID IL

Although Anthony Rendon is expected to miss at least the first few games with a skew, the Angels chose not to include him on the disabled list to start the season. If they did, he would have to miss at least the first seven games of the season.

“Anthony said yesterday that he felt much better than he had in the past few days, so it was encouraging,” said Eppler.

Eppler said Rendon could get some live batting practice as early as Friday.

“Then we’ll see how many days of that he needs and how he feels the next day,” Eppler said. “It is appropriately titled day by day.”

OHTANI UPDATE

Eppler said Shohei Ohtani will have no ticket limits this season. The shortened season means that even if Ohtani pitches the Angels deep in the playoffs, he would not hit a career high innings that would worry the team in its first season after Tommy John surgery, Eppler said.

Eppler also said he remains open, eventually, to loosening the restrictions that have led the Angels to give Ohtani the day off before and after pitching.

“I still have an open mind,” said Eppler. “It just depends on the recovery and how he feels for him day after day.”

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