The Angels announced that they have recalled outfielder Jo Adell. To make room for him on the active roster, outfielder Monte Harrison has been designated for assignment.
Harrison, 26, was signed by the Angels to a minor league deal in April. He hit .213/.305/.368 for a wRC+ of just 67, but did steal 2o bases in 50 games. He was selected to the big league club about three weeks ago but has been used sparingly, getting into just nine games and stepping up to the plate just 14 times.
Once considered one of the top prospects in the sport, Harrison was part of the return the Marlins received in the Christian Yelich trade. Unfortunately, a propensity for strikeouts has prevented him from truly becoming a useful player thus far. He struck out in 35% of his plate appearances in Triple-A this year and then 57.1% in that limited MLB showing.
Since he’s out of options, the only way for the Angels to get him off the roster was to designate him for assignment. The Angels will have a week to trade him, pass him through waivers or release him. Should he clear waivers, he would have the ability to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.
As for Adell, this is the latest step in what has become a pattern for him wherein he mashes in the minors but struggles in the majors, before getting sent down and starting the process over again. He got his first call-up in 2020 but hit just .161/.212/.266 for a wRC+ of 27. Optioned to Triple-A to start the 2021 campaign, he hit .289/.342/.592 for a 122 wRC+. He got recalled in August but produced a tepid line of .246/.295/.408 in the majors, wRC+ of 90. Here in 2022, he made the Opening Day roster but hit .215/.227/.400 through the beginning of May and got optioned. Outside of a six-day stretch in June, he’s been in Triple-A since then, hitting .239/.333/.587 for a wRC+ of 116.
The recall of Adell seems to at least be partially motivated by the fact that Mike Trout is dealing with back spasms. Before tonight’s game, he told reporters, including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, that he has been experiencing discomfort for over a week and that it got worse last night. He is out of tonight’s lineup, though he says he doesn’t expect to go on the IL and should be fine to participate in next week’s All-Star game.
Adell needs steady playing time, stop playing revolving doors with him!
To rushed. Mickey M. In Philly too. Back and forth instead of improving skills. Neither team is going anywhere just leave them in AAA and look at them in the spring.
They always say they’re sending him down to find his swing, but they always bring him back up after a week or two and *SURPRISE* he hasn’t found his swing. Angels are bent on ruining him if they haven’t already
If you look at his 2017/2018/2019 lines he was being shuttled all across the minor leagues. That’s a lot to ask out of a kid fresh out of HS. They never gave him a chance to settle in.
He’s not that good though I get that he was a high ranked guy but it seems to be a slow developer. I hope this time around he does better maybe raise his value or find regular playing time.
Might not be but like someone else commented let him settle in, give him a year on 1 team to find a Grove and let him sink or swim. It is looking like a som Smith path right now.
A
HidekiMatsuimalemodel, well said!
B would have been unacceptable!
He’s far and away most comfortable in CF and Trout is going to be out for a bit with back spasms.
Maybe let him get a few games in his natural position to get comfortable before moving him over for Trout?
We’re playing for 2023 now, so give Adell plenty of runway here.
I think Angels fans should copy/paste this and only update the year. This has been true for a few years now.
He’s hitting better, but even in his most recent trip to AAA, he’s trending to 202 Ks per 600 ABs. I’m not sure was the l/t goal is by promoting him again. He should be in AAA, and Marsh should be with him.
Any chance Ohtani gets traded if the Angels are sellers this year?
Just curious, as I don’t follow the team much.
Somewhere between 1% and 0%
I figured … haha
I’d say they’re going to be sellers but I wouldn’t expect ohtani to be traded maybe 10% chance. It should be 100% but arte loves over paying for lousy teams.
Maybe he UNDER PAYS expecting great teams?! Maybe the payroll needs a $40m bump to pay for a better supporting cast to Trout/Ohtani/Rendon/Walsh…a real starting roster. Not a roster with 4-5 subpar below replacement level as starters. (Wade, Velazquez, Mayfield, Duffy, etc)
Being an Angel fan is like being in Purgatory.
+ We have 2 of the greatest players in generations, perhaps in MLB history.
– The teams are always constructed with 4-5 glaring holes in the 26 man roster. Doesn’t matter which GM …Reagins, DiPoto, Eppler, Manasian. They all fill the roster on the cheap with other teams castoffs hoping they are enough.
With star player(s) signed long term he (Arte) should be going ALL IN with a strong supporting cast, NOT pinching pennies to fill a starting 26 man roster and NOT selling the stars off to make a AAAA roster.
This is a solid summary. I’d be pretty annoyed by this point if I was an Angels fan. I know there isn’t a ton you can do when your farm doesn’t produce those role player types, unless you want to spend 300m, but maybe don’t hamstring your team long term with deals like Rendon when that’s the case.
It’s not like the holes are some secret either. I see plenty of fans on here call out the weaknesses in the club each year and sure enough, they come to fruition. This makes me believe these gms can’t all be blind, so it’s likely that they’re not given enough/freedom with the team payroll to properly construct a balanced roster.
I am a huge fan of Trout, watching him and the numbers he managed to put up for a while there was almost comical. Ohtani is also a pretty great story, so I root for the Angels, even though I’m not really a fan of the team. It’s unfortunate to see a team like that continue to fail and often in the same way. I feel kinda bad for angels fans and it’s too bad for baseball fans in general that stories like Trout and Ohtani aren’t able to be spotlighted in the playoffs.
Arte is a marketing man, not baseball. He signs big name, position players because they play everyday, thus big crowds. Pitchers are only there every 5th or 6th day; Ohtani’s the outlier. Arte can’t afford to let him go. That’s why you don’t see big name pitchers on this roster. Thor is next to go. Upton’s money, and more, to Ohtani.
They won’t, but they should. They will not win a thing if they have to pay trout, rendon, and Ohtani a combined 120 mil a year. They have too many holes and not enough prospects to fill them.
@C Valley Probably not.
The ask would and should be massive…It would take a solid 3 players minimum, maybe 4 player package for them to consider trading Ohtani. 1-2 top 10 prospects and 1-2 young MLBers. (Think: Guys that were recently top 10 talents with <2 years service time or 4-5 years of control.)
I think the Angels will trade 2-3 other guys… Thor, Lorenzen, Tepera, Loup, Duffy, Suzuki, Velazquez, and maybe consider Adell, Marsh, Ward, if the return was a fit.
Typo* (Guys that were recently top 10 talents with…*years of control remaining.)
Appreciate it
The wheels on the bus go round and round , round and round … what a franchise
He’s just not that good. Swing and miss coupled with below average defense. Sure he’s young, but so was Brandon Wood. Big loopy swing is no match for mlb pitching.
Trade Trout, Ohtani, Iglesias, Syndergaard and anyone else making more than $5M per year. They can’t compete as currently constructed. Damn good looking team on paper but that’s as far as it goes.
I wish the Angels could trade Rendon but he’s got a full NTC.
Let Trout and Shohei tell you where they want to go and do right by them. Get as much as you can in prospects.
The Giants sure could use any one of Trout or Ohtani. I wonder if Farhan Zaidi would even be interested?
They’d continue to stay in California, and the Giants have a ton of payroll flexibility.
Trout has a no trade also.
Let’s analyze this scenario IF it were to happen…
Great!! you wipe out 4 key starters (2MVPs) and have a haul of what exactly? 5-8 prospects?
Then, you promote 4 of your new prospects to replace the starters you traded …god forbid they don’t pan out or you’re screwed!!…so now the MLB product is likely worse as they develop and gain experience and the farm system is back to depleted. SUCCESS!!
Great plan…NOT!
But hey the payroll is down to $120m… so happy!!
I hear what you are saying, but let’s face the truth for a moment. Trout is not going to magically get healthier as he gets older, nor is he going to get any better. They are currently hamstrung by payroll because Moreno will not up the payroll like the Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox. The Angels play by a different set of rules and we see where that has gotten them. I would love to watch Trout and Shohei Ohtani finish their careers as angels but sadly that would probably be without a World Series win. Let alone playoffs.
I am an Angel‘s fan first. A Trout and Ohtani fan second. They deserve their shot on the biggest stage and the front office has failed them epically.
5toolMVP
Great plan…NOT!
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This is a bit like Soto and the Nationals. Everyone says the Nats have to keep him. Let’s say the Nats give him his $400M+. They are #30 right now, so what changes? They would still be #30.
So the Angels are currently #22. If they extend Ohtani for $35M+, what changes? Are they not still #22?
And what changes if they are traded? Still #22 and #30 right? Probably worse near term.
You either…
1. Sign them and BUILD around them to win now, in 2023-24.
2. Trade them and add 3-4 prospects to a farm system, promote 1 to replace the loss of the star player and hope he’s MLB ready, then BUILD the roster with a goal of hopefully winning in 2026-27.
Batting .239 in AAA hitter friendly league, he’ll fit right in….
He’s been hitting a lot better lately. What he did in June is not as important as what he’s doing in July.
Marsh isn’t ready, Adell isn’t ready. I’m still optimistic they’ll be solid big league players.
You constantly just choose to ignore the bad with Adell and pretend the good matters more. Adell continues to prove you wrong. Will the trend continue?
And you constantly ignore the good. He has tremendous athletic ability, speed and power. And he hits the ball very hard, and everyone says is extremely coachable.
The people who compare him to Brandon Wood don’t know what they are talking about.
He doesn’t pass the eye test with me.
What I see is more errors and misreads in the field than highlights or routine plays.
• bad routes on balls hit his way
• bad/late read of the ball off of the bats
• bad throws
• throws to wrong bases, misses cutoff guy
• strikes out far too much
I’m still optimistic they’ll be solid big league players.
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They could be. But the FO needs to stop treating them like lottery tickets, where maybe they make, maybe they don’t. Neither are ready right now.
But just as important, there should be no motivation to keep them on roster. The upside is that maybe they catch the Rangers, or maybe they finish .500. The downside is that they derail their development, maybe only a year, or maybe more, and they burn more service time. The upside is pennies on the dollar to the downside.
I don’t know how they should be treated, and I don’t know the best way to develop them.
But I do know fans are crazy to be this hard on them and I do know fans are crazy to give up on them.
If you look at his 2017/2018/2019 lines he was being shuttled all across the minor leagues. That’s a lot to ask out of a kid fresh out of HS. They never gave him a chance to settle in.
He was soooo over-hyped and clearly not close to ready in 2017-2022.
To date, I really don’t see the hype for Adell, he does flash glimpses, but when I watch him play or listen to games it’s always the same. He doesn’t pass the eye test…more misplays than highlights. He misreads balls hit his way, he gets late jumps on balls hit his way, he over throws, misses cutoff man, throws to wrong base… strikes out at a pretty high rate, gets on base at a low rate.
Waiting to be impressed. Hopefully this is his time to finally shine. Let’s Goooo!!
is trout going for another season ending injury?
To Harrison’s credit, he did have the latest Assist by an Angel OF in about 2 months, and perhaps strongest arm. They scapegoated him for last nights error and his almost homer gaffe despite many others having committed boneheaded plays. But another AAA callup DFA’d. Will McKannon be next when he inevitably slumps? Another glut of mediocre OFs. Marsh has a glove but cant hit and has no arm. Trout is declining. Ward can hit but is slowfooted and not much arm. More suited for DH.
Ward’s average sprint speed is faster than Ohtani’s and just a tick behind Velasquez according to Statcast’s Sprint Speed. Regarding Wards arm strength, he formerly played C and 3B; two positions that require a good arm. And he currently plays RF where a team traditionally places its best OF arm.
“Trout is declining”
Bahahahahaha.
Yes, his batting average is down, but the name TROUT appears in the top 10 (with quite a few top 5) on nearly every offensive category.
Oh and as of July 14 his WAR 3.8 on pace for another 7-8 WAR season.
Adell should work w Trace Thompson, or his coach. Same body type and swing
Anaheim’s only remote hope of being contender by 2026 (at the earliest and it still wouldn’t be a guarantee whatsoever) would be to trade both Trout and Ohtani and pretty much anyone else over the age of 25 who has any trade value and rebuild.
I suppose that way is just the cheap long term solution… the 4-5 year rebuild plan. The SoCal A’s, Pirates, Rays, Royals, etc. way.
Being a contender CAN be done in a single off season. Not by Trading Trout/Ohtani. Not by restocking the farm system. Not with other teams castoff players to fill starting roles.
It can be done by acquiring above average MLB starting players that fill the 26 man roster with a strong supporting cast around Trout/Ohtani/Rendon/Walsh etc.
The problem is…Arte WON’T do what it takes to improve the roster to the next level. He won’t spend the $235-249m necessary for 2-3 years of contending with the stars/MVPs and he won’t trade the stars away to rebuild into a maybe, possibly, fingers-crossed 2026/27 contender.
The Rays have the 5TH best record in the majors since 2008(15 years)and have been in the playoffs 7 times..exactly when did they have this 4,5 year rebuild?
2003-2007? Lol
You can’t “rebuild” something that was never built in the first place.new team that sucked intil they got good, then stayed good.
In 2007 they were TEN years in the league. Maybe 2014-17 could be considering a rebuild era… The four sub-.500 years after years of winning in 2008-13 and before the latest 18-22 winning run.
Anyway…
Rays were mentioned in that group more for working within a low budget than rebuilding.
Rays are definitely among the elite in the MLB. Don’t overthink it or take offense when they are mentioned with the low budget teams.
The Rays are also an outlier when it comes to churning players and able to maintain winning on the cheap. Not many teams do that with success.
YOU are a baseball fan,… many of the clowns on here still think the rays are a fluke or flash in the pan.
Nevin has got to go!!! Jesus just keep Maddon on board if your only option was Phil Nevin. If nothing else he should have been fired for instigating that idiotic brawl with the M’s. (Actually thanks BTW that motivated us to go 16-3 since then or whatever it is.)
It’s only fitting Monte’s last game prior to coming in as a late game replacement he went 2-3 with a homer… so naturally now you send him on his way…
Your replacing Monte Harrison with a slightly younger version of Monte Harrison…
I don’t understand this at all
2 for 5 last night but he also struck out twice. Adell needs to stay in AAA for an entire season to gain consistency in all areas.