The Los Angeles Angels have been patient with Jo Adell, in fact, they’ve afforded him the time to work on his deficiencies and ‘figure it out’ since his fall from top prospect within the organization. As the team heads into the offseason, general manager Perry Minasian has multiple decisions to make that could impact Adell’s future with the team.
Still only 23 years old, Adell hasn’t done enough to stick around long-term with the big club, but dating back to 2020, he’s appeared in 161 games. His results have been quite underwhelming for a former first-round pick, and in 557 plate appearances, he’s posted a .215/.259/.356 slash with a 68 wRC+.
As recently as 2018 & 2019, Adell was either one or two in Angels’ organizational rankings, but given his poor performance as he heads into his first year of arbitration, a non-tender situation is a real possibility, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
There’s always the chance the Angels part with Adell, especially if they acquire a full-time corner outfielder this offseason. Adell was one of the club’s biggest prospects in recent years, but he has struggled to make contact and has had his troubles defensively as well. As far as prospects, no players are considered untouchable outside of catcher Logan O’Hoppe or shortstop Zach Neto.
Adell has had stretches when he’s played true to his scouting report, which is undeniable raw power and a terrific speed factor, but his porous defense makes it really difficult to confidently slot him in the outfield.
Following the trade of Brandon Marsh to the Philadelphia Phillies for O’Hoppe, the Angels’ new top prospect, their outfield has a bit more availability outside of Mike Trout.
Angels to make infield, outfield depth an offseason priority
The Angels lacked depth in a few areas this season, notably in the middle infield & outfield, as they had to dip into their minor league system for reinforcements. Another disappointing season filled with numerous injuries proved to be too much for manager Phil Nevin after his team finished 73-89, good for third in the American League West.
After losing David Fletcher to multiple stints on the injured list, the Angels were forced to rely on Luis Rengifo and Andrew Velazquez for the bulk of the season. Velazquez provided a very steady defensive presence up the middle, but his incredibly light hitting overshadowed his glove.
General manager Perry Minasian was impressed with Rengifo’s breakout backend of the season but recently said the Angels had some major retooling that needed to be done with the middle-infield and some other key spots as they head into free agency.
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