ANAHEIM — Six weeks of spring training in Arizona wasn’t enough to get the Angels’ bullpen in order for the regular season.
They continued to tinker after coming home to start the Freeway Series against the Dodgers at Angel Stadium on Sunday night, working on re-acquiring relief pitcher Noe Ramirez after announcing they optioned relief pitcher Ty Buttrey to Triple-A.
Ramirez, one of two players the Angels traded to Cincinnati for closer Raisel Iglesias in December, was released by the Reds early Sunday after the 31-year-old allowed 11 runs (six earned) in six innings in the Cactus League.
“Noe did a nice job here last year,” manager Joe Maddon said, acknowledging the Angels were speaking with the right-hander who had a 3.00 ERA in 2020.
Dropping Buttrey was a mild surprise. But Maddon said the Angels wanted Buttrey to remain at their alternate training site in Tempe, Ariz., to regain the consistency that eluded the right-hander in his third major-league season.
“It got to the point where you didn’t know what to expect,” Maddon said of Buttrey, who turns 28 on Wednesday, March 31.
Buttrey’s demotion increases the chances that Chris Rodriguez will make the roster for the Angels’ season opener Thursday, April 1, against the White Sox, after the 2016 fourth-round draft choice missed almost all of 2018 and 2019 with back issues and 2020 because the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the minor-league season.
Maddon indicated he’ll have to handle Rodriguez, 22, gingerly.
“We think he can be a difference-maker,” Maddon said. “It’s going to require not pushing it too hard. Not having pitched a lot in the past, it’s going to require a lot of strategy.”
Before Sunday, Rodriguez, Aaron Siegers, Jaime Barria and left-hander Patrick Sandoval were fighting for the last three spots in the bullpen alongside Iglesias, Mike Mayers, Junior Guerra and lefty Alex Claudio. Now Ramirez might join that competition.
The Angels’ bullpen seemingly has nowhere to go but up after 2020. Maddon sounded hopeful.
“There’s a lot to like. A lot,” Maddon said Sunday. “I always believe it takes about three weeks to a month to kind of figure out your bullpen in the first part of the season. Some guys will pitch better than we thought, some guys not as good as we thought they were going to.”
With a Ramirez signing on the table, the manager added: “We’re possibly not done yet putting this thing together.”
OHTANI WILL HIT
The Angels plan to have Shohei Ohtani (0-2, 7.88 this spring) bat when he starts game 2 of the Freeway Series at Dodger Stadium on Monday.
This will be the second time this spring that Ohtani bats in a game he pitches, and that could happen often during the season, but Maddon said it will be a case-by-case decision.
“It’s all about how his body feels and how much rest he needs,” said Maddon, who gave Ohtani the night off Sunday. “Nothing’s been laid out yet, other than making sure we communicate coming up to the days he pitches.”
It sounds likely that Ohtani will hit second in the lineup, with Mike Trout third.
Ohtani will aim to ease back to three or four innings — and at least two at-bats — in his final spring start, Maddon said.
STARTERS SET
The Angels announced their starting pitchers, following Dylan Bundy on opening day, for the four-game series at home against the White Sox.
Andrew Heaney will start Friday, Alex Cobb Saturday and Ohtani Sunday, and Jose Quintana would wait to open the home series against the Astros.
Maddon said he prefers to throw right-handers against the White Sox, and Quintana is a left-hander. So is Heaney, but he’s effective against right-handed hitters.
HEANEY HIT HARD
Heaney started Sunday against a Dodgers lineup with seven regulars and gave up home runs to Max Muncy, Gavin Lux and Corey Seager, all left-handed hitters.
That raised Heaney’s spring ERA to 7.41.
Heaney said he had good stuff but poor location, and hung a slider for Seager’s long homer.
“I’m feeling good,” Heaney said. “I’m ready to go (for the season).”
WARD WINS IT
The Angels trailed the Dodgers 4-0 but rallied to win 6-5 on outfielder Taylor Ward’s solo home run with two out in the eighth, the last scheduled inning in Sunday’s exhibition.
A solo homer by outfielder Juan Lagares tied it in the seventh, while Griffin Canning and relievers Ben Rowen, Patrick Sandoval, Mayers and Iglesias followed Heaney to the mound and held the Dodgers to one run.
ALTERNATE PLANS
Angels assigned to the Angels’ alternate training site are expected to play four or five games a week against other teams, Maddon said.
The manager called that a “wonderful” improvement on 2020, when baseball introduced alternate sites in the absence of minor leagues but players were limited to intrasquad games.
With the Angels’ site moving from Long Beach to Tempe this season, and the Dodgers, Padres and Diamondbacks also in Arizona, those teams will be able to play each other.
LOOKING AROUND
One new sight at Angel Stadium is the Angels’ 60th anniversary logo, displayed near the flag poles beyond the left-center-field fence.
The Link LonkMarch 29, 2021 at 09:32AM
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Angels’ bullpen remains a work in progress - OCRegister
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