ANAHEIM — Mere feet away from his worn fungo bat used for regular infield drills, Angels manager Ron Washington announced another decision Thursday rooted in the improvement of fundamental play.
Effective immediately, the Angels moved Eric Young Sr. into the first-base coaching box, while Bo Porter was moved from first to third.
Young spent time as the first-base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks (2011-12), the Colorado Rockies (2014-16) and the Atlanta Braves (2018-23). Since 2007, Porter has served as a third-base coach for the Florida Marlins, Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals and Braves.
“The reason we’re doing it, because I don’t know if you guys know, but EY is one of the better baserunning guys in the game,” Washington said. “We can’t use his skill set at third base, so we’re moving him to first so we can start helping these kids to start understanding what it takes to be a good base runner.”
Washington declined to offer a particular example when asked.
“This was something (General Manager) Perry (Minasian) and I had been discussing for a while and we just decided to make a move,” Washington said.
Washington’s affinity for fundamental baseball is well-documented. In his first spring training as Angels manager in 2024, he formed an early-morning club of infielders that would work on a bevy of drills. Shortstop Zach Neto has been a major benefactor of the instruction, forming a tight bond with his manager.
There also are pitchers’ fielding practice drills at least once a homestand, including before Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The results remain a work in progress, with the Blue Jays laying down two bunt singles during a three-run seventh inning before the Angels rallied late for a 5-4 victory.
The Angels entered Thursday’s slate of games having allowed nine bunt singles, tied for the most in MLB. Washington credited the last four of those to perfect execution by the opponent.
“Those are four that got us and it looked bad because we didn’t execute any of them, but if you go back and look at the replays, you can see they were perfect bunts,” Washington said. “But it looks bad because we didn’t get any outs. It’s things you have to do. That’s how you keep going through a 162-game season.”
Right-handed reliever Ryan Zeferjahn was a victim of a bunt single Wednesday.
“We’ve struggled with it, and it’s early in the season, but working on it and when the time comes in a big game when we need it, because we’ve worked on it and had the reps, it’s going to pay off in the long run,” Zeferjahn said. “The small game, working on it, and Wash being big on it, that can change a lot of games.”
REST DAY
Infielder Luis Rengifo was held out of the starting lineup one day after he was removed in the eighth inning after forgetting the number of outs.
“I just thought he needed a mental day so however you interpret it, you have to interpret it,” Washington said. “I just thought he needed a mental day. He’ll be back in there tomorrow.”
Rengifo had moved from third base to second base on Tuesday after Yoán Moncada returned from the injured list. Tim Anderson took over at second base on Thursday.
PEDAL POWER
Mike Trout did light exercise work on a stationary bike as he continues to recover from a bone bruise in his left knee that landed him on the injured list on May 1.
Trout will be eligible to come off the IL on Sunday and said last week it would be “possible” he would be back by then. Medical exams showed the knee was structurally sound.
While Trout was optimistic for a quick return, Minasian has said there is no timetable for when he would be back on the field.
Washington did not have a progress update on right-handed reliever Ben Joyce, who is scheduled for a bullpen throwing session in the coming days. Joyce has been on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation since April 11.
UP NEXT
Orioles (RHP Tomoyuki Sugano, 3-2, 3.00 ERA) at Angels (RHP Kyle Hendricks, 1-3, 5.28 ERA), Friday, 6:38 p.m., FDSN West, 830 AM