WEST SACRAMENTO — Right fielder Jo Adell was camped under a fly ball, with a runner at third getting ready to tag up. Suddenly, center fielder Bryce Teodosio came flying into the picture. He made the catch on a full sprint, then he fell to the ground, as the run scored.
“When I caught that ball, I knew that I definitely should have let him catch it,” Teodosio said on Sunday, two days later. “We talked about it. We’re going to continue to communicate and work.”
The Angels put Teodosio in center field just about two weeks ago in hopes that he would solve a defensive problem the Angels have faced all year.
Advanced metrics say Teodosio has already saved the Angels four runs, which is more than any other outfielder on the team. He has made several spectacular catches, including a robbed home run.
But Teodosio covers so much ground that there have been issues with the corner outfielders. In Detroit last weekend, Teodosio collided with Adell on one play and with left fielder Taylor Ward on another.
“The communication piece is real,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “It’s important to go after everything and catch balls, but there’s also times when you defer, given the situation.”
Adell, who spent most of the year having priority as the center fielder, said that it’s a good problem to have when two outfielders can cover enough ground that conflicts could arise.
“He’s being aggressive, and we’ve kind of got to find the rhythm and the language for what we want to do in the gaps,” Adell said. “We’re getting there. I told him, ‘I’m glad that you’re erring on the side of being aggressive.’…
“That’s all the learning process. He’s definitely a smart kid. He’s learning every day.”
When Ward ran into Teodosio in Detroit, he said it was because Teodosio didn’t call the ball.
“I’m just instilling in him you gotta call it, even if you don’t think I’m there or nobody’s there,” Ward said. “It doesn’t hurt to call it.”
Ward said he enjoys playing next to a center fielder who covers so much ground.
“It’s great for the corner outfielders to take less off our legs,” Ward said. “It’s awesome that he has that capability. I don’t care if he takes a ball that I should catch. It doesn’t matter to me.”
PERAZA’S TURN
Third baseman Oswald Peraza got his second start of the week on Sunday. Not coincidentally, both games have been started by José Soriano.
Soriano is a ground ball specialist, and Peraza is known for his defense.
The Angels acquired Peraza at the trade deadline. He had just one hit in his first eight at-bats with the Angels, after hitting .152 with the New York Yankees.
Montgomery said Angels hitting coaches have done “extensive stuff” with Peraza to try to get more out of him at the plate.
“I think a big piece to what he’s trying to do is just to really stay grounded in his legs and use a little bit more of the middle of the field so he can kind of shorten the movements in his swing,” Montgomery said. “He hits the ball hard, like there’s a lot of good under-the-hood type things, so we’ve just got to access those.”
NOTES
The Angels designated right-hander Connor Brogdon for assignment on Sunday. They recalled right-hander José Fermin from Triple-A. …
Right-hander Victor Mederos will be good to go for a full start on Monday. Mederos threw just 72 pitches in four innings in his previous start, because he was working on three days rest. He’ll be on six days rest when he pitches on Monday. …
Nolan Schanuel’s three-hit game on Saturday followed a 4-for-40 slump. “If you ask him, he probably felt like he was a little jumpy, and he just settled down last night and let the ball come to him a little bit more instead of trying to go out and get it,” Montgomery said.
UP NEXT
Reds (RHP Brady Singer, 10-9, 4.31) at Angels (RHP Victor Mederos, 0-0, 5.63), Monday, 6:38 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM