TEMPE, Ariz. — The faint hope that Zach Neto might not need to start the season on the injured list is now gone.
Manager Ron Washington acknowledged – for the first time this spring – that the Angels shortstop won’t be ready for Opening Day, which is exactly a month away.
“We like the progress,” Washington said. “I think he’s gonna tell us how soon he can get back. No way it’s going to be the 27th of March.”
That’s the day the Angels open the season against the White Sox in Chicago. When the Angels announced that Neto was having right shoulder surgery in November, general manager Perry Minasian said there was “a possibility he does miss some of the beginning of the season.”
Since then, the Angels have given no more specific timeline, including leaving open the possibility that Neto might not go on the injured list at all.
Now, it seems the Angels are focusing on getting Neto back “soon after” Opening Day, Washington said.
“Soon after could be a week after,” he said. “Could be two weeks after. Might be a month.”
Neto, 23, has said all along he’s felt good about his progress, which he believes to be “ahead of schedule.”
Neto is now throwing at a distance of 60 feet and taking batting practice on the field. He’s not hitting or throwing every day, though.
“The biggest thing is coming back as healthy as possible,” Neto said. “Not only looking for short term, but for long term, hopefully not getting any setbacks. The decision is not on me, it’s on training staff, if they feel I’m ready for Opening Day or not. But my main goal is to get back as quick as possible.”
Neto also said he did not regret that he waited until November to have surgery on his right shoulder, which was hurt on a head-first slide in the final week of the season.
“The doctor knows best, more than I do,” Neto said. “We all agreed on giving me a month to see if I could rehab it, to get stronger and stuff. But that wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, had to go to surgery. I’m fortunate enough that I did it. I didn’t want anything in the long run to happen.”
The Angels have a few choices to play shortstop while waiting for Neto to return.
The first option is likely Kevin Newman, a 31-year-old veteran who signed a $2.75-million deal shortly after Neto’s surgery. Newman filled in at shortstop with the Arizona Diamondbacks last year when Geraldo Perdomo was hurt. Newman hit .278 with a .686 OPS with Arizona.
Veteran Tim Anderson is in camp on a minor-league deal. Anderson is a two-time batting champ whose career has stalled the past couple years.
The Angels also picked up Scott Kingery, who has played 138 big-league games at shortstop.
It likely that two of those three players will be on the Opening Day roster, with one as the starting shortstop and one as the backup middle infielder.
SLOW START
Jo Adell was hitless in his first nine at-bats of the spring. Although that’s obviously too small of a sample size to be cause for concern, it was enough to prompt Washington have a talk with Adell.
“It’s early, no panic going on, but there are some things we see we want to try to help him correct,” Washington said. “Just be more aggressive. He’s trying to control the strike zone too much. It’s too early to try to control the strike zone. We’ve got to start swinging that bat and then control the strike zone. He’s just doing it opposite.”
This is a big spring for Adell, who established himself as an everyday right fielder with a strong finish at the plate and improved defense last season. Now, the Angels are asking him to play center field. So far Adell got a bad jump on a ball that fell for a double and he lost a ball in the sun.
NOTES
Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday, as expected, because of time he missed with an illness. The Angels are planning on having Kochanowicz pitch Friday, but they haven’t decided if that will be in relief in one of their two Cactus League games or in a simulated game. Left-hander Reid Detmers is scheduled to start Friday afternoon against the White Sox in Tempe, and left-hander Yusei Kikuchi will start against the Dodgers on Friday night in Glendale. …
Washington returned to the ballpark after missing three days with flu-like illness. The sickness took down several players and coaches briefly. Infield coach Ryan Goins is still out. …
Closer Kenley Jansen was scheduled to throw live batting practice Thursday. Jansen and setup man Ben Joyce are each expected to pitch “soon” in Cactus League games, Washington said. …
Washington said the Angels are still doing tests on right-hander Sam Bachman, who said earlier this week he’s “working through a little bit of stuff.”