TEMPE, Ariz. — While the Angels still seem unsure about Yoán Moncada’s availability for Opening Day, Moncada seems much more optimistic.
“I feel like I’m going to be ready for Opening Day,” Moncada said through an interpreter on Monday. “That’s what I’m aiming for right now. That’s my mindset.”
Moncada suffered a bruised right thumb last week. Since then he’s been unable to throw or hit, but he did take some ground balls on Monday.
Moncada said he’s not sure when he’ll try to increase his work.
“Just day to day,” he said. “Based on that, we’ll be implementing more things to get ready and get better.”
Manager Ron Washington also sounded more hopeful on Monday than he did on Sunday.
“We all recover from deep bruises differently,” Washington said. “So I hoping he’s a quick recoverer. That’s great news. We’re just gonna keep working and hope that when Opening Day shows up, he’ll be there.”
Moncada, 29, has been penciled in to be the Angels everyday third baseman. He’s been injured often over the previous three years, which is why the Angels were able to get him for just $5 million for this season. Last year Moncada played just 12 games.
If Moncada can’t play third, Luis Rengifo is the most likely starter. Rengifo just came back from a hamstring issue. There was concern about him, but he alleviated that by stealing a base on Sunday. He was back in the lineup on Monday.
“You see him steal that base?” Washington said. “I said, ‘Well, there’s nothing wrong with his legs.’ All he has to do is keep seeing pitches. We know he’s going to make contact and put the ball in play. He’s ramping it up. He’s feeling good. Just hope he can stay on the program we’ve got him on and he should be ready for Opening Day if we have no setbacks.”
If both Moncada and Rengifo are able to play, Rengifo would play second.
The player who would then be pushed to the bench would be Tim Anderson, who now looks like a safe bet to make the roster in some capacity.
Anderson is hitting .243 with a .651 OPS this spring, but he’s steadily improved after a 2-for-17 start.
“The more reps that I’ve been getting, the more comfortable I’ve been feeling,” Anderson said. “The hitting staff is unbelievable. Just being able to talk the same language. It’s been a minute since I had that. Just being on top of the thing that I’ve been working on every day, and the work is showing, and I’m excited about that. I’m excited where I’m at. I feel pretty comfortable.”
If Anderson does make the Opening Day roster, he would play against the White Sox in Chicago. Anderson was a batting champ and a two-time All-Star with the White Sox.
“I definitely thought about it,” Anderson said. “But you know, I don’t want to get too far ahead. I want to take this thing a step at a time, and I don’t want to look too far out that way. I don’t want to trip over anything super close. So I’ve definitely been taking it a day at a time. But if that ever presents itself, then, yeah, that’d be exciting to be able to go out there and hopefully kick their butts.”
The spot for Anderson has been cleared by the defensive issues that both Kyren Paris and Christian Moore have shown.
Washington spoke about both on Monday morning in terms that suggested the Angels would like both to get more seasoning in the minors.
“They have taken tremendous strides, but it’s the little things that you gather by playing the game that they have to get,” Washington said. “Decision making, that’s paramount. Decision making. Those guys certainly are in our future, and they’re going to be good baseball players, but they’ve just got to keep gaining experience by being on the field and having an opportunity to react to those things that we see them doing. I think they’re going to get it. They work hard. They ask questions. They want to be good, but we got to understand too, they are young.”
LUGO’S CAMP
Outfielder Matthew Lugo has made an impression this spring, even though the Angels don’t appear to have a spot for him with Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, Jorge Soler, Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak having locked jobs.
Lugo, who was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in the Luis Garcia deal last July, is hitting .326 with an .832 OPS this spring.
Even if Lugo, 23, doesn’t crack the Opening Day roster, he’s established himself as a competent replacement when there’s an injury.
“We were told that he could swing the bat, and he showed us that,” Washington said. “The rest of his game, he just got to keep working on it till his opportunity presents itself. And we’re not out of camp yet. But, he’s very impressive. Been very impressive. We know we’ve got that piece if he doesn’t make this team.”
NOTES
The Angels sent down right-hander Michael Peterson, bringing the club close to settling its eight-man bullpen. Right-handers Kenley Jansen, Ben Joyce and Ryan Zeferjahn and left-handers Brock Burke and José Quijada are locks for the bullpen. Left-hander José Suarez still has an inside track at the long reliever job, even though he had a rough outing in his previous game. The Angels also have left-hander Garrett McDaniels (a Rule 5 pick) and right-hander Ryan Johnson in camp. They could also put one of their starter candidates — Jack Kochanowicz, Reid Detmers or Chase Silseth — in the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever. …
The Angels also sent down catcher Juan Flores. The 19-year-old was never a candidate to make the roster, but they wanted to keep him around to work with catching instructor Jerry Narron. …
Jansen, who has been away because of the death of his mother, will throw to hitters in a simulated game on Tuesday. …
The Angels wore green caps on Monday because of St. Patrick’s Day.