The Angels Infield Defense Has Gotten Worse Under Ron Washington
It's not that hard. Tell 'em, Wash.
Ron Washington was hired as Angels manager for multiple reasons, but chief among them was his reputatation as the game’s best infield instructor.
Well, two months into his tenure as Angels manager, that label appears to be suspect at best and downright deceitful at worst.
In 2023, the Angels infield ranked 28th with -25 OAA, and they had -21 DRS.
Fast forward to today, with a third of the season completed, and the Angels infield defense has not gotten better— in fact, it has gotten worse.
In 2024, their infield ranks 28th in OAA at -14, and they have -1 DRS. Extrapolate that OAA number over the course of 162 games, and the Angels infield is on pace to finish with -41 OAA.
That would be tied for the 3rd worst mark amongst individual seasons by teams since 2017.
One might say that you can’t expect immediate results, which is fair. But a concerning trend exists when you further examine the numbers: the Angels infield defense was substantially worse in the month of May than it was in March/April.
In March/April, the Angels infield had -5 OAA.
In May, the Angels infield had -11 OAA.
Zach Neto is a young player who has been a notable “mentee” of Washington’s, yet his defense has regressed significantly this season, from 1 OAA in 2023 to -4 OAA in 2024.
Maybe they turn it around and we look back at this at the end of the season, regarding these as growing pains. But a lot is going to have to change in order for that to be the case, cause the results are deplorable as we sit here today.
(Header Image via MLB.com)