CLEVELAND — Vaughn Grissom has been working out in left field, and Oswald Peraza is going to soon join him.
The Angels are looking for some flexibility with two of their hotter hitters who don’t currently have everyday spots in the lineup.
“They both have the ability to play all over the field, and if they can play some outfield too, I think it just expands what they can do for the team,” manager Kurt Suzuki said Tuesday.
While fans have been clamoring for Grissom and Peraza to play every day, Suzuki said the current outfield experiment is aimed at putting them in left field against left-handed pitchers. Bryce Teodosio is the current left fielder for most games against a left-handed starter.
Peraza and Grissom are already starting every game against left-handed pitchers in the infield, so the way to really add to their playing time would be to find more spots for them against a right-hander.
Grissom, who started at second against a righty Tuesday, has done better against righties than Peraza this season.
If either of them can demonstrate competency in left field, it would open the door for Suzuki to play one of them over slumping Josh Lowe in left field, while still getting Yoán Moncada in the lineup at third.
Lowe and Moncada each had two hits in their last start together Saturday, so the Angels may be reluctant to pull the plug on either just yet.
Whatever happens, more positions for Grissom and Peraza open the door for more playing time.
Grissom has played seven games in left field in winter ball. Peraza has never played the position in a professional game. Still, Suzuki thinks they have the athletic ability to do it.
“With them being pretty good on the field with lateral footwork and stuff like that, I think it translates into the outfield,” Suzuki said. “Now it’s just about getting reads and stuff like that. I don’t necessarily see it as being an issue. I know outfield is harder than people think, but they’ll work on it and we’ll see what happens.”
RODRIGUEZ READY?
Suzuki said one of the options they are considering with right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is to make his next start in the major leagues.
“It’s definitely on the table that his next start could be up here,” Suzuki said. “I think once we get back home and talk to Perry (Minasian) and the pitching coaches and see what the best solution for Grayson and the team is.”
Rodriguez has not pitched in the majors since 2024. He had surgery to remove a bone spur frmo his right elbow last year, and the Angels have been bringing him back with exceptional caution. Once Rodriguez felt some stiffness in March, the Angels put him on the injured list and essentially gave him a second spring training.
He pitched in several intrasquad or simulated games in Anaheim and Arizona, and he’s pitched in two minor-league games, in rookie ball and Class-A. He allowed three runs in 9⅔ innings, with 18 strikeouts and two walks.
The next hole in the Angels’ rotation is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, the finale of the series against the Dodgers. The Angels also could shuffle the rotation to insert a starter on another day, though.
NOTES
Suzuki said the Angels still don’t know when right-hander Ben Joyce is going to pitch again. Joyce (shoulder surgery) pitched in four games, with two or three days between each outing, but they recently decided to slow him down because he wasn’t bouncing back as well as they hoped. …
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe (fractured hand) played Monday in Arizona and was transferred to Triple-A to play Tuesday. The Angels are hoping to get O’Hoppe back in the lineup Friday, although that’s not set in stone.
Left-hander Brent Suter, who is a part of the MLB Players Assn. executive committee, said he participated in a Zoom call earlier this week, in advance for the formal start of negotiations on Tuesday. Suter said this is about the same time of year that negotiations began in 2021, the last time the CBA was expiring. “There’s certainly difference of opinions, difference of ideas and all that stuff, but both sides demonstrated a willingness and an eagerness to get creative and find a way to grow the game together, which is great,” Suter said. “That’s a great place to start.”
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 1-3, 4.33) at Guardians (LHP Parker Messick, 4-1, 2.30), 10:10 a.m. PT Wednesday, ABTV, 830 AM