ANAHEIM ― Davis Daniel’s 25th birthday celebration began with a call from his manager at Triple-A Salt Lake, Lou Marson, late Friday night (1 .a.m. Saturday) in Oklahoma City. It was the best gift a minor league manager can give a player. By Saturday morning, Daniel was on a flight to California, where he would join the Angels’ bullpen for their Saturday night game against the New York Mets.
Daniel couldn’t wait to share the news. He walked to a neighboring hotel to wake up his family, some of whom were in town from Alabama to watch the Salt Lake Bees play the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Daniel said they were able to catch a flight to California in time to attend Saturday’s game in person.
For Daniel, the Angels’ seventh-round draft pick out of Auburn in 2019, there was a sense the call was coming soon. His last three starts at Triple-A had been a breakthrough: 17⅔ innings, four earned runs, 18 strikeouts and only four walks. After going winless in his first six starts, the right-hander was credited with a win in each of his last three.
“It’s something that you want to expect but you never expect it until it happens,” Daniel said. “Getting that call in the middle of the night is not when I expected it. It all worked out the way it was supposed to.”
The real breakthrough, Daniel said, took place one outing prior to his mini-streak at Salt Lake. Pitching in Las Vegas on May 15, Daniel endured a rough third inning, allowing six runs. But he rattled off a changeup that got a little more break than usual. His left-handed opponent swung and missed at the pitch. He got “three or four” strikeouts against left-handers the rest of the game, then carried it over into his next start.
Throw in with the rest of his repertoire (fastball, slider, curveball), and the changeup made Daniel a more complete pitcher. Until recently it was “a decent pitch,” Daniel said. “I just didn’t have the confidence to throw it very much.”
Overall, Daniel limited Triple-A left-handers to a .219 batting average and .625 OPS (on-base plus slugging) this season. Righties had a .262 average and .824 OPS against him.
To make room for Daniel on the 40-man roster, the Angels designated outfielder Dillon Thomas for assignment. Thomas went 0 for 2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch in his only game Thursday against the Red Sox.
The 29-year-old outfielder was hitting .296 with a .398 on-base percentage and .489 slugging percentage in 48 games at Triple-A Salt Lake prior to his recall.
FARMING OUT ADELL
Outfielder Jo Adell was optioned to Triple-A following Friday’s game along with pitcher Jhonathan Diaz. It was the third time the Angels have optioned Adell this season.
When Adell last packed for Salt Lake on May 3, Phil Nevin was the team’s third base coach. Now, as interim manager, Nevin made the most of his conversation with the 23-year-old outfielder.
“It was a hard conversation. One of my first ones,” Nevin said. “I told him how proud I was of him. I can’t tell you how hard he worked on his defense. His jumps, his reads, coming in on the ball, going back on the ball – he worked on everything we talked about. His throws were great.”
Nevin explained that Diaz’s short start Friday against the Mets – the left-hander recorded just five outs – left the Angels short on fresh bullpen arms for the rest of the weekend. Keeping two outfielders on the bench was not an option on the day Mike Trout returned to the starting lineup.
Outfielder Taylor Ward is expected to be activated from the injured list Tuesday, so the choice was between keeping Adell or veteran Juan Lagares as the team’s fourth outfielder in the meantime. Nevin said the choice was simple.
“He needs to play, as everybody knows,” Nevin said of Adell. “He’ll be back. He’s going to go down and continue that work. He understood. He took it great. I told him we need to continue having these conversations. We’re going to continue to talk. I love the kid. Works his butt off. He’s earned the right to be up here. It’s just what had to be done yesterday.”
In six games (five starts) since his latest call-up, Adell went 7 for 19 (.368) with two doubles and two walks.
ALSO
Infielder Luis Rengifo was activated from the paternity list prior to Saturday’s game. … Ward said his right shoulder has loosened up significantly since he hurt it crashing into the wall on May 20. The “life” in his throws now, he said, “is something I didn’t have before (going on the injured list).” … Ward was placed on the 15-day IL Sunday with a right hamstring strain. … The Angels wore their Nike-designed “City Connect” jerseys for the first time. They are scheduled to wear the jerseys six more times in 2022, all home games: June 28 vs. the Chicago White Sox, July 15 vs. the Dodgers, July 28 vs. the Texas Rangers, Aug. 31 vs. the New York Yankees, Sept. 3 vs. the Houston Astros, and Sept. 16 vs. the Seattle Mariners. … Among those in attendance on Saturday: Japanese figure skater Yuma Kagiyama, who won the silver medal in men’s singles at the Winter Olympics in February.
UP NEXT
New York Mets (RHP Taijuan Walker, 3-2, 3.28 ERA) vs. Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 3-1, 2.81 ERA), Sunday, 4 p.m., ESPN, 830 AM
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