ANAHEIM ― Acting manager Ray Montgomery and interim manager Phil Nevin can watch the Angels’ game in Houston together on Sunday, and do so again Tuesday in Miami. They can even sit wherever they please – as long as it isn’t in the Angels’ dugout.
As a result of the overlapping suspensions to Montgomery and Nevin, a temporary manager and bench coach will be needed for two of the Angels’ nine games on their upcoming road trip. As of Wednesday, those roles remain unfilled.
The situation is more unusual than impractical. Nevin replaced Joe Maddon, who was fired on June 7. Montgomery replaced Nevin, who was suspended for 10 games for his role in the sequence of events that led to a benches-clearing brawl between the Angels and Seattle Mariners on Sunday. Montgomery was suspended for two games, which he’ll serve Sunday and Tuesday. Monday is a travel day.
The Angels’ manager for the two games will be their fourth this season. Neither Nevin nor Montgomery – the bench coach to both Nevin and Maddon – had managed a major league game before this month. The other uniformed coaches are just as short on experience.
Dividing the in-game tasks won’t be easy.
“I don’t say you take things for granted, but when you have people in roles, you feel very comfortable with what people give you during the game,” Montgomery said. “Obviously I was in a support role, so I was giving Phil as much information as he would need. We had a nice rapport going there. Same with Joe.”
With fewer people around to help with in-game decisions, the greatest possible stress point lies in accessing and applying the reams of information at the team’s disposal. To allay the workload, so far a number of different coaches have taken on more duties.
“Jeremy (Reed, the hitting coach) stepped up,” Montgomery said. “Benji (Gil, the infield positioning coach) stepped up. Gags (third base coach Mike Gallego) has stepped up. Guys are contributing and helping out. Have we missed a beat? I wouldn’t say that, but are we doing fine? Sure.”
Nevin said managing the bullpen is the tallest task.
“A little of the pinch-hitting, pinch-running kind of things,” he said. “But the pitching stuff is really – we spend a lot of time on that before the games, but the game can speed up once in a while in certain situations. You have to be prepared at all times, looking ahead an inning or two: ‘if this happens, if that happens.’”
Nevin and Montgomery are still allowed to participate in the team’s pre- and post-game meetings under the terms of their suspensions. Nevin’s record will be credited with the result of all 10 games he misses.
SILSETH STAYS
Chase Silseth will apparently remain in the Angels’ rotation. The rookie right-hander still had a locker in the clubhouse one day after throwing 4⅓ innings on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. He did not factor into the decision in an 11-4 loss.
The Angels will use Thursday’s off-day to give all their pitchers an extra day of rest. That means Silseth won’t start this weekend in Houston. Michael Lorenzen (Friday), Patrick Sandoval (Saturday) and Jose Suarez (Sunday) will.
“I thought (Silseth) threw the ball extremely well (Tuesday) until the fifth inning,” Montgomery said. “Ran into some trouble. He was great up until that point. Hope to get some more innings from him.”
INJURY UPDATES
David Fletcher took batting practice on the field for the first time since he had surgery in May. The infielder had been limited to taking batting practice indoors in the Angels’ batting cage. Fletcher also took ground balls on the field.
Reliever Austin Warren (triceps) walked two batters in a scoreless inning during his rehab appearance Tuesday with Triple-A Salt Lake. It was his first game action since suffering the injury on June 17.
ALSO
Juan Lagares cleared waivers and elected free agency. The Angels had designated the veteran outfielder for assignment on June 24.
UP NEXT
The Angels are off Thursday.
Angels (RHP Michael Lorenzen, 6-5, 4.24 ERA) at Houston (TBD), Friday, 5 p.m., Apple TV+, 830 AM
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