TEMPE, Ariz. — When José Suarez returned to the majors from his demotion to Triple-A last year, Ron Washington sensed that the left-hander had a new attitude.
The Angels manager believes Suarez finally understood the consequences of his performance.
“If (a demotion) never happened, it’s never a part of your mindset,” Washington said. “Now it happened to you, it puts you on alert. And you should be on alert. That’s for any player. He’s on alert now. Now he’s making certain that he’s the way he’s supposed to be.”
Suarez has lost 20 pounds from his peak last year, which is the most visible demonstration of how he’s trying to reboot a once-promising career that has gone off the rails.
“Now, my mentality is way different,” Suarez said. “When I’m in a game, it’s more serious.”
Suarez said he’s also stopped experimenting with different pitches, instead sticking to a fastball, changeup and slider.
He gave up a solo homer in two innings in his spring debut Monday. Bench coach Ray Montgomery, who was running the team that day because Washington was sick, said he was impressed.
“I like the way he attacked the zone,” Montgomery said. “He left the one pitch up. I don’t have a problem with that. Just his mound presence, his tempo, his rhythm, I thought it was good. Used the heater. Commanded the fastball. I thought it was good.”
Suarez, 27, hasn’t been good much in the past couple years, after an encouraging start to his career.
In 2021, Suarez posted a 3.75 ERA over 98⅓ innings at age 23. The next season, he had a 3.96 ERA in 109 innings. That sample size was big enough for the Angels to give him a long leash as he pitched poorly in the two years since.
The organization finally ran out of patience with him in June, after he gave up five runs in one inning in San Francisco. Suarez was out of options, but at that point he’d pitched so badly that no one else claimed him on waivers. He was outrighted to Triple-A.
The Angels brought him back to the big leagues in September, and he had a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings, which was enough for them to keep him on the 40-man roster all winter.
“This year is very important,” Suarez said. “I feel really good. I lost a lot of weight. I worked real hard because I want to pitch really well, better than last year. I want to be like ’21 and ’22.”
Suarez smiled and admitted another reason for the improved conditioning.
“I want to look good on TV.”
If he’s going to be pitching on TV as a big-leaguer, he will need to win a spot, most likely as a long man in the bullpen. He’s still out of options, so that could give him an edge if there’s a close decision between him and a pitcher who has options.
A BIG-LEAGUE TASTE
Right-hander George Klassen made a good impression with his first appearance in a big-league spring training game this week.
Klassen, the top prospect the Angels received in the Carlos Estévez trade last summer, pitched a scoreless inning against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
“It was definitely a surreal moment,” Klassen said Friday. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous going into it. But as soon as a batter stepped in, it’s just a game.”
Klassen, 23, is an intriguing story. At the University of Minnesota, he was known for a triple-digit fastball and control problems. He walked 47 and struck out 49 in 56⅔ innings in his final college season.
Phillies pitching coaches helped him clean up his mechanics, and he cut the walks and increased the strikeouts. At the time of the trade, he had walked 21 and struck out 89 in his first 59⅓ professional innings.
After the trade, he struck out 46 and walked 25 in 33⅔ innings in the Angels’ system, so there’s clearly still work to do.
In his Cactus League debut, he did not have a walk or a strikeout. He gave up two hits, and one runner was erased trying to go to second on a pitch in the dirt. His fastball averaged 96.4 mph and topped out at 97.4 mph.
“I thought he settled himself down pretty good,” Montgomery said Tuesday. “He attacked the zone. It was good.”
NOTES
Relievers Kenley Jansen and Ben Joyce are scheduled to pitch in their first games of the spring Saturday. The Angels think each needs only six or seven outings in the spring, so they did not pitch in any of the games in the first week. …
Left-hander José Quijada was slowed earlier in the spring by a minor skin issue, but he’s back to throwing. …
Left-hander Sam Aldegheri has not pitched in a game yet because he “was a little weak in the beginning, so we pulled him out to build him up a little bit,” Washington said. Aldegheri threw to hitters this week. …
Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz pitched in a simulated game Friday morning. He missed his turn in the regular rotation Thursday because he’d been sick. The Angels debated having him pitch in relief of one of their two split-squad games Friday, but ultimately decided to have him pitch in a more controlled environment. He is now scheduled to start in a Cactus League game Tuesday.
Luis Rengifo, who missed some time at the start of camp with an illness, was at third base in his spring debut Friday. Washington said they will move him around throughout camp, including a chance in center field.