TEMPE, Ariz. — Ron Washington doesn’t care that Anthony Rendon is no longer a power hitter.
The Angels manager said he’s still planning to hit his third baseman in the cleanup spot.
“You don’t have to be in the fourth spot and third spot and be a home run hitter,” Washington said. “You’ve just to be a consistent hitter, and that’s what Rendon is. We’ve just got to get him back to consistency. But hitting in the middle of the lineup, that’s where Rendon is going to be.”
None of this is going to apply if Rendon is on the injured list, as he’s been for most of the last three seasons. When Rendon is there, though, Washington wants to take advantage of what he does well, rather than worrying about what he doesn’t.
Rendon averaged 26 homers during his final four seasons with the Washington Nationals, but he’s hit only 22 homers in 200 games with the Angels.
Over the last two seasons, though, Rendon has a .269 average with runners in scoring position, with only 13 strikeouts in 110 plate appearances.
Besides having Rendon in the middle, Washington already has some other firm ideas about how he’d like his lineup to look during the season.
He’s already changed his mind about the leadoff spot. Last week he said he wanted first baseman Nolan Schanuel to hit leadoff, which was a nod to his .402 on-base percentage in his big league debut last year. Now, though, Washington said he’d rather have Schanuel hit second.
“The way he can handle the bat, I think he can be a big asset for us in that second hole,” Washington said. “We’ll work it out down here in spring training and see where it goes. If anything changes, I’m quite sure you guys will ask me that question. But right now down, when we start, I’m gonna put him in the second hole.”
Washington said he changed his mind because he wanted “somebody that’s got a little bit of speed” leading off. He identified outfielder Mickey Moniak and infielder Luis Rengifo as the most likely candidates for the top of the lineup. Each hit leadoff for stretches last season.
Shortstop Zach Neto also hit leadoff at times in 2023, but Neto told Washington that he wants to hit ninth.
“He said he loves restarting,” Washington said. “He loves turning the lineup over. He wants to be on the bag and score some runs for those guys.”
Washington said he’s tentatively planning on Mike Trout hitting third, followed by Rendon, outfielder Taylor Ward, second baseman Brandon Drury and catcher Logan O’Hoppe.
The No. 8 spot could be either Jo Adell or Aaron Hicks, with Neto rounding out the lineup.
Although Washington said he’d rather have a set lineup and not too many platoons, Rengifo and Hicks are much better against left-handed pitchers, and Moniak is much better against righties.
Matt Thaiss, who is in line to be the backup catcher, is more likely to start against right-handed pitchers.
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NOTES
The Angels’ Cactus League opener, against the Dodgers on Saturday at Tempe Diablo Stadium, is already sold out. Shohei Ohtani is not scheduled to play in that game. The Angels play the Dodgers again on March 5, at the Dodgers’ home ballpark in Glendale. …
Outfielder Nelson Rada, one of the Angels’ top prospects, is in big league camp, even though he’s just 18. “He doesn’t carry himself like he’s 18,” Washington said. “He has a lot of confidence in what he’s doing. We’ll see what that confidence does once we start getting him in some real games against some big league players and big league pitching. But right now this kid is handling himself well.”