Breaking News: Angels to promote Jo Adell for MLB debut

The Los Angeles Angels have promoted the team’s top prospect Jo Adell and he will likely make his MLB debut on Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Angels didn’t want to rush Jo Adell to the major leagues. However, they’ve apparently seen enough of his tools to warrant promoting him.

After a pair of players were optioned to the alternate training facility early on Monday, speculation was already running rampant that Jo Adell was on his way. However, the move appears to be official, with Jon Heyman among several pundits reporting the Angels calling Adell up to the big league roster.

Adell easily ranks as the team’s top prospect and has garnered a ton of favor when compared to the game’s best farmhands. Heading into the season, MLB.com ranked him as the #6 prospect in the game, with Baseball Prospectus ranking him #2, and Baseball America ranking him the highest at #2.

At 21-years-old, Adell possesses one of the highest ceilings of any outfield prospect in the game. In 2019, he hit a combined .289/.359/.475 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI across three levels, culminating with his first promotion to Triple-A. That production came in a condensed, 76 games due to a preseason injury. He also showed well while playing in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .273/.351/.444 with three home runs and nine RBI.

It’s unknown as to what role Adell will play with the Angels or if this promotion is a long-term move. With the league mandating that teams shrink their rosters to 28 players by the end of the week, this could be a short-term call-up. However, it would be tough to imagine the Angels burning any service time (and a 40-man roster spot) for a three-day call-up.

The Halos currently have an outfield of Brian Goodwin, Justin Upton, and Taylor Ward, with Mike Trout expected to return from paternity leave on Tuesday. Adell is ideally slotted in as a corner outfielder, with most of his reps coming in right field.

The Angels have a few options to pursue with Adell. With Shohei Ohtani potentially out with an arm injury, Adell could slot in as the team’s designated hitter, as could Upton. Adell could also rotate between the corners to allow Goodwin and Upton a chance to freshen up their legs.

Regardless of how he is used, the team and fans will be excited to see him get a chance. Adell looked excellent in camp and was more than ready to handle major league pitching. Despite the strong camp, the Angels opted to keep him in the minors for the first few weeks to work on some further development. That is generally code for service time manipulation, a period that Adell has now passed without costing the Angels a year of service time.

As this will be the first time Adell is added to the 40-man roster, the Angels will need to make a move to accommodate him since they don’t have an open spot as of yet. That move will need to come before they can officially announce the move. However, it is expected to come prior to Tuesday’s game in Seattle.