Jo Adell thinks he found his way before his injury, but Angels fans should be skeptical

Jo Adell thinks he may have found the last piece to the puzzle to axe his struggles as a hitter. Before the Angels' outfielder landed on the 60-day IL due to another oblique injury, Adell made a mechanical adjustment at the plate that has shown a vast improvement across every metric.

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register lays out the numbers nicely after reporting that Adell's removal of the leg kick is the reason why he saw an uptick in consistent production on offense. Adell elected for the toe tap and threw the former leg kick to the curb, which gained a newfound confidence in Adell. He was not swinging and missing as much, nor was he offering at pitches out of the zone as often.

Adell will be arbitration eligible this winter. Considering the amount of injuries and cold streaks that Adell has endured, his time with Los Angeles could be over. However, Adell seems sure that his worst days are behind him thanks to the toe tap, but should Angels fans trust this will fix everything for him?

In Fletcher's article, he quotes Angels manager Ron Washington several times saying that Adell is perhaps not over the mental hill just yet. Washington mentions that Adell needs to be mentally stronger, and that he cannot afford to continue giving away at-bats. Washington was pleased with Adell's defensive ability each night and his improvement on the base paths.

Washington not being 100 percent sold on Adell in totality is a bit of a red flag, however. Adell has the entire offseason to reflect and improve even more, but that isn't the main concern for the Angels keeping Adell.

He is 25 years old and has sustained two major left oblique injuries within the last two seasons. His left abdomen also kept out of playing long-term in 2021, too. Adell has fallen to several injuries, and unfortunately it has been in the same area every time. Injuries in that particular area are difficult to fully heal, especially for a strong player like Adell.

This is a murky path to navigate for the Angels. They can't bear to sign another injury-prone outfielder long-term. It's just too touchy of a subject after watching Mike Trout continually get hurt. Adell has made some positive changes to his rollercoaster career, but his constant strains are just too difficult to overlook.