Ron Washington's lineup construction plans show why the Angels' coach is on thin ice

Luckily for Angels fans, managers have control over the batting order but not to the same degree as they did back in the good ol' days. Front offices, specifically members of the Player Development and the R&D departments, weigh in on how they believe an optimal lineup should be deployed given a player's projections and the game plan that day against a pitching matchup. Even the most casual fans know that the best place for the Angels to hit a future first ballot (and potentially unanimous) Hall of Famer, Mike Trout, is in the 2-hole...but apparently that's not a priority for Ron Washington.

Per Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register:

"Washington said Rengifo, Newman and Anderson are the leading candidates to hit second, which would be after Taylor Ward and before Mike Trout and Jorge Soler.

'I always describe the second hole as a situational guy,' Washington said. 'A guy that can hit the ball to the right side, a guy that can bunt, a guy that can hit and run, a guy that can use the squeeze. He’s going to get 400 at-bats if he’s an everyday player, to do whatever he wants to do with his at-bats. But sometimes in that position, I need you to execute, and I need a guy in that position that’s not selfish.'"

Fletcher

Ron Washington's lineup construction plans show why the Angels' coach is on thin ice

Washington opines about his long and storied history within the game, but are we sure that the game has not passed him by? This potential every-day lineup construction is something out of the mid-1990s. If Washington actually pencils in Luis Rengifo, Kevin Newman, or Tim Anderson ahead of Mike freaking Trout with some consistency, then fans might as well start packing his bags for him. This would show an utter disregard of modern analytics and roster-building in the most obtuse way. Heck, Trout has only hit second in his career 832 times, maybe it's possible he needs to get moved off there AND centerfield to really unlock him?!?? Brilliant plan, Ron!

You can trust the data or not, Ron, but the optics of hitting any of those three ahead of Trout is next-level bad. MLB fans already laugh enough at the Angels, do not give them more jokes at our expense. Rengifo is a player the team has no interest in extending, Newman is making $2.75 million, and Anderson is on a minor league contract. You can say "I don't care how much money a player makes" but to actually believe any of those three should hit second of all places is utter lunacy. They are on those contracts for a reason and barely even starting-caliber MLB players.

There's a large enough sample size to show that none of Rengifo, Newman, or Anderson are about to tear it up in 2025. You know who might hit kind of well this year? Trout, Taylor Ward, Jorge Soler, Nolan Schanuel, and Logan O'Hoppe? Even Travis d'Arnaud! Those guys all need to be far ahead of those three platoon players in the lineup.

Washington will be penciling the incorrect 1 and 2-hole hitters, as he hinted that Ward will hit first and Soler fourth already. Not the right call. He even downplayed Zach Neto and where he might hit once he's back from his shoulder injury. Absurdity. What are we even talking about here, Ron?

Luis Rengifo is taking at bats against Asian Breeze these days, because he is being bogged down by yet another injury. The 2024 Diamondbacks were an absolute unit offensively, and Kevin Newman still could only post a .298 wOBA and 89 wRC+. Plus, he has not been that good since 2019. Speaking of not good since 2019, Tim Anderson was out of the league last year. This is completely nonsensical, and old-school stuff for the sake of being old-school from our guy Ron.

Ron Washington is showing why the Angels are in no hurry to extend his contract anytime soon. The entirety of the coaching staff is on the hot seat in 2025, and Washington's doing his guys no favors here. Retaining every coach the season after the worst in franchise history is one thing, but add in potentially another terrible season that everybody can see is coming... and there is a 0% chance of every coach coming back once more. Washington is the poster child for this group. For what it's worth, Albert Pujols surely would never even consider batting Trout anywhere but second, especially in favor of slap-hitters who aren't even that good at slapping the ball.

Angels fans should consider themselves lucky that Washington did not manage Shohei Ohtani AND Trout, as he probably would have stuck David Fletcher in between those two guys because he can ground out to second really well.

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