The Angels are parting ways with hitting coach Jeremy Reed, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). The club has yet to announce the news, but it seems they’ll soon be looking for a new hitting coach to work under manager Phil Nevin.
Reed, 41, has spent the past four seasons in the role. His hiring came within a few weeks of the tabbing of Brad Ausmus as manager, but the Halos have had a fair bit of managerial turnover in the few seasons since then. Ausmus lasted just one year on the job before Joe Maddon was hired going into the 2020 season. Maddon held the position for two-plus seasons but was dismissed in June, with Nevin tabbed as his replacement on an interim basis. Nevin signed a one-year deal and had the interim tag removed after the 2022 campaign wrapped up.
The Halos were a below-average offensive team over the past four seasons. Since the start of 2019, they rank 22nd in runs scored. They’re 21st in on-base percentage and 18th in slugging. This past season was a particular struggle, as the Halos mustered only a .297 OBP (one of five teams to reach base at a sub-.300 clip). The ranked 15th with a .390 slugging mark, but no MLB team struck out more often than the Angels’ 25.7% rate. Of the 11 Anaheim hitters to top 200 plate appearances, just four (Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo) posted a wRC+ better than the 100 league average.
As with any coach, Reed certainly can’t shoulder all the blame for the Halos’ subpar performance. Los Angeles has run out top-heavy rosters for the past few seasons, and this year’s group was no exception. The Angels lost Anthony Rendon and David Fletcher for extended stretches, leaving them to rely more than anticipated on players like Andrew Velazquez and Matt Duffy. The Halos also saw sharp regressions from Jared Walsh and Max Stassiboth of whom had seemed to break out earlier in Reed’s tenure as hitting coach.
That said, the Halos have also seen some highly-touted young players struggle at the big league level. Left fielder Jo Adell is the most prominent example, as the former top prospect has managed just a .215/.259/.356 line through his first 161 MLB games. Brandon Marsh had serviceable numbers overall but significant strikeout concerns that presumably contributed to the Halos’ willingness to deal him for catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe at this past trade deadline. Adell and O’Hoppe could both play key roles on next year’s team as the Angels try to snap an eight-year playoff drought.
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