MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 6, 2022

Phil Nevin

Los Angeles Angels

Press Conference

Q. What do you think of your bullpen currently?

PHIL NEVIN: I liked them before. And anything we can add to it, nice having a big arm down there that's pitched the back end of games. Big dude. Proven to be durable over his career.

So, exciting. Anytime we can add big arms like that. Carlos is going to get a chance to pitch at the end of the game. I know you guys saw how we ran the bullpen last year. If he emerges as a guy that can finish games like that, I think there's things in his arsenal that we'll be able to add and help him with.

I know the big story is, well, he pitched in Colorado. To me that's a lot. After managing in Reno for three years, you have that mentality, talking to Buddy Black he wanted the ball all the time. Nothing ever phased him out there.

The pitchers I had in Reno, when they entered games, when they wanted the ball, when they wanted to pitch, nothing phased them there. They just understood they had to keep making pitches, they became a Major League player. I think a lot of that will happen with Carlos being out of there. Really excited to have him.

Q. How do you see the middle infield right now based on who (indiscernible) you currently have -- if it's Urshela, (indiscernible) or Fletcher, how does that kind of line up?

PHIL NEVIN: The best way I can answer that, I got asked the same question when we signed, when we traded for Gio. I don't have to make a lineup on December 6. I certainly sit and brainstorm and do that a lot.

There's so many things are going to happen before Opening Day. The fact is we have a lot of options, we have a lot of depth, and it's something that we struggled with in the past when we've had injuries.

You don't plan to have injuries but the fact is they happen. And we know we're deeper. We know we're stronger. We know at full strength how deep our lineup is and how much it's lengthened us out.

I'm excited to have all of them. Gio and I have a great relationship from the Yankees. He Facetimed right away. It was a pretty cool call.

New Hunter from his days here in San Diego. Managing against him in the minor leagues. Tyler obviously pitched against us this year, being around the teams that I have and you create relationships with people, you ask questions. And you find out about guys.

These, all three are good dudes in the clubhouse, for one, and obviously are going to help us out a lot on the field.

Q. You obviously made some changes with the coaching staff. What are the thoughts on your coaching staff you put together?

PHIL NEVIN: Difficult ones, really were. There were some friends I had to have difficult conversations with.

At the end of the day I just felt for us to be at the top of our game for our hitters, for our pitchers, for our defensive players, our game planning, everything going forward, I was given the opportunity to do this.

You always have had those thoughts in your head, people that you want with you and that didn't really change. There was a lot of guys that impressed me while they were there. But there's people that I've worked with before that I just know that, I know how they run the room. I know how the players respond to them.

And it was just a comfort level, for one, but I know how talented they are as well. Being around Marcus for the four years I was in New York, certainly we were close friends. But I'll give you a line that I'll use. I'm not here to make friends. I'm not here to keep friends. I'm here to help my players become better and win baseball games.

And that's really what went into my decision-making. As difficult as those conversations were, I know we're better right now because of the guys we brought in.

Q. Terry said you had a dinner with David Fletcher I guess the other day. And he shared with you a lot of things that he feels like he's done differently, improved. Can you tell us why you --

PHIL NEVIN: I think players, throughout their career, you're constantly having to change and make changes either with your body or mentally. And it was a challenging year for Fletch.

The injury he had is a very difficult one to deal with, with the core injury. And I think he understands he needs to add a little bit to his body, add some flexibility but also add some strength. And it's not something that has been his strong point in the past.

But referred to dinner with Fletch, I've gone around and I met with all of our players and tried to reach out to each one. I was in the same town, was in Chicago for a football game a few weeks back. Took Max out to dinner. He's in a great place right now.

Those relationships we create those last three months of the season that I thought were invaluable to our group. Want to keep those going, whether it's through text messages getting some face-to-face time with guys. And I think it's important as you guys got to know me over the last few months.

For me that's huge. That clubhouse and that group and the relationships we've all created. I want them to keep being strong.

I know the players have text chains and things like that. And we do as coaches. And I do with my players. And that's just the way I think that -- I just think it's something that makes us stronger.

Q. So Fletcher, his physical stuff, (indiscernible) like changing his swing?

PHIL NEVIN: Yeah, no, I think you're always making efforts to change your swing, to get better with your swing. But I think we saw glimpses of what the old Fletch was towards the end of the year.

But at the end of the day adding a little bit of strength to him as well will help a little bit. He looked good. His shoulders looked a little broader. He just got back from Italy, too, so it might have been the wine and cheese.

Q. You talked to me about (indiscernible), what do you see -- some progress and being able to kind of prepare for the next season and some of the things that you would like to see him improve upon?

PHIL NEVIN: Well, first, I think everybody that was around us last year knows how I feel about Joe. And the relationship that I have with him is something that I feel really good about.

I love the kid. I love his work ethic. I love the way he goes about his game. He's a talented guy. But he's 22 years old and he was rushed here. And he really hasn't had one place to play or get better and create those valuable relationships with a coach or where he can be comfortable and get better.

And we're going to continue that all offseason. I know he's been going to the complex three times a week, and still doing his outfield drills, which I know that sounds, only three times a week, but in the offseason really players aren't doing stuff on the field baseball-wise.

A lot of guys certainly don't start hitting til about now, certainly not doing defensive stuff until January. And Joe continued that through the season. He knows how important it is for him and his career. Love him. Where it puts us right now, refer back to the question I answered earlier: Those things will play themselves out as we get closer to Opening Day. But I certainly expect Joe to have a hand in a lot of the success we're going to have next year.

Q. How have you improved the consistency as far as him getting that consistency to be able to grow?

PHIL NEVIN: Repetition. It really is for Joe. It's repetition. It's getting to play. It's being in one place around people that he cares about and feels comfortable with.

He's somebody that, the guys are starting to -- he mixes in well in our locker room. I'm not sure that was the case in the past. And I think he fits in great with our group and he's a big part of this. He really is.

And he's a talented guy. If you look around the room, I'll put him up with Mike as far as the talent level goes. Am I saying he's Mike Trout? Absolutely not. I would never compare players, make those comparisons. I don't like doing that.

You watch him take BP, he hits the ball farther than anybody. You watch him throw in the outfield, he throws better than anybody. He threw 95, 96 in high school. You watch him field balls in the outfield. You watch him run the bases, he's in the elite category in all those levels.

And how it's going to be all put together on the field at one time, I think it's going to come at some point. And you're going to see a really really good Major League player.

Q. Ohtani's agent says he'd be open to pitching in a five-man rotation. But I know you guys probably haven't made a decision on that. Is that something that's part of the conversation that you guys will have about possibly using five-man rotation if he's open to it in particular?

PHIL NEVIN: I think it probably depends if there's another acquisition, if there's another guy that emerges in that 6 spot. Are we going to go with a five-man rotation? My answer is no. But I think Shohei will pitch on that day as much as possible.

Q. So he'll go five days as often as possible?

PHIL NEVIN: Yeah, I don't want him to have those extra days unless we feel like he needs it. There's some things that pop up throughout the year. If he needs an extra day due to a day off or whatever.

But if there's a day off, I'm going to skip somebody to get Shohei all his innings. I don't want it to come down to the end of the season -- and not necessarily for personal accolades or anything like that. The fact is it's Shohei Ohtani, and I want him out there every time he's able to pitch.

I also don't want it to come down the last series of the season like we did last year and he needed four innings to qualify for an ERA title or strike out per inning or anything like that. He needs to be used and we will.

Q. Have you talked to Anthony Rendon about how is he feeling, what is his (indiscernible) as far as his health?

A. I talked to Anthony quite a bit. As you know, he left the season last year very healthy. We got him back on the field those last couple of days without having any rehab starts, just doing stuff in practice leading up to that, which is not normal.

But there's something for him, for his peace of mind to know that he was ready to go. And now he's spending the winter just adding to his body strength, adding to what he can do. He's never felt better. I think this year for Anthony's mind more than anything was huge.

For us, what I saw in him, when he had a surgery in May, he could have packed it in, gone home to Texas and done his rehab there. But he chose to stay with our group. And you guys knew where we were record-wise, but he chose to stay there and be part of the guys. He was a leader amongst that room. He helped a lot of the guys.

I mentioned Joe earlier. Their bond became really strong. And I think he made a lot of guys around him better and emerged as that leader in that room, which was I think we needed and I think he'll continue to do that.

And he's on the field every day. It makes it even better. And looking forward to having a Anthony for the entire season. Obviously he's a big part of this.

We missed out on a lot of things those last two months and were still able to play right around power play .500 baseball. That was without Mike the entire time and Anthony the whole time. Jared Walsh wasn't out there.

Even veteran pieces we added to help when guys went down -- Matt Duffy was hurt; Fletch was hurt -- just knowing having all those guys back on top of what we've added now, it's pretty exciting to think about what we can do.

Q. Do you have a total tally of how many guys will be in the WBC? Could it be a little disruptive with so many absences that time of year?

PHIL NEVIN: We were just talking about that. And I think we are right around 12 and a couple of coaches. I'm not worried about it at all.

What I've told those guys, what I've told some other interview, had some other interviews here, couldn't be more happy for those guys. One of the highlights of my career was in college getting to play in the Olympics in Barcelona, wearing U.S.A. across my chest.

And for these guys to have that opportunity to represent their countries in this atmosphere, go have at it. I would never step in their way, tell them to do anything different other than to go out and compete their ass off for their countries.

It's an awesome experience. I'm looking forward to coming home from work during the day and what we do in the mornings and watching baseball games at night and watching my guys get after it.

I met the general manager for Team Japan last night. And I joked around. I said, you heard Shohei. (Laughter).

I said, no, you let him play. I said you let him do what he wants. And there's nobody I trust more with his body than Sho.

All those guys, I'm looking forward to seeing them play and hearing their stories while they're there and when they get back being part of our group.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of these guys, and looking forward to them having those experiences and coming back and sharing with us.

Q. What have you thought of the overall just like what the team has done, moves-wise this offseason? Where do you still feel there could be additions made or where you would like to see additions made?

PHIL NEVIN: I think we're always trying to get better in whatever areas we feel we need. If there's something that comes up that makes us stronger that is within what we're able to do.

Perry is relentless in what he does. I've gotten texts at 3:00 in the morning, I've gotten calls at 5:00, 6:00 in the morning. You guys all know how he works, how he goes about his business. It's been pretty impressive to watch.

The times we've been together one-on-one doing these things in a group, in the group setting here, has really been cool to be a part of.

Always thinking how we get better, what we can do. The moves you can make, players move around. I love what we've done. I think I just talked about what we did the last two months with what we had and then to add on top of that the guys that are going to be coming back from injury. Also the things that we've added from outside. It's exciting to think about where we're going.

Q. Do you see Renfroe in right field and Ward in left? Where do you see that?

PHIL NEVIN: We've talked about both. We talked about what it means for Ward to move over to left. Hunter has played both, played both at a high level. I think Ward played a really good right field for us.

It's a little bigger at home on the left side. How it looks for us, I don't know yet. I think they're both comfortable in either spot. Talk to both of them. They'll do anything for the team.

And they both played first base a little bit. I mean, I'm not saying that's going to happen. But I know that if I were to present anything with them, they'll just do whatever is best for the club. That's the kind of players that we've got, which makes my job easier.

But whether it's right and left, or vice versa with Hunter and Taylor, they're both going to be playing. And I think we'll be good with both in the lineup.

Q. Walsh and Urshela will platoon at first and second?

PHIL NEVIN: It could. We'll see how Walsh is after -- all signs point to him being back at 100 percent. He can also play the corners. You guys know in the outfield, plays a good first base. We'll see where he's at when he comes in.

The luxury I have is I've got a lot of different options and a lot of different bodies. And come March 28 or whatever it is, Opening Day, those decisions will probably play themselves out.

Q. [Off microphone].

PHIL NEVIN: I don't think it's a distraction at all. I mean, I read the same things you guys do. I'm not part of that.

But, no, I don't think it's a distraction at all. If anything, what we've been able to do this offseason and add I think it's just a credit to what our ownership is right now. And he's not just going to pack up and leave us stranded on an island. I think he still has a lot of love and care for our organization and the processes we're going through right now and we all respect each other in that way.

It's been nice to be able to just talk about these players and the discussions we've had internally amongst ourselves on how we can get better. It's been nice to have those and not have restrictions, as we say, and we certainly haven't this offseason.

Q. Does that process affect players at all? Do they talk about it? Do you get a sense that any of them really even think about it during the day?

PHIL NEVIN: I don't think so. At some point somebody else will be signing that big check over to them. Still spends the same.

Q. As long as the amount doesn't change, right?

PHIL NEVIN: And it won't. No. I don't think it does. And Arte has been great to the Angel organization, the Angel community. And I know he takes his -- I think anybody in a high profile position is subject to a lot of criticism. He unjustly gets that.

If you remember he's gone out and signed some of the biggest free agents in the past. We're just doing it a little bit different way this year.

He's always wanted to win. He's always brought us some great players. I grew up an Angel fan, as you guys know. I grew up in the area and followed it quite closely. And to just add some of the best players in this time or through the offseason they've always done that.

And Arte has always been a part of that. And the fact that we're able to do these things right now has been important to everybody that's involved in the organization.

Q. Still pretty early in the offseason, but as you look at the way the rest of the division is shaping up, who is moving where, deGrom goes to the Rangers, the players that the Angels have picked up and so forth, do you think there's a levelling up of the division, so much to say that perhaps it's one of the most competitive in baseball for 2023?

PHIL NEVIN: I mean, there's no doubt. I think our division is one of the better in baseball. It's getting better each day.

I'm excited to go to compete against Boch a little bit, somebody that I've obviously been around quite a bit in my life.

Our division is good. And we only have to play each other 12 times this year instead of 18 or 19, whatever it is. I can't worry about those things. We're not trying to compete -- if somebody gets somebody, do we grab somebody else.

We've just got to try to make us better and what's going to help us compete towards the end of the season and put us in the position to be one of the last teams standing. What happens in our division, they're able to do certain things, we're able to do things.

Q. Do you prefer that new schedule and not having to play 19 games in the division?

PHIL NEVIN: Yeah, I think it will be fun. I think it's great for the fans of the game. The National League cities are going to get to see Mike and Shohei and the rest of the guys for every other year in their city.

Yeah, I do. I do like it, as a matter of fact. You start looking at it, it really hasn't added much strain to where our travel is or anything like that.

And I've never been one to complain about that anyway. I'm under the normal person out here. We fly first class. We stay in nice places. That stuff doesn't bother me.

And the fact we get to see other cities and other teams, no, I think it would be great for the game and great for everybody.