March 8, 2017 Page 1 of 8

Clips

(March 8, 2017)

March 8, 2017 Page 2 of 8

Today’s Clips Contents

FROM LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3)

 New Angels second baseman Danny Espinosa has true grit: a 'Dirtbag' pedigree and a David Eckstein game

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Page 5)

 For Angels Jesse Chavez, homecoming is just like old times

FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 7)

 Maldonado eyes 2nd shot to impress Angels

FROM BLEACHER REPORT (Page 8)

 Angels’ Albert Pujols could join 3,000-hit club in 2017

March 8, 2017 Page 3 of 8

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES .

New Angels second baseman Danny Espinosa has true grit: a 'Dirtbag' pedigree and a David Eckstein game

By Mike DiGiovanna

The image of a revered former Angel comes to mind as Manager Joe Maddon describes new Angels second baseman Danny Espinosa, who was acquired from the in December: David Eckstein, with more power and less on-base ability.

“He’s a real player; he plays the game right,” Maddon said. “He’s gonna hit some home runs. You don’t expect it, but he’s got power. He works a tough at-bat. He’s gonna get hit by a lot of pitches. He’s that guy who is always in the middle of something good happening for your team, and he plays great defense.”

It’s no coincidence that Espinosa, who turns 30 in April, shares some key character traits with Eckstein, the gritty shortstop and leadoff man who played in Anaheim from 2001-2004.

Espinosa grew up a huge Angels fan and was at Santa Ana Mater Dei High when Eckstein sparked the Angels’ 2002 World Series run. Espinosa moved on to Long Beach State, where being a “Dirtbag” wasn’t just a nickname, it was a state of mind, a tough, no-nonsense, team-first approach to the game.

“I want to play hard every day for my team; I’m not gonna back down from anything,” Espinosa said. “It’s sliding hard, not to hurt someone but to disrupt a double play. It’s taking the extra base so you get into scoring position for the guy behind you.

“When I’m on first and a ball is hit into the gap, I’m going to bust it. My whole thought is to get home. It’s how I was taught to play the game, and it’s kind of stuck with me.”

Espinosa is expected to solidify a position that has vexed the Angels since Howie Kendrick was traded to the Dodgers before the 2015 season. Johnny Giavotella, the opening-day second baseman the past two seasons, provided some clutch hits in 2015 but faded badly at the plate in 2016. His defense was subpar.

In Espinosa, the Angels have a strong-armed, sure-handed defender with good range, one who committed one error in 377 chances at second in 2015 and was good enough to move to shortstop in 2016.

Paired with two-time Gold Glove-winning shortstop Andrelton Simmons, Espinosa will be part of a double-play combination that is expected to enhance the Angels’ run-prevention efforts.

“Defensively,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said, “you can see that Danny is going to be a difference- maker.”

Offensively, Espinosa, who is expected to bat seventh, is a switch-hitter with the power to lengthen a lineup that thinned out considerably after the fifth spot last season. March 8, 2017 Page 4 of 8

He has a career .226 average, .302 on-base percentage and .388 slugging percentage in seven seasons, all with the Nationals. He hit 20 or more homers twice, including a career-high 24 homers and 72 runs batted in last season. He was hit by 20 pitches, second-most in the National League, in 2016.

Espinosa’s glaring weakness: a career 3.77-to-1 to walk ratio, fueled by an NL-high 189 in 2012 and 174 strikeouts in 601 plate appearances last season. On a new team that places a heavy emphasis on contact, Espinosa is making adjustments to lower that rate.

“We’ve already addressed it,” Angels hitting coach Dave Hansen said. “It’s something he wants to get better at. He knows that’s the difference, because if he already has the pop, what’s not allowing him to use the pop consistently? That’s usually discipline around the plate.”

Hansen is working with Espinosa to refine his pre-pitch movements and path through the ball and to gain a better understanding of what pitches, in what zones, he can better handle.

“He’s trimmed down some of that swing,” Hansen said. “It was a lot more violent than it is now.”

The 6-foot, 205-pound Espinosa said the key is “being on time,” getting his front foot down quickly enough for his upper half to be synchronized with his lower half.

“Being so tall [in my stance], I think I was struggling to get on time consistently,” Espinosa said. “When you’re late, you tend to over-swing to try to catch up.”

One thing the Angels won’t tinker with is Espinosa’s desire to switch-hit. The Nationals ordered Espinosa to hit only from the right side in the spring of 2015. The first time he faced a right-hander in the regular season, Espinosa turned around and doubled to right-center field off Philadelphia closer Jeanmar Gomez.

“To make that adjustment to go right on right, when you’ve never done it in the big leagues, is pretty tough,” Espinosa said. “I tried it. I wasn’t comfortable.”

A switch-hitter since Little League, Espinosa is better from the right side (career .257 average and .781 on-base-plus-slugging percentage) than the left (.216 average, .660 OPS). But his splits aren’t drastic enough to warrant scrapping his left-handed swing.

“Some kids who picked up switch-hitting later, there’s an obvious side that has a little more aggressiveness, more pop,” Hansen said. “But I couldn’t tell you which side he has more power on, and that’s a good thing.”

So was Espinosa’s trade to the Angels, and not just because his games will be so much more accessible to family members.

When Washington acquired outfielder from the Chicago White Sox on Dec. 7, it pushed center fielder back to his natural shortstop position and Espinosa to a utility role. Three days later, Espinosa was dealt to the Angels. March 8, 2017 Page 5 of 8

“We were very happy when we found out about the trade,” said Espinosa, who is married with a 5- month-old son. “I’m excited to go home, to play at home, and to have the opportunity to play every day is awesome.”

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER .

For Angels pitcher Jesse Chavez, homecoming is just like old times

By J.P. HOORNSTRA / STAFF WRITER

TEMPE, Ariz. – On his last day as a free agent, Jesse Chavez walked out of his Pomona home to drive his two oldest daughters to school. His wife, Crystal, followed out the door. Next was Dannie Rae, their almost-2-year-old, her tiny feet pattering to join the rest of the family.

“Being able to do that another 81 times was a luxury,” Chavez said. “It’s something that I couldn’t pass up. I’m thankful.”

Chavez had a few firm offers in hand that day. The Angels’ offer of a one-year contract worth $5.75 million was “the firmest,” he said. It came with a chance to compete for a starting rotation job and, importantly, a chance to chauffeur his daughters for parts of two school years.

While other free agents waited months for their market to emerge, Chavez made his decision to sign with the Angels in November, nine days after the final out of the World Series.

If there’s a running theme to the veterans Angels general manager Billy Eppler acquired over the winter, it’s flexibility. Cameron Maybin hasn’t played left field since 2007, but advanced defensive metrics showed his value in center field was slipping. He will play left field this season. Danny Espinosa, who broke into the majors as a second baseman with the Nationals before moving exclusively to shortstop last season, is moving back to second base with the Angels.

So it is with Chavez. He hasn’t started a major league game since September 2015, before three teams and a major injury altered his career trajectory.

Statistics make a strong case for Chavez to return to the rotation: In 49 career starts for the Blue Jays and A's, Chavez has a 4.14 earned-run average. As a reliever, Chavez has a 4.89 ERA, a higher walk rate, a lower strikeout rate, and a higher opponents’ slugging percentage.

Chavez has a theory to fit the data.

“I’m not able to use all my pitches out of the bullpen,” he said. “You can set things up, start things a way you want to start the game, and finish them a totally different way. You can have three different games in one. That’s the challenge I like. That’s where I can best suit myself, as far as establishing a game plan.” March 8, 2017 Page 6 of 8

In spring training, Chavez can’t always pitch to his strong suit. Take his second Cactus League start Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs. Chavez was removed after facing 13 batters, not even twice through the order. That was enough time for Chavez to throw each of his pitches, not enough to throw “three different games in one.”

Angels manager Mike Scioscia will eventually lengthen the leash on each of his starters this month. Each time he pitches, Chavez will have better a chance to make his case for the Angels’ rotation.

That was not true a year ago, when Chavez reported to the ’ camp still feeling the effects of a rib injury he suffered in September 2015. The injury was a fluke: A comebacker hit Chavez in the leg and he twisted his torso in such a way that he fractured a rib. It didn’t heal for months.

By the time spring training began, Chavez said, his ribs were fine. But he didn’t have nearly enough time to rebuild his arm strength, since starting typically begin playing catch in November or December.

“It was over before it started in my eyes,” he said of his bid to join the Blue Jays’ rotation. “The scar tissue wasn’t breaking up the way it was supposed to because of the injury, stuff like that. I wasn’t even built up to even go seven innings every five days.”

The Blue Jays put Chavez in their bullpen. So did the Dodgers, after they acquired him in an August trade. He did not pitch in the postseason.

A free agent for the first time at age 33, Chavez found a good fit in Anaheim. The Angels were down two starters after Nick Tropeano and Andrew Heaney needed Tommy John surgery, which will likely sideline both pitchers until the 2018 season. Chavez needed a place to call home and, fortunately, Angel Stadium is 20 minutes from the place he called home already.

Chavez said he knew a few Angels players from pitching against them in Oakland from 2012-15. For what he wanted to know about the rest of the clubhouse, Chavez asked his oldest friend in the game – Angels pitcher Ricky Nolasco, his travel-ball teammate when the two were in middle school.

“He touched on everything I thought of first-hand,” Chavez said. “Everything I expected.”

As kids, Nolasco and Chavez anchored the Colton Nighthawks’ rotation. During the high school baseball season, they were rivals in the Citrus Belt League – Nolasco for Rialto High, Chavez for Miller High of Fontana. After graduating in 2001, they each went their separate ways, their chances to reunite limited to off-days in the schedule.

Now, their lockers at Tempe Diablo Stadium are separated by only a few stalls. Just like old times.

“It just makes going to the yard a little bit more motivating, so to speak, because it’s something you did when you were growing up,” Chavez said. “You want to do the best for your team, for your town, for your parents. I’m going into it like travel ball, like a little kid again.”

March 8, 2017 Page 7 of 8

FROM ANGELS.COM .

Maldonado eyes 2nd shot to impress Angels

Catcher was drafted by club in 2004, reacquired via trade

By Maria Guardado/MLB.com

TEMPE, Ariz. -- This spring, Martin Maldonado has been adjusting to a new team -- but also an old one.

In 2004, the Angels selected Maldonado in the 27th round of the Draft out of high school in Puerto Rico, but the young catcher spent only three seasons in Rookie ball with the organization before being released in January 2007. Two weeks later, he signed with the Brewers, who gave him a second chance and helped him develop into an elite defender.

Maldonado reached the Majors in 2011 and spent the next six seasons with Milwaukee, primarily serving as the backup to All-Star Jonathan Lucroy. His career came full circle when the Halos acquired him and Minor League pitcher Drew Gagnon from the Brewers in exchange for in December.

"It's a dream come true," Maldonado said Monday in Spanish. "Being here now with this opportunity, it's not a small thing."

Asked why the Angels decided to release him a decade ago, Maldonado said, "Immature things that I did. They were things that aren't even worth remembering. The most important thing is that I'm here again, and they had the confidence to bring me back."

Maldonado, 30, has posted a .217/.299/.342 slash line over his career, but he's better known for his cannon of a throwing arm and pitch-framing abilities. He has a caught-stealing rate of 35 percent and has been an above-average pitch framer since he became a full-time Major Leaguer in 2012, according to StatCorner.com.

"We had seen him when he was a kid when he was with us, but what he evolved into was really a front- line catcher," manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's a premium defensive player, and you can see it. He has an elite arm, but the real impact he's going to have is his ability to receive the ball and bring a game plan in. He's very astute. He's making a quick study of our pitchers."

Maldonado will likely get his first opportunity to be the primary catcher this season, though Carlos Perez also figures to receive plenty of starts. Still, Maldonado's superior defense and on-base skills have put him in position to be the Halos' top backstop in 2017.

"They haven't talked to me [about it]," Maldonado said. "But every time that I have the opportunity to be on the field, I'm going to give it my best on every pitch, try to win games and help this team reach the playoffs."

March 8, 2017 Page 8 of 8

FROM BLEACHER REPORT

Angels’ Albert Pujols could join 3,000-hit club in 2017

B/R Staff

Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols enters 2017 needing just 175 hits to total 3,000 for his career, per MLB.com. Only 30 players have done so previously, but third baseman Adrian Beltre sits just 58 hits shy of beating Pujols to the milestone.

Pujols has failed to reach 175 hits since 2010, but he has topped 170 in three of the last six campaigns. If he can manage to stay in the lineup again in 2016, it's reasonable for him to challenge the milestone. However, questions about his health have arisen early in the season.

The veteran slugger underwent surgery to relieve plantar fasciitis pain in his right foot during the offseason, placing his return date around the start of the season. He appears to have fast-tracked his recovery and ran the bases Wednesday with the expectation that he will make his Cactus League debut before the end of the week, per Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times.

While his days as an elite hitter in the league have passed, Pujols was an MVP candidate from the year he joined the league in 2001 until 2011—his last season with the St. Louis Cardinals. Over the 11-year span, The Machine won three NL MVP awards and finished in the top five in the MVP race 10 times. He finished ninth in in the voting the only year he wasn't among the top five.

Pujols' run with the Cardinals earned him his current contract with the Angels, which doesn't expire until after 2021. He will earn $30 million in the age 41 season (and final year) of his deal. It may be difficult for him to produce at a level worth that value, but he has totaled 71 home runs in the last two seasons and posted 119 RBI in 2016.