May 30, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Joe Adell (7) celebrates with catcher Logan O'Hoppe (14) after the Angels beat the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Angels Manager Defends Jo Adell Amid Major Criticism

Originally posted on Los Angeles Angels on SI
By Nelson Espinal | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 6:30 PM ET

The Los Angeles Angels have gone on a slump over the past couple of weeks, which has seen criticism brought to all parts of the team, especially the defense.

Center fielder Jo Adell has struggled on defense this season, making several mistakes that have cost the team wins.

He has struggled in the corners of the outfield as well, proving to be an unreliable player on defense. His bat has not been any more consistent, at times showing legitimate power, and other times, he cannot get his bat on the ball at all.

Angels manager Ron Washington, however, believes that criticism of Adell is always highlighted while his good play is rarely celebrated. He claims to be a big believer in the player that Adell can become.

“He had a couple of bad games out there, and all of a sudden he couldn’t play center field,” Washington told reporters.

“And when he had five, six, seven, eight good games, nobody said he could play center field. He’s in center field tonight, and we’ll see where it goes. And I’m a Jo Adell fan, so I think he can play it.

"Sometimes he loses his focus a little bit, and tonight, we’re going to stay on top of him with his focus. We’ve got to help him focus because we need him to play center field.”

This season, Adell is slashing .212/.279/.397 with seven home runs and 24 RBIs. His wRC+ is at 74, well below average, while his WAR is -0.3.

Jo gets us goin' pic.twitter.com/ADrVQdQbn4
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) May 30, 2025

His play has been fairly below average and despite having a lot of hype early on in his career, Adell has struggled to live up to expectations.

He profiled as a player who can be a plus hitter and fielder with serious power in his bat. At only age 26, there is still room for Adell to grow. Washington and the Angels seem ready to give him every opportunity to improve.

There is still a promising underlying metric that could indicate that a breakout is potentially on the cards.

His bat speed is amazingly 99th percentile, with mid-60th percentile expected slugging, barrel percentage, and hard hit percentage.

The player who was drafted 10th overall in the 2017 draft is still seemingly in there. It is up to Adell and his coaches to get him there.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Angels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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