Angels send down Victor Mederos, call up Hans Crouse

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Angels called up right-hander Hans Crouse from Triple-A Salt Lake and optioned right-hander Victor Mederos before Sunday’s series finale at Globe Life Field.

Mederos was struck for three runs on two hits and two walks in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 6-4 loss. All of the damage came after Mederos retired the first two batters. Mederos walked a batter on a pitch clock violation and it spun out of control after that.

“He needs to get control of his emotions,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He’s got good stuff, but sometimes he gets out there and lets the game speed up on him.”

Mederos was called up from High-A Tri-City on Aug. 18 and has struggled in four appearances with the Angels. He has an 11.81 ERA with seven hits and six walks allowed in 5 ⅓ innings.

Having a fresh bullpen arm in Crouse also gives Washington a little bit more flexibility, especially with rookie starter Caden Dana only going an inning on Sunday. Mederos has good stuff, Washington said, he just needs experience. Mederos, a 2022 sixth-round pick out of Oklahoma State, turned 23 in June.

“The first two outs were perfect, but then he came up against the eighth and ninth hitters and the clock got him on one of them and he walked the other when he could have gotten out of that inning and just fell apart.”

Let the kids play!

The Angels are not only trying to get a look at a lot of young players during the final month of the season, they’re also trying to take care of their regulars. That includes catcher Logan O’Hoppe and infielder Nolan Schanuel. Both were out of the lineup on Sunday.

“We’re trying to keep O’Hoppe healthy the rest of the year. We’re on a little rotation with him and Schanuel. You can see he’s a dead man walking, so I had to give him a day off,” Washington said

Third baseman Anthony Rendon was out of the lineup because the Globe Life Field turf was affecting his back.

“We certainly don’t need him to pull a hamstring or anything right now, so I gave him today [off]. The kids are up here, so they get to play.”

Schanuel, who made his MLB debut a year ago, has played in 131 games in 2024, third-most on the club behind Zach Neto (139) and Taylor Ward (137).  Washington hopes to let Schanuel stay out of the game unless he’s forced to use him.

“He’s very tired and I think giving him today off [is appropriate] and if I have to use him, I’ll use him. We need him to be solid when we get to Minnesota.”

Wash reviews Teodosio’s debut

Center fielder Bryce Teodosio made his MLB debut Saturday night and Washington gave the rookie a mixed review. Defensively, he was great, Washington said.

“That’s supposed to be his forte, playing defense, now we’ve got to get him right in the fundamental side of the game.”

That means laying down bunts, which the rookie failed to do late in Saturday’s game.

“Moving runners and being able to bunt, [he has] to do those types of things because that’s a part of the game he’s going to have to execute,” he said. “There can’t be excuses if you can’t execute that. That’s Rule 1 in baseball. That’s Baseball 101. If you can’t do that, you can’t be in baseball.”

Torii Hunter’s touch

Longtime Angels player Torii Hunter, who rejoined the organization in April as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian, was with the club this weekend in Arlington. Hunter lives in Prosper, Texas, which is about 50 miles northeast of Arlington. He played for 19 seasons, including 2008-2012 in Anaheim. Hunter worked previously as a special assistant for the Minnesota Twins.

“Torii is sharp and he helps these guys to see the little bitty nuances that go on between those lines that they don’t see,” Washington said. “They’ll look out there and it could be in front of them and they don’t know what they’re looking at because they haven’t dissected the game that close yet. That’s what Torii brings.”