Which Angels Veteran Helped Jo Adell Take His Defense ‘To The Next Level’?

The outfielder played 5 major league games in 2021 but made a big impression.

Jon Jay's baseball career was long and winding. Even Angels fans would be forgiven for overlooking the five games Jay played with the 2021 team before retiring later that year in Triple-A.

Now a coach with the Miami Marlins, Jay's 12-year MLB career (2010-21) barely overlapped with that of Angels outfielder Jo Adell. But the two were teammates long enough for Jay to make an impact.

On this week's episode of the Angels Recap podcast, Adell told host Trent Rush exactly how much Jay meant to his career: 

One guy that used to be an Angel who helped me really take my defense to the next level is Jon Jay. … He got with me, and I think one year he was up with us and then he was a player/coach … and he grabbed me and he goes, “I want you to think about playing the outfield at grass level.’ I was like, wow, that’s an interesting thought. 'Yeah, I want you to feel like you’re so low to the ground you’re almost a part of the grass.'

What it helped me do is, it helped me really stay low and it helped me read the ball better. Because as a taller guy, I’m 6-foot-4, you try to play balls standing straight up. Being able to get with a guy who’s played Gold Glove level outfield for a year, and just spitball with him and get to the bottom of, ‘What am I feeling, what do I want to feel, and how am I trying to see this ball come off the bat?’ Once I got to that, my athletic instinct took over as I went to work.

— Jo Adell, via the

Angels Recap podcast

Jay went 5 for 14 in his only five games as an Angel to end his career. He also spent spring training in the Angels' camp in 2021 as a non-roster invitee, and crossed paths with Adell at Triple-A Salt Lake during the first half of the Pacific Coast League season.

Known more for his glove than his bat, Jay slashed .283/.348/.373 in 1,201 games with the Angels, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Diamondbacks, Royals, Cubs, Padres, and Cardinals. He was drafted in 2006 by St. Louis out of the University of Miami.

Adell was drafted 10th overall in 2017 by the Angels. A precocious combination of speed, power and athleticism tabbed him as a potential star from an early age. Although he has little left to prove with his bat at the Triple-A level, Adell has struggled on both sides of the ball in the big leagues. 

Entering 2024, Adell is out of minor league options and looking to improve on his career .214/.259/.366 slash line in 580 games since his 2020 debut. While he's flashed power (18 career home runs) and speed (seven stolen bases), consistency has proven elusive.

That's perhaps even more true on defense, where plays like this have earned Adell a reputation as an inelegant fielder:

As he explained to Rush, Adell hasn't always had that reputation.

I’ve always been a very good defender. I had a hiccup or two for a couple years in the outfield because of learning how to play these deep fields, and the circumstances. Now I think I really have a gauge - especially last year, toward the tail end of the year before, I’ve just understood now what these plays are, and how the ball will move and how to play it.

— Jo Adell, via

the Angels Recap podcast

Adell should get plenty of chances to apply what he's learned in 2024. The Angels haven't signed any outfielders to major league contracts this offseason, leaving Adell and Mickey Moniak with a potentially long runway to show what they can do over a full major league season.

Time will tell if Adell can indeed play the outfield "at grass level."