Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani make the Angels an attraction any time they are on the road, but the club’s visit to The Bronx this week will also serve as a reunion of sorts.
Former Yankees infielders Andrew Velazquez and Tyler Wade will return to their old stomping grounds Tuesday as part of one of the best teams in the American League, even with the Angels on a five-game losing streak.
“They’re playing really well,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously seeing ‘Squid’ [Velazquez] playing really well — I know he’s really played really well defensively for them at shortstop, not surprisingly. I know Wader’s done a good job for them.”
The Bronx-born Velazquez, who played standout defense for his hometown team last season while coming up with some timely hits, found a home with the Angels this offseason after the Yankees waived him to open up a spot on the 40-man roster.
Velazquez is now the Angels’ starting shortstop, entering Monday with a 1.1 WAR (per Baseball Reference) thanks in large part to his defense. His eight Defensive Runs Saved (via FanGraphs) were the second most of any shortstop in the majors while his six Outs Above Average (by Baseball Savant) were tops at his position.
Wade, who had a longer stay with the Yankees as their fourth-round pick in 2013 before having his best season in pinstripes last year, was designated for assignment in November (to make room on the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft that never happened because of the lockout). That led to a trade to the Angels for a player to be named later.
This season, the versatile Wade has started 32 games at five different positions while batting .229 with a .591 OPS and five steals.
Ex-Met right-hander Noah Syndergaard, meanwhile, is set to start Tuesday’s series opener. After throwing just two innings for the Mets last season, coming off Tommy John surgery, he owns a 3.08 ERA over his first seven starts for the Angels.
Ohtani, who is scheduled to pitch Thursday, Trout and outfielder Taylor Ward have powered the Angels’ offense, which entered Monday with the second-best OPS (.748) in MLB.
“Obviously with Trout and Ohtani and Ward, they have an offense that’s been one of the best offenses in the game so far,” Boone said. “Then they’ve had the pitching to match it up too. So when you look at their roster and the quality of their players, not surprising that they’re playing well. We look forward to seeing them and seeing some familiar faces.”