Notes: Lagares shines; Heaney 'comfortable'

With a strong spring, outfielder Juan Lagares has put himself in a solid spot to make the Opening Day roster despite being a non-roster invitee to Spring Training.

Lagares has been competing with Taylor Ward and fellow non-roster invitees Jon Jay and Scott Schebler for the fourth outfielder role and has impressed both offensively and defensively. Lagares, 32, is batting .400 (10-for-25) with five RBIs and three stolen bases in 11 games, including going 0-for-3 with an RBI groundout in a 3-2 win against the Brewers on Thursday.

It’s a continuation of an impressive showing in the Dominican Winter League, where he hit .288 in 29 games and was the MVP of the league’s final series. Lagares was previously used to being a regular for the Mets, including winning a Gold Glove in center field in '14, but said his mentality isn’t any different this year.

“In baseball, you’re always competing,” Lagares said via Zoom on Thursday. “Even if you have a secure job, you have to compete. So that’s what I do. I work hard every day.”

Lagares has the advantage over Ward, Jay and Schebler because he’s the best defender of that group. Ward also has Minor League options remaining, so he can be sent to the alternate training site to continue to work on his versatility to open the year. Jay has struggled offensively, while Schebler has shown some power but isn’t as good defensively as Lagares.

Lagares has also outplayed right fielder Dexter Fowler this spring, but Angels manager Joe Maddon cautioned that he doesn’t see Lagares as supplanting Fowler based on how the two fare in Spring Training.

“Dex is here for a reason,” Maddon said. “Lagares, don't get me wrong, I've only seen him sporadically with the Mets. I have been equally as impressed as you have been, but right now the game plan is Dex will be out there. Lagares will play all three, get him involved as much as we possibly can. I think Lagares is gonna be quite a find for us, but Dexter's here for a reason."

Heaney turns in his best outing of the spring
Lefty Andrew Heaney was sharp against the Brewers on Thursday, throwing five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. He gave up just one hit -- a single to Daniel Robertson in the fifth -- and walked two. Heaney threw 73 pitches and got 18 swings and misses.

“I had a lot of swing throughs on my fastball,” Heaney said. “If you’re not getting hard contact on your fastball, it’ll open other things up. I’ve been doing a lot of work on my breaking ball and I felt good with that. My changeup was weird, but in a good way. When I have all three pitches working and I’m comfortable out there, it usually leads to a good game.”

Angels tidbits
• Maddon confirmed that he is leaning toward an eight-man bullpen, which would give the Angels a four-man bench. The bench will be composed of catcher Kurt Suzuki, first baseman Albert Pujols, an extra outfielder with Lagares as the leading candidate and a utility player. Franklin Barreto and Luis Rengifo are competing for the utility role.

• The Angels are still waiting on left-hander José Quijada to report to camp after experiencing visa issues in his native Venezuela. Quijada was set to compete for a spot as a lefty reliever, but is now expected to start the season at the club’s alternate training site once he arrives. Maddon didn’t have an update on Quijada’s status on Thursday.

• The Angels also played in a ‘B’ game with left-handed pitching prospect Reid Detmers getting the start. Fowler homered after leading off every inning as a hitter in an effort to get his swing on track after a slow start offensively in Cactus League play.