Stassi eyes rebound year; Velazquez sticks with switch-hitting

TEMPE, Ariz. -- After retooling his swing entering the 2020 season, catcher Max Stassi started to see some results offensively, as he fared well at the plate in both ’20 and ’21.

It led the Angels to sign him a three-year deal worth $17.5 million through 2024, including a team option for ’25. But Stassi struggled offensively last year, batting .180 with nine homers and 30 RBIs in 102 games. His contact rate also dipped, and Stassi thinks a flaw in his mechanics caused the issue, which he worked to fix this offseason.

“I really tried to simplify things to get back to 2020 and 2021 and the swing that I had then,” Stassi said. “It’s not really a big change or a revamp, it’s just kind of getting back to the angles I had back then and get my contact further out in front. Statistically, it wasn’t good last year, but some of the underlying stuff, I know I control the zone well, but I know I have to make more contact.”

Despite his offensive struggles, Stassi’s spot on the roster is solidified, according to general manager Perry Minasian, as the Angels love the work he does with the pitchers and they believe he’ll bounce back offensively. Stassi, though, will be pushed by Matt Thaiss and top prospect Logan O’Hoppe, while veteran Chad Wallach is also in camp to give the club some insurance.

Thaiss is out of Minor League options, which means he would have to be exposed to waivers if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster. It could give him a nod over O’Hoppe, who MLB Pipeline tabbed as the club’s No. 1 prospect, but O’Hoppe is still firmly in the mix.

“We’re in this to win and our best guys are going to play,” manager Phil Nevin said. “Max has done a phenomenal job with our pitching staff. Everybody knows where our pitching numbers were the year before last. And that’s a credit to Max. He handled those guys tremendously.”

Stassi, 31, said he’s excited to work with new hitting coaches Marcus Thames and Phil Plantier and is also looking forward to working with Thaiss and O’Hoppe. Stassi is now considered one of the clubhouse veterans and is embracing the role.

“I’m ready to help the younger guys and pass on some of the knowledge I learned from guys like Jason Castro, Kurt Suzuki and all those guys I played with that helped me,” Stassi said. “I’m looking forward to helping these guys out.”

But Stassi is doing some learning himself this spring, as he’s working on changing his stance while catching. He’s trying out catching on one knee instead of a traditional stance, as he believes it’ll help him frame pitches better, while also making it easier to block pitches in the dirt and throw out attempting base stealers.

“It just makes sense because you’re already in position, so you can make decisions later,” Stassi said. “Around the game, a lot of guys are doing it and statistically a lot of the guys who performed well were one-knee guys. It simplifies things because the framing is there and blocking, you’re already in position. And for throwing, you’re set up because your right knee is down. So we’ll see how it goes. I can always go back to two feet.”

Velazquez healthy, to remain a switch-hitter
Shortstop Andrew Velazquez arrived to camp on Sunday and said that he’s healthy after undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus in September. Velazquez said he rehabbed his right knee until December, but then was able to have a normal offseason after that.

“We kind of slow-played it because there was no rush to get back,” Velazquez said. “But by December, it felt normal. I don’t even think about it right now.”

Velazquez added that he continued to take batting practice as a switch-hitter this winter after experimenting batting only from the right side late last season. Velazquez had some success facing righties as a right-handed hitter, going 5-for-12 with a homer, but he said he feels more comfortable as a switch-hitter.

He said he worked to retool his swing a bit after struggling offensively last year, batting .196 with nine homers and 28 RBIs in 125 games.

“I went to Florida and put in a lot of work with a hitting coach and came to the conclusion that I’d stay a switch-hitter. I thought last year, I had a bad swing from both sides. So I just reconstructed a lot of it and feel like a different person.”