Kavadas' road to Angels, MLB debut an 'absolute whirlwind'

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ANAHEIM -- It was five minutes past the Trade Deadline on July 30, and first baseman Niko Kavadas figured he was in the clear.

Catcher Mark Kolozsvary, Kavadas' teammate with Triple-A Worcester -- the Red Sox affiliate -- even congratulated him on making it through the Deadline without being traded, offering Kavadas a celebratory fist bump as they were about to take batting practice. But it turned out to be a bit premature. A few minutes later, Worcester manager Chad Tracy summoned Kavadas to his office to tell him he had been dealt to the Angels along with three other prospects for reliever Luis García.

It set off a whirlwind for Kavadas, an 11th-round Draft pick in 2021 out of Notre Dame, who didn’t expect to be moved. He had to scramble to leave a road series at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to join Triple-A Salt Lake on a road trip in Tacoma, Wash. From there, he played five games in Salt Lake City and two more in Sacramento with the Bees, including a tough 4-3 walk-off loss on Wednesday.

Salt Lake manager Keith Johnson called a team meeting and pretended to be angry with his club, only to announce that Kavadas was headed to the Majors for the first time in his career, while infielder Jack López would also be getting called up for the first time since 2021. It was yet another twist for Kavadas -- who made his Major League debut on Friday, going 0-for-3 with a walk, while batting cleanup and serving as the designated hitter. He was out of the lineup on Saturday but was the DH on Sunday, when he went 0-for-2.

“[Johnson] acted like he was really frustrated with us, but at the end, he said me and Jack were coming up here,” Kavadas said with a smile. “Everyone was really excited and the room just exploded. It was a lot of fun. I’m just really, really excited to be here.”

Kavadas (the Angels' No. 30 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline) joined some impressive company to debut as a cleanup hitter. Only Angels legend Tim Salmon had accomplished that feat with the club prior to Friday’s series opener. Salmon batted fourth in his debut at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 21, 1992, and went 0-for-4, but he picked up his first career hit the next day and his first homer two days later.

Manager Ron Washington said he had heard strong reports about Kavadas’ offensive potential in the Minors, so he decided to throw him right into the fire.

“He’s a guy with some pop in his bat,” Washington said. “And he’s used to hitting in the four-hole.”

Kavadas, 25, had a strong year with Worcester, slashing .281/.424/.551 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs in 83 games. He played in 11 games with Salt Lake before getting called up and hit .159 with two homers, two doubles and four RBIs. The Granger, Ind., native said it was an adjustment after the trade, especially with all the travel it entailed.

“It was just an absolute whirlwind,” Kavadas said. “I've been in so many cities in the last three or four weeks. And seeing so many new things. Seeing the mountains and seeing Sacramento, and now to be here, it's really special.”

Kavadas fits the mold as a slugger with patience, but he will need to cut down on his strikeouts going forward. He struck out 130 times in 383 plate appearances (33.9 percent) in Triple-A this year, and he was punched out twice in his debut and two more times on Sunday.

Kavadas is also not considered a strong defender at first base, and he doesn’t add much value on the bases. But his bat is his calling card, and he hit at every level in the Minor Leagues (.907 OPS in 346 career games). He swings from the left side, like fellow first baseman Nolan Schanuel, so he’s more likely to see action at DH going forward. But he said he’s looking forward to working with the Angels' coaching staff and trying to make a strong first impression.

“It's a process,” Kavadas said. “You're getting acclimated with a new group of people and a new coaching staff and a new environment. That can always be difficult, but I'm looking forward to making this transition a little bit better.”