TEMPE, Ariz. -- Zach Neto is in his second day of throwing from shortstop to first base, and he joked with manager Ron Washington about how far the distance looks like to him now.
“Haven't done it in a while, but kind of getting comfortable again,” he said when he gave an update on his recovery from his November right shoulder surgery. “Just kind of getting used to where my workspace is, and it's definitely getting more comfortable now with the arm. It's only been five throws, but it feels natural again.”
In addition to throwing in the infield, Neto’s been throwing 120 feet after building up from 60 feet, after which he’ll go to the infield and take double-play balls before throwing to first. At the plate, he’ll take swings in the batting cage on heavy throw days and take batting practice on lighter days. There’s still no exact target date for his return, but a return in April seems likely.
He’s also begun tracking balls in backfield games. Although he admits not swinging has been a bit of an adjustment for him, it’s one that he feels will pay off.
“It's definitely weird, you know, not swinging. But honestly, I like it a lot,” Neto said. “It’s something I've never done before, so it’s my first time seeing the ball so well. I mess around with a lot of guys, saying, ‘Man, I could have probably taken this guy deep.’ It's just that subconscious thing where you're not swinging, so you're just focusing on what the pitch is looking like with the movement and stuff. So it's coming along very well.”
Washington is pleased with what he’s seen from Neto’s recovery, which is still considered ahead of schedule.
“Great progress. That's all I can say about him,” he said. “He’s got great progress. He hasn't faced anything live yet, but I see great progress.”
While there’s no established threshold for when Neto can go from hitting the machine to taking live at-bats, he hopes to get cleared in the next few days.
Neto added that his shoulder has responded well to the increased workload of both throwing and swinging every day.
“It's not as fatigued as I thought it was going to be,” he said. “For me, in my past on my elbows, you know, I'm going through our throwing program, felt a little fatigued. But honestly, I feel really great with my shoulder and where it's at. I'm feeling way stronger since when I first walked in here. So like I said, I'm trusting our training staff and our coaches to get me in the right spot.”
With Spring Training down to its final days, it’s looking increasingly likely that Neto will probably stay in Tempe at the Angels’ player development complex to finish his rehab when the team leaves at the end of the week.
It’s also looking more likely that Kevin Newman will be the Opening Day shortstop, with Tim Anderson taking more reps at second base in recent days and Scott Kingery being designated for assignment on Monday.
“He’s a pro, man, he’s a very Steady Eddie,” Washington said of Newman. “He doesn’t do nothing flashy, just gets it done. That was Dansby Swanson in Atlanta. Don't do nothing special. They all talked about his arm. He can't do this. He can't do that, but there wasn't nothing when he put his glove on the ball that he couldn't finish. And that's Newman. He puts his glove on it, he's gonna finish it.”
As for Neto, he’s still waiting on a potential return date, but in the meantime, his next steps on the field will likely be taking different types of ground balls as he continues to progress. He still needs to build up his arm strength to the point of making grounders routine again, after which he’ll begin taking backhands, up the middle, relays and cutoffs.
“That's all down the list. But, you know, checking the first boxes, first,” he said. “... I'm trusting our training staff and our coaches to get me in the right spot. And just kind of trusting their word and doing whatever they say. I'm feeling great every day I walk in here.”
