TEMPE, Ariz. — Joe Maddon beamed Friday morning with the smile of a manager whose bullpen had improved significantly in a 24-hour period.
Right-hander Archie Bradley passed his physical and was officially added to the roster. The two-year deal for right-hander Ryan Tepera still isn’t final.
“They’re established – well, there is one established and there could be two established – major-league relievers,” Maddon said. “These are even-or-ahead guys, so you can count on them if the score is even or you’re ahead. The more of those guys you have in your bullpen, the better off you are.”
Maddon said the secondary benefit of improving the big-league bullpen is that it allows other young pitchers time to develop, instead of forcing them into roles that may be too much for them.
“I think it makes us better in the present and it’s going to make us better in the future,” Maddon said.
The Angels now have four experienced relievers to set up closer Raisel Iglesias: right-handers Mike Mayers, Bradley and Tepera, and left-hander Aaron Loup.
When Bradley signed, he said he was eager to help the Angels have the kind of pitching staff that everyone knew they needed.
“From the outside looking in, you’ve always been like, ‘Man, if the Angels just had some pitching,’” Bradley said. “You look at what they’ve added and you really start to turn your head and get excited and look at what could be for this upcoming season.”
NOTES
Most of the Angels regulars, including Mike Trout, will start Saturday in their first home exhibition game of the spring. Anthony Rendon, however, will not be among them. Maddon said Rendon “looks really good. It’s just that Anthony likes to pick it up slowly, and I’m good with that.” …
Shohei Ohtani will be in the lineup at DH on Saturday. He will make his pitching debut Monday at home against the Kansas City Royals. Initially, the Angels were planning to have Ohtani pitch in a minor-league game so they could manage his pitch count better, but they will be able to do that in big-league games. …
Damon Mashore was added to the big-league staff as the outfield and base-running coach. Mashore had been a minor-league hitting coach. …
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Bradley said he got carried away when he tweeted an “Angels in the Outfield” GIF on Thursday morning, before his deal with the Angels was official. He then deleted the tweet. “Sometimes you get ahead of yourself,” Bradley said with a smile Friday. “I realized there’s a process to this. You have to pass your physical. I tweeted it out and realized that’s a little premature.”