Ron Washington is working to make Angels’ young players better, but to what end?

The Los Angeles Angels’ Jo Adell stood before his teammates, trying to explain the inexplicable: why, in the oddest of situations Tuesday night, he tried to steal third base.

There were two outs in the seventh inning. The Angels trailed the Arizona Diamondbacks by three runs. One of Los Angeles’ best hitters, Luis Rengifo, was batting from the left side. And one of the game’s best throwing catchers, Arizona’s Gabriel Moreno, was the man Adell was trying to outrace.

Naturally, Adell was thrown out. And the next day, the Angels did what they often have done under new manager Ron Washington this season, showing video of an on-field miscue and requiring the guilty party to account for his actions before his peers.

“It was not really the time to run at all, especially considering the situation,” Adell said. “That’s something I’ve got to wear. It’s nobody’s fault but my own.”

In the same meeting, first baseman Nolan Schanuel took responsibility for failing to run out a groundball to the pitcher. At other points this season, Angels coaches cited Rengifo for running into numerous outs, and the team’s oldest position player, Kevin Pillar, for leaving first too early on an attempted steal.

“It’s very hard for people to speak publicly. It’s very hard for people to speak publicly in front of their peers. It’s even harder for them to admit mistakes we made,” said Pillar, 35, who got to know Washington last season when they were both with the Atlanta Braves.

“As guys talk about it, it’s embarrassing for them. It’s intentionally supposed to be embarrassing, for them to learn. But nothing is coming from a place of animosity. What Wash preaches is that it’s coming from a place of love.”

Washington consults with starter Jose Soriano in the eighth inning Wednesday. (Matt Kartozian / USA Today)

Pillar said the Angels’ young players “want to be coached tough.” Schanuel said acknowledging his mistake in front of his teammates was “100 percent helpful.” First base coach Bo Porter said, “Young players really start to grow when they realize what they don’t know.”

The classroom sessions, as Washington calls them, would not be necessary — or welcome — with a more veteran team. Injuries to Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and Brandon Drury, however, left the Angels with the seventh-youngest group of position players in the majors, forcing Washington and his staff into teaching mode.

The way Washington describes it, his players are going through necessary growing pains, improving each month, learning how to win. The Angels’ 28-43 record, though, does not reflect the improvement Washington and general manager Perry Minasian say they see. The team’s play, as exemplified by Adell’s base-running blunder, often is unsightly. And the long-term vision, for a franchise that under owner Arte Moreno frequently shifts direction, is unknown.

Minasian is in the final year of a four-year contract. Washington, upon replacing Phil Nevin in November, received a two-year deal with an option for a third season. Those commitments are relatively short. So, even if young players such as Adell, Schanuel, shortstop Zach Neto and catcher Logan O’Hoppe develop into a new core, what is the end game?

“I’m not worried about me being let go and I’m not worried about Perry being let go,” Washington said. “We’re focused on what we have to do. And that’s get these young kids better. And we’re going to do that.

“I’m 72 years old. I’m in my 54th year in the game. I’m not worried about a job. I’m going to do my job and do my job as well as I’ve always done my job. If it’s not good enough, I’ll go home.

“Ten years ago, I probably would have had a different attitude. But now, it is what it is. I’m not afraid of building. We’re building. And we’re getting better.”

Strictly going off winning percentage, Washington is correct. After going 11-19 in March and April, the Angels were 10-17 in May and are 7-7 in June. Their rotation, in particular, has taken a step forward, in part because of the emergence of Jose Soriano, 25.

In March and April, the Angels had a 4.69 rotation ERA, averaging just over five innings per start. The rotation ERA decreased to 4.32 in May and 4.25 in June, with the pitchers in both months averaging more than 5 2/3 innings per start.

That’s the good news.

The offense, without Trout, Rendon and Drury, all of whom could be back by midseason, is inconsistent, entering Sunday ranked 21st in the majors in runs per game. The defense, which was 19th in Defensive Runs Saved and 28th in Outs Above Average, also is a hit-or-miss proposition.

And then there is the base running.

Washington likes to play an aggressive style. His two base coaches, Porter and Eric Young Sr., share his philosophy. Under Phil Nevin last season, the Angels were 29th in stolen bases and 28th in extra-base-taken percentage. This season, in trying to push the action, they sometimes go too far.

Including caught stealings, only the Nationals have run into more outs than the Angels. But the Nationals, third behind the Brewers and Reds with 101 steals, have succeeded in 75.4 percent of their attempts, above the desired success rate of 75 percent. The Angels, seventh in the majors with 62 steals, are last in success rate, at 68.8 percent. Two of their games ended in caught stealings, something only 16 other teams have had happen in the past 50 years, according to STATS Perform.

In a sense, some of the Angels’ coaches also are inexperienced, at least in their present roles. Porter, the first-base coach, previously was a third-base coach with four different clubs and the Astros’ manager in 2013-14. Young, the third-base coach, previously was a first-base coach with three different teams. Bench coach Ray Montgomery, meanwhile, is working under his third manager in three years.

If anything, Washington and his staff might grant their players too much latitude. While Adell took full responsibility for his botched stolen-base attempt against Moreno, the situation screamed for a stop sign. None was given.

Jo Adell is tagged out at third base against the Diamondbacks in the seventh inning June 11. (Joe Camporeale / USA Today)

“It was one of those things where I even questioned myself,” Porter said. “I was like, Should I have just yelled at him? It looked like he was trying to just distract the pitcher. In no way did I think — and I don’t think anyone thought — he was going to run. It was just a shock. But when you look at things like that from the outside, obviously it looks completely bad.

Adell appreciated the opportunity to own his mistake the next day, saying, “We got to the bottom of it. It’s something that needed to be addressed.” And though he has fallen into a deep slump after a strong first month offensively, batting .141 with a .541 OPS since May 1, Angels people cite his defensive improvement in right field as an example of the gains their young players are making.

Soriano, previously a reliever, shows signs of becoming an ace. Shortstop Zach Neto, who recovered from a slow offensive start, and catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who is tied for second in games played at his position, are learning how to be regulars. Schanuel faces more of an offensive struggle, but played in only 22 games in the minors after the Angels made him the 11th pick of the 2023 draft. Neto, the 13th pick in 2022, played in only 48.

“Where Wash believes this organization is going, there’s going to be an identity,” said Pillar, whose strong offensive performance since joining the team on May 1 could result in him getting traded in July. “Either get on board or you find new guys to do it. There’s a standard we’re trying to create here.”

Washington leaves copies of a handwritten note he calls the “ace of the day” at each player’s locker before the start of every series.  One player is chosen to talk about the message during the pre-series meeting.

“Attitude. Commitment. And effort. Those three things best describe Wash and how he runs his program,” Schanuel said.

Which is not to say the ride is always smooth.

Washington’s postgame criticism of Luis Guillorme after the veteran failed to execute a squeeze bunt on May 14 raised eyebrows throughout the industry and among some in his own clubhouse. Rarely do managers in today’s game publicly excoriate players. But Washington did not like Guillorme’s effort and technique.

“It wasn’t anything I did wrong,” Washington said that night. “He didn’t do the job.”

The next day, the Angels’ media relations department asked Washington if he wanted to clarify his position. Washington felt no clarification was necessary. Nearly a month later, he acknowledged, “Maybe in another moment, I might have handled it different.” But he got snippy because he felt reporters were questioning the wisdom of his calling a left-on-left squeeze.

Those who are around Washington for any length of time understand his communication often is blunt. Not surprisingly, he thought it ridiculous when White Sox manager Pedro Grifol recently drew criticism for saying recently his players were flat. What was the evidence to the contrary?

“I’m not going to conform because in this new generation you can’t say something about a player,” Washington said. “I’m never going to dog my players. But I’m a competitor. I was heated that night just like everyone else was heated. I said what I said. It was matter-of-fact. And you can’t mess with matter-of-fact.”

Washington issued another characteristically frank declaration Sunday, telling reporters if veterans such as Drury and Miguel Sanó fail to perform after coming off the injured list, they will be benched in favor of younger players. But it’s not as if Washington just says whatever comes to his mind. He is aware of how the strength of his personality sometimes makes his players and even his coaches uncomfortable.

In April, Washington participated in the meetings in which players explained their questionable decisions, speaking up when he felt deeper discussions were warranted. He stopped attending the sessions in May, fearing he was intimidating some players and perhaps undercutting his coaches.

On most days now, the coaches run the meetings, highlighting good plays as well as bad, then reporting back to Washington. Wednesday at Chase Field, in the wake of Adell’s and Schanuel’s base-running flubs, Washington made an exception, joining the group. The meeting lasted so long, it delayed the players’ pregame work. Washington called it l“one of the most moving times I’ve had with these guys.

“Every day we’re loving them,” Washington said. “And every day we’re holding them accountable.”

The challenge of managing a losing club is not unfamiliar to Washington. His first managing job, with the Rangers, also was a struggle early, and that was with a more experienced roster.

In Washington’s first two seasons with Texas, 2007 and ’08, the Rangers finished below .500. They began their ascent the following season, improving to 87 wins. And in the two years after that, they won back-to-back American League pennants.

For the Angels to establish a similar path to success, they first would need to choose a path. Under Moreno, they frequently veer.

The Angels’ plan for success hasn’t always been obvious under owner Arte Moreno. (Kirby Lee / USA Today)

If Moreno were truly committed to a youth movement, he should have traded Shohei Ohtani at the 2022 deadline for a bounty similar to what the Nationals received from the Padres for Juan Soto. The Angels kept Ohtani instead, then went into a hyperkinetic state last season, his final one under club control. First they unloaded prospects for veterans at the trade deadline. Then they reversed course after the team regressed, dumping many of the same veterans on waivers to save money.

As it stands, the Angels owe Trout and Rendon a combined $73.45 million annually through 2026, and will continue paying Trout $35.45 million annually through 2030. Both players are injured too often to be relied upon as anchors of the next great Angels club. The best plan, then, might be for the franchise to continue on its present course, trying to build through the amateur draft and international market.

Minasian, since taking the job in November 2020, has traded for O’Hoppe and outfielder Mickey Moniak, overseen the drafting of Neto, Schanuel and reliever Ben Joyce and brought in most of the Angels’ other top prospects. If Moreno dismisses him, he would be hiring his sixth general manager in 22 years as owner, at a time when advancement in the AL West might actually be within reach.

The Astros’ era of dominance might finally be ending. The defending World Series champion Rangers eventually figure to deal with the decline years of Marcus Semien and Corey Seager, who are signed through 2028 and ’31, respectively. The Mariners’ greatest strength, starting pitching, is a fragile commodity. And the A’s are not anywhere close to contention.

The Angels, of course, face numerous problems of their own. But they figure to add more young talent at the deadline, using Pillar, Rengifo, outfielder Taylor Ward and left-hander Tyler Anderson as bait for contenders. Washington will continue with his process no matter what the roster looks like on Aug. 1, trying to lay the groundwork for continued development in the coming years.

The goal, Washington tells his players, is to go from learning to win to expecting to win to knowing they will win. The ride will be bumpy. Several of the Angels’ young players, like so many young players today, were rushed to the majors. And the game is so different than it was even 10 years ago. Many players spend more time looking at previous at-bats on dugout iPads than absorbing the game’s nuances by watching the action on the field. In the current environment, hands-on instruction is even more important.

Washington isn’t complaining. He said that since the season started he has yet to have a bad night’s sleep. If anything, he is in his element, coaching and cajoling and passing on his more than half-century of knowledge.

“They put this thing out there, let the kids play,” Washington said. “I’m all for letting the kids play. But let’s teach ’em, too.”

(Top photo of Jo Adell and Ron Washington: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)