MIAMI — The knock on Moises Ballesteros has always been his defense.
After seeing their new acquisition play one game behind the plate, the Angels have some optimism that he can stick as a catcher.
“I thought he did a really good job of handling the staff,” Manager Kurt Suzuki said Friday, a day after Ballesteros caught in Baltimore. “We threw out a lot of different pitchers at him yesterday and I thought he did a really good job of that. I thought he kept his composure. The game didn’t really speed up on him. Looking at his target review, I thought his targets were great. Obviously everybody has things to work on, but I just think from an overall standpoint yesterday I thought it was great, and we got the W.”
Ballesteros handled five pitchers, only one whom he’d ever worked with before. He caught Samy Natera Jr. in the Arizona Fall League.
“I liked it a lot,” starter Ryan Johnson said. “I was a big fan. He works hard back there. I liked his pitch selection. I felt like even though I didn’t execute a whole lot, he didn’t seem to be frustrated. He was supportive and encouraging me the whole way through. It was great to work with him.”
The Angels walked eight, though. There were four pitches that were strikes that were called balls, and two that were balls that were called strikes.
“He was working hard especially for those that I missed and came across the plate, which I was unfortunately doing a whole lot yesterday,” said Johnson, who walked five. “But he was still receiving them well and got some calls.”
Ballesteros threw out the only runner who was trying to steal. He uncorked a throw from his knees. The throw was off target, but second baseman Oswald Peraza did a nice job of going to get it and tagging the runner at the same time.
Controlling the running game has been a problem for him in the minors. He’s only thrown out 18% of would-be base-stealers. That’s only slight below the minor league average of 21%, though.
Suzuki said Angels catching coordinator Karl Ellison will be with the team starting Monday, and he’ll be working with Ballesteros.
“I know he hasn’t caught a lot recently, so I don’t want to kill the guy,” Suzuki said. “But at the same time, we want to get him reps behind the plate. He’s eager. He wants to learn and he’s excited to be back with the team.”
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Ballesteros, 22, has been known mostly as a hitter throughout his minor league career. When the Angels acquired him earlier this week from the Chicago Cubs, interim general manager John Mozeliak said they would take some time to evaluate his performance behind the plate. He caught in one of his first four games with the Angels, and he’s scheduled to catch one of the next two.
ANOTHER DUEL
Right-hander Walbert Ureña will face Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara on Saturday, one start after he pitched against the Milwaukee Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski.
“It’s fun to see,” Suzuki said. “I know he really enjoys it. It was really fun for him (facing Misiorowski) and I expect nothing else. He’s going to go out and do his thing. He’s young and he enjoys competing.”
Ureña pitched six scoreless innings when the Angels beat Misiorowski last weekend.
NOTES
The Angels claimed right-hander Ryan Watson on waivers from the Boston Red Sox. Watson was a Rule 5 pick from the San Francisco Giants, so the Angels will need to add him to the major league roster. Watson had a 4.53 ERA in 55⅔ innings with the Red Sox. …
The Angels optioned left-hander Mitch Farris to Triple-A to make room for right-hander George Klassen, who rejoined the starting rotation on Friday night. Suzuki said that Farris had been pitching in one-inning stints lately, and the Angels wanted to get him stretched out again to be able to pitch two or three innings. …
Friday was Mike Trout’s 35th birthday, but it was the first time he played on his birthday since 2020. He had been injured most of the years since, then the Angels had an off day on his birthday in 2025. Trout has hit five homers on his birthday, which is tied for the third most all-time. Alex Rodriguez and Mark Reynolds each have hit six birthday homers.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Walbert Urena, 7-7, 2.54 ERA) at Marlins (RHP Sandy Alcantara, 12-6, 3.68 ERA), Saturday, 1:10 p.m. PT, ABTV, 830 AM