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Angels looking for a little ‘more meat’ in their lineup to replace injured players

June 21, 2023

ANAHEIM — When the Angels realized that Anthony Rendon was not going to be ready as quickly as they hoped, they opted to dig into the minors for the prospect of a little power.

After the Angels recalled Kevin Padlo, as opposed to someone like David Fletcher or Livan Soto, Manager Phil Nevin said it was Padlo’s power potential that appealed to them.

“We need a little more meat in the lineup, if you will,” Nevin said. “We’ve lost some guys that are impact bats. He’s got a chance, especially against lefties, to add that.”

Padlo, 26, has never homered in 49 major league plate appearances with four teams. This year at Triple-A, he hit seven home runs with a .555 slugging percentage in 32 games. He missed more than a month of the season with a broken left finger, an injury that had him out until about a week ago.

Padlo also hit a homer against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in spring training this year.

Padlo can play first and third base, so in that sense, he helps replace both Rendon and Gio Urshela, who is going to be out for months with a fractured pelvis.

Many fans were clamoring for Fletcher to get the call, after any of the recent infield injuries.

One issue is that Fletcher just returned to the Salt Lake lineup on Sunday after missing a week on the bereavement list.

Fletcher is hitting .366 at Triple-A, but his OPS of .868 is significantly lower than Padlo’s .951.

General Manager Perry Minasian reiterated that he has confidence Fletcher will be back at some point.

“Fletch has played well,” Minasian said. “I do believe at some point he will help us. He was out for a significant time with a personal thing where he didn’t play for five, six days. Fletch is playing well. I believe he will definitely help us at some point this year.”

This particular roster spot came open only because Rendon didn’t heal as quickly as the Angels hoped after he was hit in the wrist by a pitch last Thursday in Texas.

“We were kind of optimistic that you know with the bone bruise-ish thing, it would go away,” Nevin said. “He felt better on Sunday. But yesterday woke up and kind of had a little more to it.”

Rendon is eligible to return on Monday, when the Angels open a homestand against the Chicago White Sox. Nevin said they hope that he’ll be able to play by then.

“But I really don’t want to put that timetable on it either,” Nevin said. “He’s still pretty sore today.”

TRADE TALK

Minasian isn’t tipping his hand much with his plans for the trade deadline, which is not until Aug. 1.

When asked if he could definitively say that the Angels are not trading two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Minasian reiterated what he’s said before and referred to the Angels’ position in the standings. They are currently holding one of the three American League wild-card spots.

“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, we like him,” Minasian said. “We hope he’s here a long time. So I think it’s pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at.”

Asked what he might want to add at the deadline, Minasian was noncommittal.

“You always would want to add to a rotation, always want to add to a bullpen, always add more offense, always add more defense,” Minasian said.

MORE INJURY UPDATES

Left-handed reliever Matt Moore (strained oblique) threw a bullpen session on Sunday and he’ll have another on Wednesday. If that goes well, he will have a simulated game over the weekend in Colorado. It’s possible he could then be activated next week.

Shortstop Zach Neto (strained oblique) said he still feels “a little bit” of discomfort. He’s just starting to do a little running or riding the bike to get his heart rate up. He has not started any baseball activity.

Right-handed reliever Ben Joyce (ulnar neuritis) said the numbness and tingling in his fingers is “mostly gone now,” but he still has not picked up a baseball.

Urshela went to see a specialist on Monday, and he’ll see another on Wednesday. The Angels are planning to make an announcement about his prognosis, but Nevin said “it’s going to be a while.”

NOTES

Ohtani won the AL Player of the Week award after hitting .435 with six home runs last week. He also won his only start, allowing two runs in six innings of a victory over the first-place Texas Rangers. Ohtani is leading the majors with 24 homers. He also has an OPS of 1.015. Ohtani also continues to lead the way in voting for the starting DH spot in the All-Star Game. Mike Trout is second among AL outfielders. The top two at each position, and the top six outfielders, go into a four-day run-off election starting next Monday. …

The Angels moved left-hander José Suarez (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list to make room for Padlo on the 40-man roster. Suarez has been out for six weeks already, and he still has significant work to do to get back. …

Veteran infielder Daniel Murphy was moved to Triple-A. Murphy has not played in the majors since 2020, but he was hitting well enough in an independent league that the Angels signed him to a minor league deal. “He’s been on winning teams before and he’s had some pretty big hits in the past,” Minasian said. “We’ll see what happens. Anywhere we can add and try to improve, we’ll try to take chances.” …

Left-hander Ky Bush was scheduled for his first start of the season at Double-A, but the game was rained out. Bush was the Angels’ top pitching prospect but he had been bothered since before spring training by an oblique injury and then a groin injury.