The Angels selected the contract of infielder Kean Wong prior to today’s game with the Athletics. Catcher Drew Butera was designated for assignment last night to open up a roster spot.
Wong was in today’s starting lineup, marking his first appearance in an MLB game since the 2019 season. Wong made his Major League debut that season, appearing in seven total games with the Rays and (after a late-season waiver claim) Angels. The Giants then claimed Wong off waivers in November 2019, before he returned to Anaheim on a minor league contract this past winter.
A veteran of nine minor league seasons, Wong will add some depth to an Angels infield that lost Jose Iglesias and Franklin Barreto to the injured list. Wong has spent much of his career as a second and third baseman, but has also gotten playing time as a left fielder and seen a handful of games as a shortstop and corner outfielder. With Iglesias out and David Fletcher taking over shortstop duties, Wong and Phil Gosselin are likely to combine for an interim second base platoon. (Wong started at second base for the Halos today.)
Butera was acquired in a minor trade with the Rangers earlier this month, when the Angels were hurting for catching depth due to injuries. With Max Stassi now on a Triple-A rehab assignment following a concussion, the Halos seem content with Stassi, Kurt Suzuki and Anthony Bemboom as their catching mix, leaving Butera expendable.
If this is it for Butera with the Angels, his 12 games will at least exceed his previous stint with the team — 10 games during the 2015 season. The well-traveled veteran is in his 12th Major League season, and now may be looking to join his ninth different organization.
Kolten’s little brother getting another shot.
Thanks, @McGriff –
I was wondering if that were the case.
the angels are so stale and so dead! sell the team, arte!
Arte, worst owner jn mlb (except for whomever owns Pitt)
“…except for whomever owns Pitt”
You put a lot of research into that comment huh? Lazy is not a positive trait.
Ken Kendrick isn’t exactly great either; gives the green light to give up two top prospects for Starling Marte, then gives a directive to cut cost that sends Marte out of town not even a season after acquiring.
The Rockies will jump all over this.
That was my thought as well. Of course when you score zero runs in a double header against the Pirates, ANY position player is likely to be an upgrade.
Rockies have scored three runs over the last five games. Butera makes Elias Diaz look like Mike Piazza at the plate. The Rockies need something but a Catcher hitting worse than the guy they’ve got isn’t it
I know, I was being facetious. I saw enough of Butera over the past 2 years to know he is no improvement over anything.
Kean’s a good temporary fix. Considering the horrible job the gm has done assembling the bullpen, when it comes to this infield move, he can’t be all Wong.
Wrong has hit the ball very well at AAA. And he can play second, The later is especially important because Rojas can’t play second, or third, or RF, or hit or run the bases.
When he stopped coming to the plate on the squeeze, I couldn’t believe it. It should have taken a good throw to get him, and he changed that from a good throw to anything but an awful play.
ATTENTION Kmart shoppers Blue Light special aisle 2 Kolton Wong Oh scratch that Kean Wong my mistake
He hit a double and struck out twice today.
The Mike Trout Era in Anaheim needs to end.
It’s not going to happen for that club while he is in his prime.
They need to find a club with an average farm system and can afford $27M or so on the payroll.
Red Sox,Mets,Phillies,Yankees,CWS,LA,SD.
Preferably someone with RF or LF open in a few seasons.
Start cringing,but we all know who would have already made that trade by now.
Entering today, The Angels and Pirates were the only two teams not to pitch a shutout in 2021. The Pirates got two in their doubleheader with the Rockies and the Angels just got their first by blanking the A’s. There have now been 11`4 shutouts in 2021. In 2020’s short season there were only 12.
mlb pretended investigating certain 2 pitchers but every pitcher i see is all pressing his thumb ander the bill of the cap. i had never seen, presumably, 2 seam fastball going from, say, left side of the box to the outside on the right side until recent years.
As long as we are at the only team, the angels are the only team in history to never lose more than 95 games. Heck, they are the only team to never lose 100.
Who cares you might say…Exactly, who cares
arte may not be the worst owner. but he refuse to invest in scouting and development required to run a winning team. he spends money on offense but doesn’t seem to understand why he has to invest in pitching, his organization just made a move to cut an old player who made more than a billion dollars for the team. and he doesn’t seem to understand why it make him and his team so classless.
The biggest problem with this team over the last ten years Is the bullpen. It was so obvious this was going to be a problem and you are one of the very few who didn’t give me a hard time when I kept pointing it out.
I understand you don’t want to spend huge money on starting pitching, but there is no excuse for this bullpen year in and year out. None.
There is no reason to watch close games. We are outmanned every single game. I’m tired of it.
@Halo11 –
Yeah.
That’s digging awfully deep to find something positive about your club. But I fear it’s going to be something I end up remembering forever.
So thanks.
I guess.
The six (seven, i lobby Bumgarner’s should count) No-Hitters have helped. You have to get on base to score runs and teams seem to have little interest in working counts and getting on base as evidenced by German Marquez 62 pitch complete game the other day (granted it was only a seven inning game). Launch angle is killing offense because pitchers are figuring out that 1) hitters will swing at anything, and 2) if Pitchers throw around the letters and around the knees hitters can’t catch up to the ball swinging underneath it
Ground balls have such a small chance of being base hits that the hitters have to have a launch Angel. It’s the shift.
Reward players for mailing contact, they’ll be more contact.
Kean!
Angels roster is bizarre. I’d be interested to know how many of those guys have been DFA’D, Had to settle for a minor league contract, or were traded because their last team gave up on them.
I agree, there is definitely Sum-Ting-Wong with the Angels roster?
Drew Butera has played for 9 teams… backup catcher is a nice career to have.
In 12 major league seasons, he has batted over .200 3 times.
A career OPS+ of 48.
And he has a World Series ring because he was the back up for Salvador Perez in 2015. he was also the catcher that caught the final out in game five. But he’s getting older now I think he’s 36 or 37, so his career is probably coming to a close pretty soon.
I agree Bob. He’s also made around 8 million dollars as a career .196 batter as a backup catcher to ride the bench most of the time. Not too shabby.
Drew Butera has great moss.. but so does Arte McCourt.