The Angels moved back over the .500 mark with today’s 6-5 walkoff victory over the Orioles, though it may have been a costly win as both Anthony Rendon (left hamstring tightness) and Taylor Ward (right index index finger) made early exits due to potential injuries. The early word from the team training staff is that neither injury seems particularly serious, manager Joe Maddon told The Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters. Rendon and Ward are both questionable for Monday’s game with the Red Sox, but any absence “should not be something elongated. That’s the original diagnosis I’ve been given,” Maddon said.
Rendon has already missed a little over three weeks due to two separate IL stints earlier this season, and also been bothered by a triceps strain. It’s safe to assume these issues have been a factor in Rendon’s underwhelming .240/.329/.382 slash line, though the third baseman has been heating up over the last week. Rendon’s hamstring problem forced him out of the game in the sixth inning, Maddon said, after Rendon attempted to field an infield single from Baltimore’s Austin Hays.
Ward suffered a jammed finger while diving back to a base, according to Maddon. The Angels’ outfield injuries have results in quite a bit of playing time for Ward this season, who has embraced the opportunity by hitting a solid .247/.333/.437 (113 wRC+) with seven homers over 199 PA. The 27-year-old was originally called up from Triple-A on May 5 as part of a series of roster moves that included Rendon’s second IL placement.
The team can hardly afford to be short any more position players, as Justin Upton’s sore back will keep him on the injured list beyond the 10-day minimum. Upton was eligible to be activated today, though Maddon said before the game (to The Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher and other reporters) that Upton is “still not quite ready….So we’re just gonna have to make sure that he gets all the proper work in before he gets out there. We need to get him out there, do some defensive work running a little bit, etc.” The Halos manager doesn’t think Upton’s absence will last through the week and into the All-Star break, as Maddon believes Upton could be ready to play “any day now.”
Rendon is a China doll and the Angles will soon regret ever signing him. Should cut bait with him as soon as they can.
It’s quite amazing how many bad contracts the Angels have had through their history
Look at Arte Moreno for bad contracts
It started before him.
Remember Mo Vaughn?
They take a hall of fame talent and just ruin their career.
Great at home grown talent though, see Trout, Ohtani, Weaver, Edmonds, Salmon
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Teams that spend a lot tend to have the most bad contracts, just like the biggest high rollers tend to lose the most at the casinos. Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, etc have had their share of bad contracts..
Mo Vaughn was a freak thing, falling into the dugout on the first play of his first game with the Angels. He basically ate his career away.
Ohtani shouldn’t be on that list of homegrown talent.
Would hardly call Vaughn Hall of Fame talent, but certainly Fred Lynn was another Angels letdown. He did “o.k.” with them but certainly nothing close to his days in Boston.
in reality, lynn had better offensive numbers at the angels stadium than he did at the dumpster fenway.
Mo put up HOF numbers in Boston. It was the PED era though, and he was eventually linked to Radomski, so even if he hadn’t gotten hurt in Anaheim he would still be a questionable HOF pick.
At the risk of getting attacked again, Lynn was called “Fragile Freddie” for a reason. Because of his reckless style of play, he couldn’t stay healthy. After age 32 he never played more than 124 games. It’s a shame because he was a fantastic talent.
I still consider the NPB to MLB a big enough transition to see him that way.
I understand if others are picky.
He was a 5 bWAR hitter his last few years in Boston but never should have been near a glove.
The talent was there Mo’s problem was his drive after he got the big contract
But by signing Mo Vaughn, that enabled them to move GG 1B Erstad to the OF, and allowed them to finally dump Edmonds. That accomplised the trifecta of baseball by becoming more expensive, older, and worse, all with one move.
Ohtani isn’t homegrown he was already a professional with Japan.
Lest we forget the Josh Hamilton signing which most of us knew was a landmine from the jump. He’s def in the Angels’ top 5 all time albatrosses
How do the “Angles” cut bait?
Eh his stats simply say he’s due to improve. He’s got like a .260 Babip this season with a career babip over .300 his fly ball rate has also increased this year, his walk rate is also down which might increase with the recent substance ban. If he can focus on driving the ball up the middle and take some walks he’ll be fine, and will produce at an above average level.
The problem is that producing at an above average level would still not be enough to provide positive value on that contract. He needs to be really, really good in these early years. Unless you expect him to improve the closer he gets to 40.
Soon regret? It was terrible deal before the ink dried. Hopefully they can do what the Mariners did and send him away. The problem is that Cano was actually playing well when they traded him
This contract was a disaster from the start. It’s going to be a long 5.5 years with this bum.
They cant cut bait, they’d have to pay him down to the point that it would be a PR nightmare {and probably } only produce a net neutral effect by doing so- He’ s there for a long long time
They do need to put him in bubble wrap tho by Sept 1
Ohtani better not throw a Sept inn as well
How does a comment like this get so many likes? You millenials don’t quite get it. It’s a 7 year deal. You can’t “cut bait” in year 2 that’s not how things work at all.
Will it end up being a good contract? Highly doubt it but thats not unusual. Pretty much all big contracts are fails.
Ah yes a slow start while injured makes him a bust.
Nats will take him back in a heartbeat. How much of his salary do you want to pay?
Thankfully, Jerry Dipoto is doing it to the Mariners.
I dont ever think it WAS Jerry….Arte is the problem there …He’s basically Jerry Jones sans the personality
Anyone who doesn’t think that Dipsnot Dipoto wasn’t a major problem as GM of the Angels need to pay attention. Now FA are the owners decision not the GM. So I won’t go into blame on that part with Dipsnot. Look at his first round draft picks Dipsnot had with the Angels. Cron, Newcomb and Ward. None of which have lived up to their potential. Ward as nice of a player that he is, should have never been a first round pick. Look at his trades. In other look at the players he traded vs the players he got back. Chattwood for Iannetta, not a bad trade. Traded 5 players for a two month rental in Grienke, which Segura was the head line prospect in that trade. Then refused to offer Grienke one more year on his contract offer. Despite Arte giving him the green light to do so. Traded Walden for Tommy Hansen. That right there says all that needs to said. Morales for Varges, not a bad trade. Trumbo for two below average starting pitchers. Now granted Trumbo did become injury prone, so I can’t say it was a horrible trade. Peter Borgeous for David Freese and. Fernando Salus worked good for the Angels. Frieri for Grilli. Grilli was solid for the Angels. So no complaint. Traded for Houston Street, solid trade for the Angels. Mike Clevinger for Vinnie Prestano. Do I even have to say how bad that trade was? Kendrick for Heaney, how tf do you lose a trade when you get 6 years of control for a pitcher for a player with one year left on his deal? The Hamilton trade, that was going to be bad no matter what.
Trumbo waas part of a package traded to Arizona for Dan Haren, who was hardly a below average pitcher. If the Angels had gone all in and signed Grienke to a contract that outbid the Dodgers would have been a problem with the Angels history of long term contracts.
The Angels need to stop with the long term contracts and invest the money into the organization. When Ohtani’s time to get a new contract they Should offer higher annual salary for no more than five years. Until the Angels can draft and develop most of their pitching they are doomed.
Trout27, I believe u nailed it mostly, but it’s not a bad idea to supplement your team with NEEDED long term financial investments, at certain positions of need. I’m not going to go thru them all thru the years, but I’m sure most can figure them out. You’re not going to hit on most of them, but if they make sense on the organizational depth chart, some are worth the risk.
@trout27 Trumbo was traded for Taylor Skaggs and Hector Santiago. Joe Saunders, Tylor Skaggs and Patrick Corbin were the ones traded for Dan Haren. So Jared Walsh and David Fletcher weren’t drafted and developed by the Angels? Btw the first thing Dipsnot did as Angels GM, was fire the scout who discovered Mike trout. Because he wasn’t a metrics guy. The Angels need to stop reaching in the first round and drafting guys higher than they are projected to be. Ward and Thaiss are perfect examples of that.
@trout27 also Grienke finished top 5 in CY Young 3 of the 6 years that he would have been under contract with the Angels.
Thats not true, Stonement left under Regins.
Agreed DiPoto didn’t perform well…but his biggest disaster was a under-the-radar international signing named Roberto Baldoquin…which cost the Angels the legitimate chance they would have had with Vlad Guerrero Jr.
Nah Artes a huge problem and probably always will be –
Jerrys doing a great job in Sea where the owner is staying outta his way, I don’t think its a coincidence
Every team loses trades, its silly to revisit them years later and make statements as if you coulda predicted the future at the time –
The scouting department drafts players not Jerry….they are employed by Arte, they are probably just yes men tho Id Imagine
Arte was and still IS still the problem w the Angels
Whoes the last GM you guys were good under? Hows the current Gm doing….. hmmmm
I never thought Bill Stoneman got enough credit.
Anyone that says Dipoto wasn’t an issue doesn’t know much about the Angels or probably anything for that matter.
Angelsfans4life touched on one of the horrendous trades in Angels History. Mike Clevinger for Vinnie Prestano.
We can also never forget the Dipoto Four.
halosheaven.com/2014/5/28/5759490/the-legend-of-th…
He also left the Angels with one of the worst minor league systems.
Please! Give this deal time…He was decent last year..He has had misforunate injuries every time he has started heating up..If a year from now,he isn’t hitting,then panic..In the 70s the Angels signed a big free agent…Lyman Bostock..His first 2 months were awful..He even tried to return his salary…Then he completely turned it around..The late in the season,he was tragically murdered..Ok..bad example..Y’all are right..Our team is cursed! Lol..
I agree Razersharp, give Rendon a little more time. I know there’s a lot of concerns health related, especially since most are soft tissue, but you can never doubt his ability. His professional approach, and his bat to ball skills play, not only play, but will play for his entirety of his contract. That said, at least he’ll be a young 37 in his last year of his contract, with all of his presumed missed time… Haha.
Btw, of course he’s an over pay, there’s not to many front line FA’s that aren’t.
Razorsharp, I agree regarding Rendon going down every time he starts to heat up. This year Rendon repeatedly gets hurt, sits for 7-10 days, comes back cold for 10’ish games, heats up for a week and gets injured… again. I think he will be fine IF he can stay on the field…
Rendon was the best player on the Angels last year. I bet if boards like this existed every one would have said Baylor and Grich were busts at the beginning.
Many many fans were saying Ohtani was a bust.
I’m sure Rendon will milk as much down time as he possibly can.
Hang in there Angels and Angels fans. The greatest hitting show on the diamond is a few weeks away. No new injuries permitting..With any mediocre pitching what’s so ever, you never know. Let’s go!!!
We don’t agree on pitching, but we agree on this.
When Sledgers came in and ruined another Sandoval outing, I thought of you. Every time an Angel R.P. comes in and causes a starters daily ERA to double, Which is just about every day, I think of you.
Gotcha, but also keep in mind, the majority of the runners inherited that are scored on the bull pens allowed run scored, are the bull pens runners. Not only because there’s only 1 starter, but we use 6 of them a game. 😉
Glad we are being cordial. Over the last 8 games it seems like every runner a starter leaves on scores. Wantz looks good. I really hope we find someone.
If Rendon comes back healthy, this lineup is insane.
Some RP, perhaps most of them, perform better coming into a game at the beginning of an inning. That would certainly describe Sledgers and pretty much all of the Angels RP. The Angels just dont have a “go to” guy in high leverage situations. Iglesies would be the closest, but he seems to perform best in Save situations. And who do you trust to save a game if Iglesies has already pitched?
The Angels’ motto: You never know
Hopefully Rendon is back soon. If we can stick at .500 to start the second half and acquire some meaningful pitching, we might be able to make a run with Trout returning.
They are playing better without Trout, or hadn’t you noticed?
At first I was surprised that my benign comment of optimism would elicit such a snarky response. But then I remembered that some people can only communicate like that. Wait, am I being snarky?
Your response to my comment suggests that it is Trout’s fault that the team was playing worse before he got injured. I believe it would be very difficult for you to back up that argument. Trout makes any team better.
Why work when you getting paid even when your not sick.
Why troll? when you’re getting paid nothing for it
The Angels have a very low chance of contending under current ownership. The ownership neglects pitching and any half-assed analyst can tell you that you can’t win without pitching. The Angels are a joke that is a well known fact.
Thanks for coming by and giving some love to the Angels. We’ll catch u at the next game. 😉
Gary Mathews Jr. Was another horrible signing…
Here is an interesting nugget..in 2015 the Angels drafted Johah DiPito one round before J.Walsh! Jerry’s Kid
Wasn’t a fan of the Rendon sign, but dude gets in about 600 AB’s every and plays killer 3rd. Now he is 31 so well see he if can hit in year 4. Now taking foul balls of the knee wood slow my game down too
The issue isn’t how good Rendon is now, but how long he will remain viable. He just turned 31, so you are looking at maybe one more season of AS-level performance. So you will have 2 good seasons out of a 7-year contract. That’s where the issue is.
A lot of contracts imply a couple of bad years, but you should really aim to have at least half the contract be prime years. That was the problem with Pujols (32), Upton (30), Hamilton (32), Wells (32), etc. Every player ages, but the Angels have been acquiring players that were already kind of old when they acquired/extended them.
Justin Turner 3b, (36) says, “look at me go”. I’ve got no signs of slowing down.