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Angels Place Brandon Drury On 10-Day Injured List

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The Angels placed Brandon Drury on the 10-day injured list today, as the veteran is suffering from a left shoulder contusion.  Drury’s placement is retroactive to June 30.  The Angels called up infielder Andrew Velazquez to take Drury’s spot on the roster, and the club also announced that Jake Lamb (who was designated for assignment earlier this week) has been released.

Drury hasn’t played since Thursday, when he hurt his shoulder diving for a ball in Anaheim’s 9-7 loss to the White Sox.  The IL placement seems to be largely precautionary in nature, and Drury told The Athletic’s Sam Blum and other reporters that he expects to be activated when first eligible, which is the Angels’ first game after the All-Star break.

While it doesn’t look like Drury will miss much time, his shoulder issue represents yet another injury for an Angels infielder.  The team recently acquired Eduardo Escobar and Mike Moustakas in trades to add some infield depth, but even while a couple of previously injured players have since returned, the IL’s revolving door has now continued with Drury’s placement.  Drury joins Gio Urshela (whose season might be over due to a pelvic fracture) and Zach Neto on the IL, though Neto’s return from an oblique strain might also come once the All-Star break is over, as Blum reports that Neto has been engaging in baseball activities.

After signing a two-year, $17MM free agent deal with the Angels during the offseason, Drury’s first season in a Halos uniform has been a success to date.  The 30-year-old is hitting .277/.322/.500 with 14 homers over 307 plate appearances, translating to a solid 123 wRC+.  With a .333 BABIP and below-average strikeout and walk rates, there might be some regression in store for Drury in the second half, but the Angels are certainly hoping he can continue being a key bat in their lineup, and a regular at both first and second base.

Angels Designate Jake Lamb For Assignment, Reinstate Anthony Rendon

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The Angels have designated Jake Lamb for assignment, per a team announcement. The move creates a 40-man roster spot for Victor Mederos, who has officially been selected onto the roster. The Halos also reinstated Anthony Rendon from the 10-day injured list and optioned Andrew Velazquez and Andrew Wantz to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Lamb broke camp after an offseason minor league deal. He didn’t hit well in a limited look, putting up a .216/.259/.353 line over 54 trips to the plate. In mid-May, the Halos optioned him to Salt Lake. As a player with five-plus years of MLB service, Lamb would’ve ordinarily had the right to refuse any minor league assignment. However, his contract reportedly contained a 45-day window in which the Angels could send him down.

The left-handed hitter has spent the past month and a half in Triple-A. He raked at a .317/.453/.492 clip, connecting on five homers and drawing walks in 17.3% of his 150 plate appearances. Even with infield injuries mounting at the MLB level, the Angels decided not to give him another look. They’ll now take him off the roster entirely, likely ending his time in the organization.

Los Angeles has a week to trade the 10-year MLB veteran or place him on waivers. Should he go unclaimed on waivers, he’d have the right to test free agency while retaining the entirety of this year’s salary.

Rendon draws back into the lineup two weeks after bruising his left wrist. He’ll return to the hot corner, hitting cleanup against Arizona left-hander Tommy Henry. With Velazquez going back to the minors, the Angels have an MLB infield of Rendon, Eduardo Escobar, David Fletcher, Mike Moustakas and Brandon Drury.

The Halos also announced that Kevin Padlo has accepted an assignment to Triple-A. The infielder was outrighted off the 40-man roster this afternoon.

Angels To Select Victor Mederos

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The Angels are promoting Victor Mederos to the majors, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (on Twitter). The right-hander is not on the 40-man roster, so the Halos will have to officially select his contract and make corresponding active and 40-man roster transactions.

It’s another bold promotion for the Angels. The Halos haven’t been afraid to aggressively call on prospects they feel are ready for an MLB look. They made Chase Silseth the first player from the 2021 draft to reach the big leagues last May. Infielder Zach Neto earned the 2022 honors when the Angels called him up this April; reliever Ben Joyce followed a month thereafter. Mederos joins his now-teammates as the only players from last year’s draft to yet get to the bigs.

Mederos was a sixth-round pick out of Oklahoma State. He’d been a high-profile high school pitcher who began his college days at Miami. He never found consistent success at the amateur level, dropping him into the middle rounds on draft day. Baseball America nevertheless ranked him 29th among Anaheim prospects over the offseason, praising his mid-90s fastball and potential plus slider.

The 22-year-old has spent this season at Double-A Rocket City. He’s made 12 starts, allowing a 5.98 ERA across 55 2/3 innings. While he has allowed over two homers per nine innings and is walking 10% of opponents, he’s striking hitters out at a strong 28.3% clip. The front office evidently feels his arsenal will play against MLB hitters in spite of the middling minor league numbers.

Mederos has started all 18 of his professional appearances. Prospect evaluators have pointed to a likely bullpen future because of spotty command. It seems likely he’ll break in at the MLB level as a multi-inning reliever. The Angels’ bullpen ranks eighth in the majors with a 3.69 ERA.

Angels Outright Kevin Padlo

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The Angels have sent infielder Kevin Padlo outright to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment a week ago in order to make room on the roster for Mike Moustakas.

Padlo, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Halos this winter. He hit .266/.383/.532 through 149 plate appearances in the minors for a 116 wRC+. That showing got him added to the club’s roster just over a week ago as they were dealing with injuries to Gio Urshela, Zach Neto and Anthony Rendon. With Padlo’s ability to play the three non-shortstop infield positions, he could have provided them with valuable versatility in covering for those injuries.

However, the Angels quickly pivoted to players with more major league experience, acquiring both Moustakas and Eduardo Escobar in quick succession. Padlo was bumped off the roster less than a week after being selected, garnering just eight plate appearances in three games.

That brings his total major league experience to 26 games, as he also got brief looks in the past two years with the Rays, Mariners, Giants and Pirates. He’s hit just .111/.158/.167 in those sporadic stints in the big leagues but has continually drawn interest based on his versatility and minor league track record. He has a combined .250/.340/.477 line in Triple-A over four different seasons.

The fact that he has been outrighted means that he cleared waivers. As a player with a previous career outright, he has the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear whether he has chosen to do so.

MLB Announces 2023 All-Star Starters

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Major League Baseball announced the starting lineups for the 2023 All-Star Game this evening. This year’s All-Star Game will take place at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on July 11. The starting pitchers and reserves will be announced at a later date.

American League

National League

* Currently on injured list with sprained toe

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: The Angels Trade for Infielders, Indecisive NL Central Teams and Aaron Judge’s Toe

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

  • The Angels acquired Eduardo Escobar from the Mets and Mike Moustakas from the Rockies (1:25)
  • The Pirates and Cubs and Cardinals are thinking about their respective trade deadline approaches (7:20)
  • The Yankees’ hopes are hanging on Aaron Judge’s toe (16:05)

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • How do you think the Red Sox will approach the deadline? Will they try to toe the line like last season (which did not work)? (18:50)
  • I would like to know what you think the Padres are going to do? They have numerous holes in that lineup, they are selling out game after game at home? You think major trades forthcoming? Or what? (22:40)
  • What do you think are the chances that the Braves trade Vaughn Grissom at the deadline? What caliber of player do you believe a package built around Grissom would bring in? (25:35)

Check out our past episodes!

Angels Outright Chris Okey

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The Angels announced that catcher Chris Okey has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on the weekend.

Los Angeles signed the 28-year-old backstop to a minor league deal in April. They selected his contract a few weeks later while dealing with a number of catching injuries. Chad Wallach returning from the injured list pushed Okey back to the minors a few days later. He played twice, starting one game behind the dish.

The Clemson product has made 27 starts for Salt Lake on the season. He’s hitting .276/.325/.410 with three home runs in 116 trips to the plate in the Pacific Coast League. The former Red owns a career .233/.300/.362 slash in parts of four Triple-A campaigns.

Okey has previously gone unclaimed on waivers in his career. That gave him the right to test minor league free agency this time around. He’ll pass on that opportunity and rejoin the Bees as non-roster depth. Matt Thaiss and Wallach are the only healthy catchers on the 40-man roster, so any injury could afford Okey another quick opportunity at the MLB level.

Orioles Sign Meibrys Viloria To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles announced to reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, that they have signed catcher Meibrys Viloria to a minor league deal. He’s working out at the club’s Sarasota facilities but will presumably move to a higher affiliate in the days to come. He had signed a minor league deal with the Angels in May but was released in early June, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com.

Viloria, 26, has bounced around the league quite a bit in the past couple of years. He was in the Royals’ system from 2014 to 2021, including 67 major league games from 2018 to 2020. He reached free agency and joined the Rangers in 2022. He was briefly claimed by the Giants at the end of last year but was designated for assignment and became a free agent again in the offseason.

This year, he signed a minor league deal with the Guardians. He cracked the Opening Day roster as part of a three-catcher setup alongside Mike Zunino and Cam Gallagher. By the start of May, he had yet to receive a start and only tallied 21 2/3 innings off work off the bench. He went 0-3 with a walk in four plate appearances before he was designated for assignment. He then latched on with the Angels, as mentioned, but hit .167/.265/.333 for their Triple-A club before being released.

The Orioles have made it clear that catching depth is important to them as they have frequently brought various guys aboard for that position. Adley Rutschman is the primary backstop at the big league level and James McCann the backup, though the latter is currently on the injured list. McCann’s injury paved the way for Anthony Bemboom to join the big league roster, though Mark Kolozsvary and José Godoy have each been with the club at various times.

Viloria is the latest to be brought into the fold for some extra depth. He’s hit just .198/.270/.279 in the majors but has a much stronger .249/.385/.406 line at Triple-A. He isn’t considered a plus framer by either Baseball Prospectus or FanGraphs, while Statcast likes his work with the running game but not his blocking. If he can get back to the big leagues, he is out of options but has yet to reach arbitration and can be cheaply retained for future seasons.

Angels Acquire Mike Moustakas

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The Angels acquired infielder Mike Moustakas tonight, sending minor league righty Connor Van Scoyoc to the Rockies.  The deal, which is now official, was first reported by Robert Murray of Fansided.  The Halos designated infielder Kevin Padlo for assignment to open a spot for Moustakas, reports MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger.

Moustakas, 34, was released by the Reds in January, with the club eating $22MM in the process.  He hooked on with the Rockies on a minor league deal in March and cracked the Opening Day roster with a strong spring.  With the Rockies, Moustakas was used as a backup at the infield corners behind C.J. Cron and Ryan McMahon.  Cron has been on the IL with a back injury since mid-May, but Elehuris Montero has been drawing a good number of starts at first base in his stead.

After a pair of injury-wracked seasons, the left-handed-hitting Moustakas bounced back to a degree in his 136 plate appearances with Colorado this year by posting a 101 wRC+.  Moustakas effectively got to walk over to the visitors’ clubhouse tonight, after the Angels set various franchise records with a 25-1 drubbing of the Rockies at Coors Field.

Moustakas didn’t get to play in that one, but he’ll move from the NL’s worst team to a Halos club that is tied for the third AL wild-card spot with the Blue Jays.  The Angels are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.  With the Moustakas acquisition tonight, they’ve added a three-time All-Star, 2015 World Champion, and 13-year MLB veteran.  Moose hit 35 home runs in 2019, the fifth time he’d hit at least 20 in a season.

Moustakas’ initial two bouts with free agency were disappointments.  The first time through in 2017-18,  he turned down a $17.4MM qualifying offer from the Royals only to return in March on a one-year, $6.5MM deal.  The next time, he lingered on the market until February before re-signing with the Brewers for $10MM.  Moustakas was able to use his 2019 All-Star season as a springboard to a surprising four-year, $64MM deal with the Reds.  Unfortunately, Moustakas played in only 140 games for the Reds from 2021-22 due heel injuries, a right biceps strain, calf strains, and stints on the COVID-IL.

Moustakas spent some time at second base in 2019-20, but since then he’s been utilized at the infield corners and designated hitter.  The Angels have used a cast of players at first this year, with over 100 innings apiece going to Brandon Drury, Jared Walsh, Gio Urshela, and Jake Lamb.  Lamb was optioned to Triple-A in May, and Walsh followed him on Saturday.  Urshela recently suffered a season-ending fractured pelvis.

Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon went on the IL last Monday with a bruised wrist.  Luis Rengifo had been getting the nod at the hot corner, until the Angels picked up switch-hitter Eduardo Escobar as something of an Urshela replacement in a trade with the Mets on Friday.  Escobar, the Mets’ starting third baseman last year, could complement Moustakas at first and dabble at second base once Rendon returns.  Escobar has hit lefties quite well in recent seasons, with a 131 wRC+ in 398 plate appearances against them since 2021.  Moustakas hit righties to the tune of a 115 wRC+ from 2015-20, and may need to do so again to maintain his roster spot.

As for the Rockies, Moustakas could perhaps be the first domino to fall in advance of the August 1st trade deadline.  GM Bill Schmidt didn’t give much away in his comments on the topic on the Rockies broadcast about a week ago, but the team’s potential free agents include Charlie Blackmon, Randal Grichuk, Jurickson Profar, C.J. Cron, Pierce Johnson, Brent Suter, and Brad Hand.

In Van Scoyoc, the Rockies picked up a 23-year-old righty who’s served as a starting pitcher for the High-A Tri-City Dust Devils this year.  He was an 11th round pick by the Angels out of an Iowa high school back in 2018.  Van Scoyoc has posted a 2.76 ERA in 62 innings at that level on the strength of a 51.2% groundball rate.  Oddly enough, Van Scoyoc also switched clubhouses to join his new team, notes Doug Taylor on Twitter.

The 26-year-old Padlo had signed a minor league deal with the Angels back in December, earning a Major League look by hitting .273/.396/.555 at Triple-A.  The Angels selected his contract on Monday and gave him eight plate appearances, but now he’s lost a 40-man spot once again.  Padlo, a corner infielder, has also seen MLB time with the Rays, Mariners, Giants, and Pirates.

West Notes: Campusano, San Jose, Urquidy, Moore

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Padres catcher Luis Campusano is making notable progress in his rehab from a sprained left thumb. As Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes, Campusano hit on the field prior to today’s game against the Nationals before catching a bullpen session for right-hander Yu Darvish. As noted by MLB.com, manager Bob Melvin considered today’s steps forward “significant” as Campusano continues his rehab process, but the club has not yet set a timeline for the catcher to begin a rehab assignment.

Campusano appeared in just seven games this season prior to going on the injured list, leaving much of the catching duties to Austin Nola, who’s struggled to a brutal .144/.263/.195 slash line this season. More recently, the Padres have learned on in-season addition Gary Sanchez behind the plate. In 80 plate appearances since arriving in San Diego, Sanchez has slashed .206/.275/.521 with a wRC+ of 114 while grading out as a roughly average defensive catcher. Still, Campusano’s eventual return figures to give the Padres insurance if Sanchez’s production takes a turn for the worse and an alternative to Nola as the second catcher on the roster.

More from around MLB’s western divisions…

  • As reported by John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose mayor Matt Mahan and four previous mayors of the city have issued a letter to commissioner Rob Manfred pleading the city’s case for an MLB expansion or relocation team. In the letter, the mayors argue that San Jose presents a unique opportunity for MLB considering its population, annual GDP, and its relationship with major tech companies. As Shea notes, the Giants currently have territorial rights over San Jose following an agreement between San Francisco and Oakland in 1990. That agreement was a major factor in the failure of a bid by the Athletics to move to San Jose back in 2013. While the idea of San Jose as a potential expansion team location farfetched considering MLB’s decision to support the Giants in their dispute with the A’s over territorial rights a decade ago, the situation is nonetheless worth noting as groups around the country such as those in Nashville and Salt Lake City prepare for the possibility of expansion in the coming decade.
  • Astros right-hander Jose Urquidy threw a bullpen session today and told reporters, including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, that he was sitting 88-89 with his fastball, down from his typical velocity of 93-94. That’s not much of a cause for concern at the moment, however, considering how early it is in Urquidy’s rehab from shoulder woes that have kept him on the injured list since the beginning of May. Urquidy, who has long been expected to return sometime in July, told reporters that the current plan is for him to throw two more bullpen sessions before advancing to facing live hitters. It seems reasonable to expect a rehab assignment to be in the near future for Urquidy once he begins facing live batters, assuming everything goes well up to that point.
  • Angels lefty Matt Moore is making progress in his rehab from an oblique injury that has left his sidelined for nearly a month, though he told reporters, including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger, that today’s bullpen didn’t go well enough for him to be activated from the injured list on Monday. While how Moore feels tomorrow will decide a lot of the process, the Halos reliever indicated that he expects to throw at least one more bullpen before he’s activated from the IL. Moore has been stellar for the Angels this season when healthy, with a 1.44 ERA in 25 innings, though the club has managed to maintain a solid bullpen in his absence thanks to the efforts of players like Carlos Estevez, Jaime Barria, and Chris Devenski.
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