Angels catcher Geovany Soto will miss the next four to six weeks due to a torn meniscus in his right knee that will require surgery, GM Billy Eppler told reporters, including Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times (links to Twitter). Catching prospect Jett Bandy will join the Angels tonight, Moura adds.
Soto becomes the latest in a seemingly ceaseless cavalcade of injuries for the Angels, who currently have Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, C.J. Wilson, Andrelton Simmons, Huston Street, Daniel Nava, Craig Gentry, Cory Rasmus and Cliff Pennington on the Major League disabled list. That list doesn’t include left-hander Tyler Skaggs, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery but has had some recent setbacks at the Triple-A level.
Soto, 33, has hit well in limited action with the Halos this season, batting .283/.338/.483 with three homers in 67 trips to the plate. He signed a one-year, $2.8MM contract with the Angels this offseason. With Soto on the shelf, Bandy will pair with 25-year-old Carlos Perez behind the plate to comprise the Angels’ primary catching tandem. Bandy made his big league debut for the Angels in 2015 but received just two plate appearances in his brief promotion to the Majors. The former 31st-round pick rated 23rd (MLB.com) and 27th (Baseball America) in a weak Angels farm system heading into the season. He’s off to a .274/.314/.411 start with a pair of homers at Triple-A Salt Lake this season, and he’s caught 13 of 27 potential base thieves (48 percent). Bandy has halted 36 percent of stolen base attempts over the course of six minor league seasons.