Schanuel (calf) lands on IL; Madrigal joins Angels in depth role

DETROIT -- After dealing with left calf inflammation since early April, first baseman Nolan Schanuel landed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday. He had experienced calf tightness related to his ankle while making a play at first base on Saturday.

Schanuel, who initially injured his ankle while running the bases on April 4, played through the injury most of this season but said it’s finally reached the point that he can’t play. He was placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to Sunday, which means he can return as soon as June 3, but he’s not sure how long he’ll be out after aggravating the injury while trying to test it before Tuesday’s game. He underwent an MRI exam on Wednesday and is awaiting the results.

“Today's probably been one of the harder days,” Schanuel said. “Went out and tried to test it out yesterday, and it didn't go well, and I think it kind of backfired on me today. I got tested this morning, so I'm just waiting for final results and see how it goes.”

Schanuel, 24, hit .262/.313/.387 with four homers, 12 doubles and 24 RBIs in 49 games before landing on the IL. But he believes his ankle injury affected him at the plate and that coming back fully healthy will help him the rest of the season.

“I think it'll be a lot better, because I've been playing on it banged up for a little while now,” Schanuel said. “I’ve just kind of been dealing with the pain, and it just got too much for me, and I think once it heals up, I hope it'll go better than it's been.”

With Schanuel on the IL, the Angels selected infielder Nick Madrigal’s contract from Triple-A Salt Lake and designated outfielder Matthew Lugo for assignment. It marked Madrigal’s first return to the big leagues since June 1, 2024, as the former No. 4 overall selection in the 2018 Draft dealt with injuries in recent years, including missing last season after undergoing left shoulder surgery.

Madrigal, 29, slashed .275/.353/.366 in 38 games with Salt Lake and is a career .274/.323/.344 hitter in 285 games in the Majors with the White Sox and Cubs.

“I feel like this time, I'll kind of look around a bit more and try to enjoy it with the guys and this team,” Madrigal said. “But, yeah, overall, just really thankful to be here again.”

Madrigal will mostly see action at second base and third, but also has some experience at shortstop and in the outfield. Vaughn Grissom, who hit a grand slam and had six RBIs in Tuesday’s 10-6 win, started at first base again on Wednesday. He’s expected to get the bulk of the playing time there in Schanuel’s absence, although Oswald Peraza and Donovan Walton could see time there as well.

“For the most part now, he's going to fill in and get the majority of the time over there at first base,” manager Kurt Suzuki said of Grissom. “But I could see Peraza or Donnie playing some first base, so we have options.”

Suzuki added that the Angels did consider youngsters Christian Moore and Denver Guzman, but they want them to continue to develop in Salt Lake. They’re still hopeful that Schanuel won’t be out too long, so Suzuki said it made more sense to call up a veteran like Madrigal, who won’t play every day and also brings much needed contact skills to the lineup.

Moore, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2004 Draft, has hit .295/.453/.508 in 33 games with Salt Lake, while Guzman, ranked as the club’s No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline, has fared even better with a .330/.396/.543 slash line in 48 games at Triple-A.

“Definitely in the conversation, but I think right now we felt like Schanuel is hopefully not going to be out for a long time,” Suzuki said. “We felt like having Nick come up with his versatility, contact skills, and ability to play everywhere was a good thing for us.”