This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ATLANTA -- The injuries continue to pile up for the Angels.
But general manager Perry Minasian has done his best to try to plug any holes, as it’s become increasingly obvious that they are going for it in 2023. They acquired outfielder Randal Grichuk and first baseman C.J. Cron from the Rockies on Sunday, a day after left fielder Taylor Ward sustained facial fractures.
Ward was shifted to the 60-day injured list after the trade, which indicates that he’ll be out for the rest of the regular season. It’s a major blow for the Angels, because Ward has been one of the club’s hottest hitters recently and is a strong defender in left field. But acquiring Grichuk will help alleviate some of that, and Cron also brings power from the right side and could split time at first base with Mike Moustakas.
Ward is expected to need surgery after a 91.7 mph sinker from Alek Manoah hit him flush in the face. Angels manager Phil Nevin, though, indicated it could’ve been worse and that Ward was released from the hospital after several hours on Saturday.
“He has multiple facial fractures, but the good news is all the eye stuff seems fine,” Nevin said. “It was the best possible news we could get after what happened. We talked [Saturday] night and he was normal Taylor, joking around. But he was also devastated."
It’s another tough break for the Angels, who have 17 players on the injured list. Nevin noticed on Saturday that Hunter Renfroe was the only position player who started on Opening Day to be currently healthy and in their normal position outside of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Otherwise, center fielder Mike Trout remains out until at least mid-August after undergoing surgery to remove his hamate bone. And among their other Opening Day position players, third baseman Anthony Rendon (bone bruise), shortstop Gio Urshela (fractured pelvis), first baseman Brandon Drury (left shoulder inflammation), catcher Logan O’Hoppe (torn labrum in left shoulder) and Ward are all on the injured list.
And that doesn’t even count outfielder Jo Adell, who is expected to be out until at least September because of a strained oblique. Rookie shortstop Zach Neto has also missed seven of the last eight games because of back spasms. And catcher Max Stassi has been out all season because of a hip injury and a family emergency.
Neto should be back in the lineup soon and Drury is aiming to return on Thursday against the Mariners, which should help. O’Hoppe has also been progressing faster than expected and could be back by mid-to-late August, which is a similar timeline with Trout.
Injured pitchers José Suarez, Chris Devenski and Ben Joyce have also been facing hitters in Arizona and are nearing returns. It's unclear in which role Suarez will return. He struggled as a starter early this season and the Angels acquired Lucas Giolito in a trade with the White Sox to improve their rotation on Wednesday. They also acquired reliever Reynaldo López in the same trade, which should be a boost to the bullpen.
Their increased depth via the two trades will come in handy. They have a tough slate in August before the schedule eases up a bit in September. Nevin, though, said he likes the way his team has responded to challenges this season and doesn’t want to use injuries as excuses.
“When you have injuries like we’ve had, it’s a blow to the room, but we’ve seemed to be resilient,” Nevin said. “At the end of the day, even with the injuries, we’re four games above .500. We still have everything right in front of us."