Fletcher day to day after twisting left ankle

August 31st, 2020

Angels second baseman exited Sunday’s game against the Mariners in the fifth inning after injuring his left ankle trying to beat out an infield single in the third inning. He was replaced by Luis Rengifo and is considered day to day.

Fletcher, who has surprisingly been one of the best players in the Majors this season, suffered the injury after his right foot hit the first-base bag. He then twisted his left foot, which caused him to go to the ground in pain. Fletcher was out on the play and made it back to the dugout on his own. He’s hopeful he’ll be able to return on Wednesday after Monday’s day game and Tuesday’s off-day. 

"I hit the base with my right foot and then my left foot after the base, I think I was trying to get away from the pitcher so I was kind of peeling off to the right a little bit," Fletcher said.

Fletcher remained in the game, but he was removed in the top of the fifth by Rengifo, who is likely to start at second in the series finale on Monday.  

"I felt like it was better about a minute or two after it happened, so I thought I could play," Fletcher said. "But that inning in the field, I was pretty limited moving." 

"Sounds like a day-to-day ankle sprain right now," Angels manager Joe Maddon said. "I talked to the trainers. I just got in touch with them describing it that way." 

Fletcher, 26, entered Sunday hitting .313/.377/.438 with three homers, nine doubles, 13 RBIs and 24 runs and an American League-leading 45 hits in 35 games. Fletcher is also ranked tied for 14th in the Majors with 1.4 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs.