The Los Angeles Angels bullpen was dealt a blow after José Quijada received word on his left elbow which has kept him out of action for the past week.
Coming into 2023, Quijada was poised to take another step in his development as a high-powered arm. The left-hander took part in the World Baseball Classic with Team Venezuela but shortly into his regular season campaign, his fantastic performance hit a snag.
His stellar start to the season was derailed by a nagging feeling in his throwing arm, and after the Angels shut him down, a second opinion confirmed initial reports that Quijada would be out for a significant period of time, via Sam Blum of The Athletic:
José Quijada will need Tommy John surgery, Phil Nevin said. He’ll miss the rest of the season, but they hope he’ll return at some point next year.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) May 3, 2023
Quijada has a rehab timeline of around 12 to 18 months which puts him out until around the All-Star break of the 2024 season. Angels manager Phil Nevin will have to find another avenue to supplement his slot in the bullpen, and perhaps veteran lefty Matt Moore could be in line to see an increase in usage.
Angels shortstop Zach Neto getting hit by pitches at historic rate
Zach Neto was selected in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Campbell University, mainly because of his elite bat-to-ball skills, but also his improvement in reducing his strikeouts and increasing his walk rate to 15.2% in his senior year.
After joining the Angels Minor League ranks, Neto picked up where he left off. Maintaining his zone awareness and making the most of his at-bats, he earned a call-up to MLB after just seven games in 2023 when he posted a .559 on-base percentage.
Through his first 15 games in MLB, Neto was plunked seven times, the most in as many games dating back to 1901.
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