The Los Angeles Angels are no stranger to the injured list this season. It feels as though they’ve played very few games with all of their players healthy, and are currently without Mike Trout, Jared Walsh, and Anthony Rendon, all of whom should be All-Stars when playing at their best levels.
Rendon has been the most troubling of the Angels stars, as he simply has not been able to stay healthy this season. He is currently in the middle of his third IL stint, this one due to a left hamstring strain which has kept him out for almost a month. Originally, he was not even supposed to be in the IL, as it was a day-to-day injury when it first occurred.
There remains a lack of clarity — and general pessimism — surrounding Rendon’s availability moving forward, as the recovery has progressed much slower than anyone in the Angels organization anticipated, via MLB.com:
After exiting with an injury on July 4, Rendon has not had any setbacks, but he also hasn’t made any noticeable strides in his recovery to the point where he could take the next step in his rehab. He’s still yet to do any baseball activities and there’s no exact timetable for his return.
This is absolutely not what the Angels were hoping for in the first full-length season of Rendon’s seven-year deal. Hopefully, there is a quick resolution and Rendon can get back to his usually elite level of play sooner rather than later.
On a more positive note, there is significant optimism surrounding the return of Jared Walsh, who went on the 10-day IL with a right intercostal strain. His recovery has gone exactly as planned, meaning he could be in the lineup shortly.
Walsh was placed on the IL with a right intercostal strain, retroactive to July 27. He sustained the injury against the Rockies in his final at-bat and was taken out of the game in the eighth inning. Walsh has been able to swing without any issues and the Angels are hopeful it’ll be a short-term injury.
Walsh is eligible to come off of the IL this Thursday, August 5. Based on this report, it’s looking increasingly possible that this happens, and that Walsh will be in the lineup when the Angels face the L.A. Dodgers in this weekend’s freeway series.
The Angels need to get healthy in a hurry, as they are starting to slip out of the wild card race. A string of good wins could place them right back in it, but at this point their playoff hopes are day-to-day and depend on each individual game to go their way.
Shohei Ohtani’s start delayed
Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani is not necessarily injured. However, the team has decided to be cautious with his next outing as a pitcher due to thumb soreness from an errant foul ball. His next start was supposed to be Sunday, then Monday. Now, it could be pushed back until the Dodgers series.