The Los Angeles Angels are set to face the Washington Nationals in the rubber match of their three-game series, but their roster underwent some significant turnover prior to the game.
The Angels placed David Fletcher and Jose Rojas on the 10-day injured list, recalled Luis Rengifo from Triple-A Salt Lake, selected the contract of Aaron Whitefield and optioned Kenny Rosenborg to Triple-A.
Fletcher is back on the IL with a left hip strain, the same injury that shut him down earlier in the season. The utility infielder is going to meet with a specialist and surgery is considered an option, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic, but they don’t expect it to be season-ending just yet:
David Fletcher is headed back to the IL with hip tightness.
He said he’s flying to Philadelphia to meet with a specialist, and noted that surgery is on the table.
It’s the same issue he’s been dealing with since spring. https://t.co/xVtVBmRhPl
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) May 8, 2022
Fletcher was hitting just .158/.220/.263 with a 42 wRC+ and zero WAR in 14 games played. Although his loss is fairly significant for the Angels, Andrew Velazquez has filled in nicely at shortstop.
Rojas joins Fletcher on the IL after having a very poor start to the season, batting .130/.130/.217 with a -7 wRC+ and -0.4 WAR in seven games. He was previously optioned to Triple-A on Friday to make room for Jhonathan Diaz to be recalled.
The Angels also opened a roster spot by optioning left-handed pitcher Kenny Rosenberg to Salt Lake. He has only made one appearance this season and struck out two hitters while allowing one run.
The 26-year-old has a career ERA of 3.84 in the Minors, however, 2021 was one of his best seasons. In 41.2 innings, mostly out of the bullpen in Triple-A, Rosenberg posted a 2.81 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and 59 strikeouts compared to 16 walks.
Rengifo is back with the club for the first time in 2022 after playing 54 games for the Angels last season when he hit .201/.246/.310 for a 50 wRC+ with six home runs.
The switch hitter is a career .216 hitter across 621 at-bats but this season in the Minor Leagues he was hitting .313/.384/.525.
Whitefield will get the opportunity to make his Angels debut after slashing .301/.400/.538 in Double-A this season. The outfielder previously made his Major League debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2020 but only had one plate appearance in three games played.
Angels made multiple transactions yesterday
Yesterday, the Angels made multiple roster moves as well in what has been a busy few days for them.
The team lost catcher Kurt Suzuki to the 10-day injured list and replaced him by selecting the contract of catcher Chad Wallach.
Suzuki was off to a slow start in 2022, hitting just .179 with a .555 on-base plus slugging in 39 at-bats.
Additionally, Diaz was optioned after his start on Friday to get an extra arm in the bullpen. To replace him, the team selected the contract of 31-year-old right-hander Kyle Barraclough. He struck out two hitters and allowed one hit over two innings of work on Saturday.
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