The Los Angeles Angels saw yet another injury over the weekend with Luis Rengifo being placed on the 10-day injured list due to wrist inflammation. This prompted manager Ron Washington to make a drastic change in the Angels lineup, putting the youth cornerstones — Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe — as the 1-2-3 hitters.
Previously, Washington had made it a point to keep Neto and O’Hoppe in the bottom half of the lineup as they develop, while Schanuel had done more bouncing around from top to bottom. But the injury to Rengifo left the Angels in a tough spot with available players, and Neto advocated for himself and the young pillars.
Washington revealed that Neto spoke to him and said that he wanted to be moved back to the No. 2 spot in the lineup, and it was that request that led to the lineup switch, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“Well, we lost everybody so now we have to shuffle the lineup around and see who can handle what,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “To be honest with you, Neto came into my office and told me the next time the No. 2 spot opened up, he wanted it. And I couldn’t deny him. If I didn’t put him in there, I probably would’ve caught a lot of flak.”
The Angels needed to, at a certain point, put greater faith in some of the players that could be franchise leaders in the very near future. O’Hoppe and Neto were not going to grow as quickly in the No. 5 and No. 8 spots on the lineup than they will at No. 3 and No. 2.
The Rengifo injury is certainly unfortunate for the Angels, especially when they could have flipped him for some type of value at the trade deadline. But it provides an opportunity for the Halos to grow their possible pillars in a no-pressure situation over the final two months of the 2024 season. The Angels are 2-0 since making the switch.
Logan O’Hoppe named Angels’ Heart and Hustle winner
O’Hoppe was named the Angels’ winner of the 2024 Heart and Hustle Award, which is presented annually by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) to one player on each team who “best embodies the values, spirits and traditions of baseball,” along with factoring in on-field performance.
O’Hoppe gets individual team winner honors of the Heart and Hustle Award in just his second full campaign with the Angels. That inaugural overall award went to David Eckstein of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Heart and Hustle Award is the only honor in MLB that is voted on by former players, which is conducted prior to the All-Star break.