The Angels will go without third baseman Zack Cozart for at least “a few weeks,” skipper Brad Ausmus tells reporters including J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). He has been diagnosed with a grade 1 calf strain.
Given the timing, it’s fair to wonder whether Cozart is at risk of missing the start of the season. It emerged over the weekend that he was dealing with a minor calf problem, though it now seems it’s significant enough to earn a place on the scale. A grade 1 diagnosis is at the mild end of the spectrum, though the Halos will need to take a careful approach to avoid a lengthier absence.
Cozart, 33, is due $12.67MM this year and next. He earned the same in 2018, which turned out to be a forgettable debut season with the Angels. Cozart limped to a .219/.296/.362 batting line in 253 plate appearances before undergoing a significant shoulder procedure.
The focus this spring was on the health of Cozart’s left arm and his ability to regain the form he showed in an outstanding 2017 season. Now, he’ll also need to work through this lower-leg ailment.
At his best, Cozart is an elite defender and quality hitter. His ability to get back on track is a key aspect of the Angels’ hopes for the coming campaign. Earning a postseason spot promises to be a tall order in a top-heavy American League. Tommy La Stella, Taylor Ward, and Kaleb Cowart are among the options to fill in at third if Cozart misses time early.
This dude is injured so much
When guys like Cozart are making 12 million a year that’s a huge overpay.
MAN, how many people thought it said Zack Greinke?
No… wait…
Haha..
Noone
Thought it said Wolfgang Amadeus Cozart.
Well that’s been a bad contract.
it is a mistake made by eppler first missing a chance to trade for gordon and signing this guy for too much.
Gordon who?
If it’s Dee Gordon, the Angels have never knowingly brought in a PED user. It’s not their style.
Do you know how many other teams have this style lmao. You act like there are hundreds.
Not many.. It seems like most teams don’t have a problem bringing in PED users. It’s not Moreno’s style.
It depends if you believed Jack Clark.
No one believes Jack Clark. St. Louis even fired him AFTER he recanted.
““I would like to address Albert Pujols’ pending defamation lawsuit and reconfirm that I have no knowledge whatsoever that Mr. Pujols has ever used illegal or banned PEDs,” Clark said in a statement he released and was provided to the Post-Dispatch.”
Why are you even bringing it up?
Macstruts- That is not true. They brought in Cameron Maybin after he was suspended for PED’s. And im sure there is probably more.
Amphetamines.
Different animal, but the point very well taken.
here we go again…this is karma for signing a one-year wonder.
Not karma, just not a very good organization.
Mets West as far as injuries go. They need to fire that entire medical staff.
Or could it just be that Cozart didn’t stay in shape throughout the offseason??
Sure, Ohtani picked the Angels because he thought it wasn’t a good organization. Trout signed an extension because he thought it wasn’t a good organization.
I don’t think you are very astute.
Not sure you understand what karma means
Cozart was not a one year wonder. He was an elite defensive SS with a decent bat. He’s had injuries every year all but a few years. It made no sense at all to sign a mostly glove SS to play third anyway.
He was coming off a year in which he changed his launch angle and hit 297/385/548
When the Angels signed him, the move was very well received. Hindsight is 20-20.
It does when you have Simba playing SS. And no one ready in the pipe line.
Okay and?
He didn’t limp through last season. His problem was in his shoulder, not his legs.
It’s an expression
Angels are the Mets of the AL.
That might be true if the Mets had 15 of 16 of their opening day starting pitches go on the DL over the last three year.
Over the last three years, the only Angel to break camp as a starting pitcher who didn’t go on the DL was Rickey Nolasco, and he might have been the worst of the 16 pitchers. He was out of baseball the following year.
angles have absolutely the worst luck.
Maybe it is more than bad luck. Poor trainer staff, signing players with no motivation, or previously having a bad manager.
I don’t buy it. Bad luck is just that. It comes in waves sometimes. No pro team would be so foolish as to hire let alone carry inept trainers. Also, even the best training staffs have their fair share of injuries. They might appear to have a good record, until bam-bam-bam, … three of their big guns go down in a week. It happens to the best of them.
Pujols and Hamilton weren’t bad luck.
…It…begins….!
Ender Inciarte, Austin Riley, Sean Newcomb, Kolby Allard and another pitching prospect (Weigel?) for Trout.
🙂
00!00
Why the Angels didn’t go harder after Moustakas is beyond me, but they didn’t and now here we are.
The only good news about his is Fletcher and Ward will get a couple of weeks to show who is better, the loser goes to AAA.
This was a reach by Eppler. He was made redundant the minute Fletcher arrived.
Could’ve had the plus glove, meh bat rookie and some pitching instead of Cozart.
Fletcher can’t hit.
His OPS+ last year was 89. His WRC+ was 89.
There are just a handful of players in the big leagues who make softer contact, and most are speed burners.
Look at Cozart outside of his contract year, and he’s about the same. 78,83,56,90,106 were his wRC+s outside of his contract year.
I can’t disagree with that. The Angels thought his 2017 was legit and there was a reason for his hitting improvement.
As it stands now, it looks like a poor assessment.
I thought the headline said Zack Cobalt!!
Going into spring, second, third and bench depth were glaring weaknesses and the Angels sat back and watched Josh Harrison sign with detroit for pocket change.
I’m not ready to make a big deal about this yet. It’s a light injury early in spring ball, not uncommon really. It’s clearly not a promising sign but let’s give it time before we get upset
Correct. The Spring is full of muscle injuries. That is why there is Spring Training in the first place.
Two years ago, I said on here, buyer beware. This is why I said it. Injury prone and could barely hit 250. Despite playing his career, in a ban box.
I don’t think anyone thought playing Zack Cozart at 3B was a good idea. Considering most of his value over the course of his career came from being a very good defensive SS
Here we go again with Cozart, one of the worst signings by Billy Eppler. This guy can’t stay healthy for some reason….
Was a terrible signing that took little knowledge of cozart to know that his breakout year before hitting free agency was a fluke.