The Angels announced that they have placed infielder Matt Duffy on the injured list. No injury designation was given, indicating Duffy is going on the Covid-related IL. Fellow infielder Jack Mayfield has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.
After slumping in 2019, Duffy had to settle for minor league deals in 2020, ultimately missing out on playing any official games when the pandemic wiped out the minor league seasons that year. He had a nice bounceback with the Cubs in 2021, getting into 97 games and hitting .287/.357/.381, 102 wRC+. He’s carried that over into 2021 so far, playing 14 games and hitting .278/.366/.306, wRC+ of 108.
With Duffy on the shelf, Mayfield will take over his role as the 31-year-old utility infielder off the bench. He’s already gotten into 10 games this year and played well, hitting .281/.343/.469, for a wRC+ of 142. With Duffy on the Covid-IL, the club will have an open spot on their 40-man roster. However, should they use that slot, they will need to make room for him once he’s eligible to return.
Too bad for Duffy, a good hitter when he stays in the line up, but Mayfield looked good early on. Comme ci, comme ça
The apparent surplus of middle infielders is kind of working itself out.
Each guy has pros and cons, it’s more a matter of who is hot at the moment. Tyat was Mayfield. Hopefully still is.
Prescient of Perry to add middle infielders to the 40-man roster. Lots of twists and turns in a 162 game season.
I am going to do an impression of everyone’s favorite anti-fan.
“Guys, it will never work. This is the stupidest roster construction of all time. We have 7 middle infielders and it cost us Justin Upton, who is going to have an amazing year. Fletcher can’t go to his left so we will never get anyone out ever again. No team is going to hit is to his right unless they are crazy. We have way too many MI but we need to add another one like Gregorius or Jose Iglesias if we want any shot at winning.”