The Angels announced prior to tonight’s game against the Mets that the club has selected the contract of infielder Charles Leblanc. The Angels already had space on the 40-man roster available in the aftermath of this week’s trade deadline, meaning no corresponding move was necessary to make room for Leblanc on the 40-man roster. Leblanc will take the place of infielder Luis Rengifo on the active roster as Rengifo was placed on the 10-day IL due to wrist inflammation.
Rengifo, 27, received plenty of trade interest in the run-up to the deadline himself but ultimately remained in Anaheim, perhaps in part due to concerns surrounding his wrist. The switch-hitter was placed on the IL with right wrist inflammation just under a month ago and was ultimately sidelined for around three weeks before being activated a week prior to the deadline. Rengifo has struggled badly since his return, however, slashing just .188/.257/.219 in nine games. A week-long slump isn’t necessarily indicative of anything serious, but manager Ron Washington told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) earlier this week that Rengifo had experienced a bit of a “flare-up” of his previous wrist injury and would be re-evaluated in the coming days.
The infielder took the next day off but appeared in yesterday’s contest, ultimately taking two at-bats before exiting in the fifth inning. Evidently, the continued problems with Rengifo’s wrist have now risen to the point where the club feels a second stint on the shelf is necessary. It’s not yet clear what the 27-year-old’s timetable for return looks like at this point, but it’s certainly a disappointing turn of events for a youngster who was enjoying a breakout season prior to the injury. Through July 2, Rengifo posted an excellent .319/.362/.448 slash line in 266 trips to the plate while splitting time between second and third base alongside cameos at shortstop and in right field. His switch-hitting bat, defensive versatility, and youth all figure to once again make him an attractive trade candidate this offseason, when he’ll go through his final trip through arbitration before free agency.
As for Leblanc, the 28-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Angels back in November and will now get his first opportunity in the majors since 2022. A fourth-round pick by the Rangers in the 2016 draft, Leblanc’s big league debut came six years later as a member of the Marlins. He ultimately played 48 games in Miami, slashing a respectable .263/.320/.404 with ten doubles, four homers, and four stolen bases in 169 trips to the plate for the club while splitting time between first base, second base, and third base. Leblanc spent the 2023 season in the minors with Miami and slashed a strong .253/.384/.423 but did not manage to crack the big league club. In 91 games at Triple-A with the Halos this year, Leblanc has shown similar on-base ability with a little more pop as he’s hit .262/.382/.472 in the offense-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League. He’ll offer the Angels some depth for their infield mix for the time being amid injuries to both Rengifo and Anthony Rendon.
I saw Angels fans talking about playoffs about 3 weeks ago. What happened?
Maybe you were reading articles from the wrong year? I’ve only seen angels fans lament their team’s situation/management.
“Wrong year”…Probably reading material from the wrong decade actually. The dead giveaway was when it said Garrett Anderson was the team leader in runs batted in and Howie Kendrick was a fan favorite.
Chone Figgins was destroying American League pitching.
When the Angels went from ANA to LAA sleepercell Chone Figgins was activated.
No Angels fans have been on here talking about our team being in the playoffs since maybe April.
I thought this guy was going to be traded. What happened Angel fan?. BTW sorry about Mike Trout, I miss watching him play!
UWP – A month ago when the Red Sox were reported here to be interested in Rengifo, I said no way until he proves he’s healthy because wrist injuries tend to linger.
I’m glad Breslow read my comment and listened to me!
Thank You!
Angels will continue to operate as a perpetual 70-win team as long as Arte refuses to do a full-scale rebuild.
An astute and novel observation… I’ve never seen anyone on this website comment such a groundbreaking idea!
Your mind is teeming with an erudite profundity that cannot be replicated. You win the internet today, good sir!
Relax, it’s a baseball website save your deeply profound intelligence for more important topics.
So much win! Here’s your Reddit Gold, you wholesome Chungus legend!
Please make a thirty minute video essay on whether the White Sox are good or not. The people need to know what you have to say!
Until Arte allows his GM to sign starting pitchers to long term contracts and increases spending on facilities, scouting, analytics, and even the medical staff, this team is going nowhere. Even if he allows a GM to rebuild, all the rest has to be done before the Angels can contend again..
Yankees fans were crushing Cashman for not acquiring him at the trade deadline as well,
Lark – I bet those same Yankees fans are quite happy they got Chisholm instead.
Fever,
Jazz has shown to be a great pickup by Cashman. They finally got a 3B that can field and hit!
Angels fans sitting near us in section 118 right now said that Arte Moreno was not at the game tonight and hasn’t been at last few. They are saying he might be ill because he is at almost every game. My wife asked if he might have gone to the Olympics but they didn’t think so.
Would Angels fans on here be happy if the team changed hands? Seem like it from the season ticket holders sitting around us would be.
Been a good game on a really hot night. We have one more game here, then up to see the Giants and then back to southern California to catch the Padres.
That was a heck of a game. Angels won over Mets by a single run.
Spent an hour after the game talking to the season ticket holders we were sitting behind. Turns out it was their tickets we bought on Seatgeek. They have been season ticket holders there since 1984 and blame everything that has happened the last decade on Moreno. Great family.
Can’t wait to come back next season because we are guaranteed these amazing seats we were in tonight and tomorrow next year too.
BIL, what row were you in? We have seats across the aisle from that section.
LF, we were in row T. Amazing seats.
It was such a pleasure to meet you and your wife and glad you got to see some good baseball while you were here. look forward to seeing you both when you come back this way next year. Sorry but not sorry that the Angels beat the Mets the last 2 games.
Thank you! Really appreciated your hospitality and it is nice to put a face to a name on here. Enjoyed the restaurant you took us to, especially that grilled artichoke. That was a new one for both of us and we loved it. Public Legacy? It will be our treat next year.
Hope that things get better for your Angels.
I don’t watch too many TV telecasts these days but they reached an all-time low last night when Bobby Valentine dressed up in his old Mets costume with fake mustache and sunglasses and Gubicza laughing it up. What buffoons.
And are they aware 2002 was over 20 years ago? Why do they keep on bringing out guys from this team around? That would be like the 02 team having the 79 Angels as advisors. They’ve gone from bad to worse the last 5 years they’ve been doing this.
Angels are hosting throwback week. You’ll have to forgive them for having fun.
It’s throwback week every week for those guys.its no fun when we’ve heard all their stories already and they tell the same omes over and over again. “When I was with the Kansas City Royals, George Brett used to…”
A FRIEND told me MATT LeBLANC is also available..
Good possibility his trade stock went through the ground because of that first IL stint and the possibility of it flaring up again. Well… back on the IL.