The Angels announced that outfielder Gustavo Campero has been recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. In a corresponding move, infielder J.D. Davis has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 38.
Davis, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Halos in the offseason. He cracked the big league roster earlier this month when Yoán Moncada landed on the injured list. Moncada is still on the IL but Davis has hardly played. Since being added to the roster April 10th, he has stepped to the plate nine times over five games. He recorded three strikeouts and one single, leading to a .111/.111/.111 line.
That’s a rough showing but also a tiny sample size. Regardless, the Angels seem to prefer other options for their infield mix. Luis Rengifo is covering third while Nolan Schanuel is the regular at first. Defensive specialist Kevin Newman is presumably the backup for those two at the moment, as no one else on the roster has much experience at those spots.
The Angels will likely put Davis on waivers in the coming days. He is coming off a down year, as he hit .218/.293/.338 for an 86 wRC+ in 2024, which is why he had to settle for a minor league deal coming into this year. But over the five prior seasons, he hit .268/.352/.443 for a 119 wRC+.
Campero is out to a strong start this year, hitting .333/.397/.472 in Triple-A. However, it’s unclear how he’ll get into the lineup as a corner outfield guy. The Angels have Taylor Ward and Mike Trout as their regulars in the corners and Jorge Soler acting as the designated hitter most days. Campero does have some catching experience but the Halos have Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud back there. Campero is a threat for double-digit steals, so perhaps he will be utilized as a pinch runner.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Someone explain this move to me? DFA’ing JD Davis is one thing, but to replace him with a AAA outfielder?
Dude, we are the Angels. Nothing we do makes any sense.
This
@kellin. Probably coming down to playing time be scarce when moancada comes back. Campero can sit the bench.
@thegr8one. I guess the confusion is he doesn’t play third, but if he hits better than .111. While playing once a week it doesn’t matter.
They need someone on the basepaths. JD was not getting on base (nor is anyone else).
I hate to say it but I think Paris gets sent down when Moncada is ready. They have Newman and Anderson to play around the infield and Paris needs to go work on his swing again.
@angelsfan. Yeah that’s what i think, campero has played 2nd,3rd,OF,catcher. If he can hit he will stick. Not the greatest defender, but he will won’t play much unless he forces Washington’s hand.
Paris has a .315 OBP. Anderson has a .222 OBP. In his last 10 games Anderson has gotten worse, not better.
Paris needs a few people around him to start hitting. Anderson needs a ticket to Salt Lake City.
Why do you hate to say it? Major league pitchers adjust. Last year they could knock the bat out of the hands of Paris. It didn’t carry over and Paris took advantage of last year’s perception.
Pitchers have found different ways to get him out.
It happens all the time.
When a team strikes out as often as the Angels without walking, there is something very very wrong.
I got a little excited this year, I was a fool, this entire organization needs an overhaul. That’s what I look forward to.
@halo11fan. I was definitely getting excited, attacking trolls saying it’s the angels year. Now it’s back to trade expiring contracts and hope we get something nice back like zeferjahn. Paris swing looks like judges but it’s too slow he needs to switch back to a normal one or maybe try a torpedo bat
I hate to say it because I was extremely happy to see his success carry over for a short while after spring training.
I am well aware that it happens all the time. Yes pitchers adjust, and yes he will have to adjust right back, or find himself back in the minors.
Nothing wrong with being excited over a nice start to the season. My hopes going in was a 80-85 win season. Then build on that for next year. I still feel that is doable.
That’s just autistic me talking. It’s disappointing, but I also kind of expected it and wrote something about it before the fall. .
I even thought the Angels had a good bullpen…man, what do I know?
I am with you. I thought that the bullpen would be a strength.
Who knows, maybe when Stephenson returns, it is the missing piece and at worst case, the pen help holds things together a little better.
Unfortunately, it looks like he is still a month away.
They have others to cover the corner OF spots that Campero plays. Unless Trout or Ward is hurt or being sat there is no reason to bring up Campero.
Could care less about JD Davis being DFA. Why an OF is the question.
@outinleftfield. Campero can play the infield not great, but they probably figure if he’s a late pinch hitter or once a week it doesn’t matter like soler playing the outfield. Anderson is on the team because of track record, and baserunning, but I agree we have kingery that’s the same but he can play every position
Since he has been in the Angels system from 2021-2025, Campero only has starts in the OF and at catcher.
@outinleft. He had 8 at second in 24′. 5 and 6 at 2nd and 3rd in 25′. Not saying he’s great at all but they’ve been trying him at it. Wouldn’t surprise me if he does a spot start if he’s hitting.
No starts in the minors or MLB. He may have in winter league play, but that doesn’t count.
baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cam…
@out. Well i was counting it. I don’t see the difference. Just saying he’s done it recently. If his last time was when he’s 19 get it. I think they bring him as a pinch hitter and if it ties they try it, just because perry has been emphasizing it.
@thegreatone I posted this before the update happened. It occurred to me later that the team has enough infielders to handle any workload and that an off the bench outfielder would be helpful.
I find it sad that this site has no mention of Mike Trout being injured even though MLB.com posted about it hours ago.
mlb.com/news/mike-trout-exits-early-in-angels-game…
Gustavo gets on base. I like jd Davis.
Where are the J.D. Davis fans here at MLBTR back when the Giants released him? It was like the Giants were getting rid of Willie Mays and Willie McCovey combined in one day with those people.
those people didn’t love davis, they just wanted a reason to complain about farhan
There’s a lot to the story that’s never been told about SF releasing Davis.
I’d love to hear about it now from Farhan if he would tell the whole truth. I think Davis rubbed players/management the wrong way and was let go; he could have very easily stayed and DH’ed as opposed to signing Soler to a 3 year deal. Anyway, hope he finds his way. He’s a good player when healthy.
That’s conjecture since nobody knows the story. I haven’t ever heard a bad thing about Davis. He went to arb and then Farhan thought better and signed Matt Chapman which made him expendable.
I don’t know what you think there is to the story, it is kind of cut and dry. He opted to reject a contract and under the CBA the giants had the ability to release him without paying, it is kind of that simple.He was the only guy who opted to do that and his management should have had him lock in the offer if he wanted a guaranteed contract.
Like Nicky Lopez, this is just a stopgap until Moncada is back, which might be as soon as this weekend.
Angels are only 3.5 back and haven’t done anything for weeks. What if they go on a win streak. What if. What if. I still enjoy watching angel games on tv. What if it all continues to go south, and the angels lose 95 games. I wouldn’t care. It’s swear word entertainment. It’s fixed. The game was over on Sunday with the first twin batter. The swear word ump would not call a strike. He walked, he scored, game over, in the first inning. Umps can drain a team over calling balls, strikes, and strikes, balls. Usually the angels spend the entire first half of a season, trying to get to 500. So they are having a good April.
Sad but true
Ouch…this guy has fallen on some hard times.
JD was cool at Spring Training, chatting around and taking pictures. Was hoping he’d pan out.
He had a good run. It appears to be ending or over now.
JD. Davis to the Padres?
Well JD is gone. He played no worse from the plate than anyone else in the line up. Heck, he might of done better had he been given more ABs. I don’t know what the heck their teaching but everyone knows that if you put the ball in play good things happen. I’ve never seen so many strike outs, so many swing and misses. So many unproductive outs and that is top to bottom. It’s horrid. All this focus on launch angle and swinging for the fences is ridiculous. I miss the Paul Molitor’s, Tony Gwynns and Wade Boggs of the world. When a batting average and a solid on base percentage mattered. Should’ve just kept Moniak because the team is beginning to look more and more like that player. Just a miserable team to watch right now.
Trout’s injured…again. A horrible loss again today. I predict Washington is fired by the ASB. Moreno needs a scapegoat as always.
This turd of a team was circling the bowl and now the satisfying flush