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.
I feel the article explained it well enough. They have others to cover Davis’s work.
@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.
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.
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.
Id be surprised if my mariners didn’t kick the tires on this with Moore hurt and Polanco playing on at least one flat tire what’s the risk? If Edgar Martinez can’t right his bat than no one can.
JD. Davis to the Padres?