Prior to tonight’s game, the Angels announced that infielder Luis Rengifo had been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Righty Jaime Barria was also optioned to the team’s alternate training site, while the two open roster spots were filled by infielder Jahmai Jones and right-hander Luke Bard, both called up from the alternate site.
It’s been an altogether tough year for Rengifo, who hit only .156/.269/.200 over 106 PA and also had another IL stint due to hamstring problems at the start of the season. Rengifo didn’t do much with quite a bit of regular playing time this year, as he was needed at second base since Tommy La Stella often played at first base and Andrelton Simmons’ injury meant David Fletcher moved over to shortstop.
This performance came after Rengifo was on the verge of being traded back in February, as the Angels walked away at the last moment from a deal that would have sent Rengifo to the Dodgers as part of a trade package for Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to Anaheim. While Rengifo is only 23 and has less than two years of MLB service time to his name, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his name again surface in trade talks this winter.
Jones is back in the big leagues after a one-game cup of coffee earlier this season that saw him make his MLB debut as a pinch-runner but not actually take the field or receive an at-bat. (Jones was in the Angels’ starting lineup and doubled in his first plate appearance tonight, however.) A second-round pick for the Angels in the 2015 draft, Jones was a consensus top-100 prospect as recently as the 2017-18 offseason, though a pair of unimpressive years at Double-A lowered his stock. The 23-year-old Jones has a career .258/.338/.386 slash line over 2159 PA in the minors, and has mostly played second base over the last two years but has plenty of experience in the outfield.