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Luis Rengifo

Luis Rengifo Undergoes Biceps Surgery

By | at September 15, 2023 11:56pm CDT

Angels infielder Luis Rengifo underwent surgery to repair a torn left biceps, manager Phil Nevin informed reporters after tonight’s loss to the Tigers (relayed by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). The expectation remains that he’ll be ready for Spring Training.

Rengifo, 26, suffered the freak injury last week while taking practice swings in the on-deck circle. The Halos initially announced the issue as a tendon rupture, though Nevin said it was a full biceps tear. He was quickly ruled out for the season and placed on the 60-day injured list. It wasn’t clear until tonight that he’d require surgical repair.

It’s a sour end to what had been a strong season for the switch-hitting infielder. Rengifo had been one of the few bright spots in a dismal second half. While he carried a .219/.312/.326 line into the All-Star Break, he raked at a .318/.374/.587 clip from the Midsummer Classic on. That brought his season slash to an above-average .264/.339/.444 mark with 16 home runs through 445 trips to the plate. He almost certainly would’ve surpassed last year’s personal-high 17 longballs were it not for the injury, while he walked at a respectable 9.2% clip after drawing free passes just 3.3% of the time a season ago.

Rengifo has bounced around the diamond. He’s primarily a second baseman but handled regular shortstop duty while Zach Neto was on the injured list. Rengifo can cover third and was playing in the corner outfield upon Neto’s return until his own injury. While public defensive marks haven’t been enamored with his glove anywhere, his versatility and solid offense made him one of the Halos’ more effective position players.

In February, Rengifo won a $2.3MM salary at an arbitration hearing. He’ll earn a raise going into 2024 and is eligible for that process through ’25. He’s on track to hit free agency in advance of his age-29 season.

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Los Angeles Angels

Angels Select David Fletcher, Jared Walsh

By | at September 14, 2023 5:50pm CDT

The Angels announced a series of roster moves today, selecting infielders David Fletcher and Jared Walsh. To open active roster spots for those two, the club optioned outfielder Jordyn Adams and infielder Kyren Paris. To open spots on the 40-man roster, they transferred infielder/outfielder Luis Rengifo to the 60-day injured list and designated right-hander Gerardo Reyes for assignment.

Both Walsh and Fletcher looked like potential building blocks for the club not too long ago, but both of fallen off considerably in recent years. Walsh hit 38 home runs in 176 games over 2020 and 2021, slashing .280/.338/.531 for a wRC+ of 130. Unfortunately, significant health issues have prevented a significant obstacle to him since then. He underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last year and has been dealing with headaches and insomnia this year, hitting just .202/.265/.353 over the past two seasons. He was outrighted in August and has a batting line of .217/.360/.375 in Triple-A this year.

Despite those struggles, he’ll get a chance to play out the string over the final weeks of the season with the Halos out of contention. He’s making a salary of $2.65MM this year and would be eligible for arbitration again this winter, though the Angels may not tender him a contract unless they have reason to expect he can get back to the form he showed in 2020-2021.

Fletcher hit .319/.376/.425 in the shortened 2020 season, wRC+ of 121, which was enough for the Angels to give him a contract extension going into the following year. In April of 2021, he and the club agreed to a five-year deal with a $26MM guarantee, though his production fell off immediately. He’s hit just .258/.292/.325 since the start of 2021 for a wRC+ of 69.

Twice this year, the club has passed Fletcher through waivers and outrighted him to Triple-A Salt Lake. Since he has over three years of major league service time, he could have rejected either of those assignments and elected free agency. However, since he’s still shy of five years of service, doing so would mean forfeiting what’s left of his contract, which runs through 2025. Naturally, he decided to accept in both instances.

He will still be shy of that five-year mark at season’s end, meaning the Halos could outright him again this winter and keep him around as depth without him taking up a roster spot. In the minors this year, he has a batting line of .330/.382/.428 that looks good at first glance but is par in the Pacific Coast League, translating to a wRC+ of 100. He’s generally considered a strong defender, so he could be valuable even with average offense at the big league level, though he’s been well beneath that in recent years.

Reyes signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and had his contract selected in June. He has an earned run average of 7.45 in his eight major league appearances and 6.25 in his 33 Triple-A appearances. He’ll be out of options next year, giving him less roster flexibility going forward.

As for Rengifo, it was reported last week that he won’t be able to return this year due to a bicep tendon rupture, making today’s transfer an inevitable formality.

It’s possible there are luxury tax implications to these moves, as it was reported earlier this month that the club remained narrowly above the lowest threshold of the competitive balance tax. Since then, they have tried to further cut their CBT number by putting catcher Max Stassi on the restricted list and putting outfielder Randal Grichuk on waivers a second time. Fletcher and Walsh each already had their salaries for this year locked in, so bringing them back up doesn’t add any payroll. But Adams and Paris will no longer be receiving major league pay after being optioned, which will trim a small amount of spending from the club’s ledger.

Getting under the CBT line could have implications for the club since the compensatory draft pick they would receive in the event Shohei Ohtani signs elsewhere after rejecting a qualifying offer would be significantly better. There are also compounding penalties for paying the tax in consecutive years, meaning that ducking under now would lessen their penalties if they were to go over again next year.

Whether the club pays the tax or not won’t be officially known until later in the year. Roster Resource estimates the Angels’ tax number at $229MM whereas Cot’s Baseball Contracts pegs it at $237MM. The lowest threshold of the CBT is $233MM this year.

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Luis Rengifo Suffers Bicep Tendon Rupture, Won’t Return In 2023

By | at September 9, 2023 7:54pm CDT

The Angels placed infielder Luis Rengifo on the 15-day injured list earlier today with a bicep tendon rupture. As noted by The Athletic’s Sam Blum, Rengifo will not return in 2023 but figures to be ready for Spring Training in 2024, as Rengifo himself told reporters that he hopes to be fully recovered by the end of the calendar year. Right-hander Gerardo Reyes replaced Rengifo on the active roster.

It’s yet another in a long line of brutal injuries for the Angels this season, as virtually every key position player has spent significant time on the injured list except for Shohei Ohtani, who had his season on the mound end prematurely due to a UCL injury. While the Angels have been in a tailspin ever since the calendar flipped to August, Rengifo has been a rare bright spot for the club over the past few weeks. While the 26-year-old entered the month of July slashing a dismal .202/.292/.298 on the season, he’s been on fire ever since with a fantastic .327/.388/.592 slash line in 219 trips to the plate since the start of July. Over that 56-game stretch, Rengifo sports a strikeout rate of just 18.3% and 25 extra base hits including 12 home runs.

Rengifo’s torrid second half has lifted his season numbers up to a respectable .264/.339/.444 that’s 13% better than league average by measure of wRC+. While Rengifo has mostly played second base and shortstop in his career, he was used as something of a swiss-army knife by the Angels this year and received reps at third base and all three outfield spots in addition to his usual positions. While defensive metrics haven’t been kind to Rengifo this season, his breakout with the bat in recent months combined with his ability to play almost anywhere on the diamond makes him a huge asset for the Angels as they look ahead to the 2024 season. Rengifo, who made $2.3MM this year in his first trip through arbitration, is under club control for the next two seasons.

With Rengifo, Gio Urshela, Anthony Rendon, and Zack Neto all on the injured list, the Halos are currently relying on 21-year-old rookie Kyren Paris at shortstop while utilizing Brandon Drury, Eduardo Escobar, Mike Moustakas and 2023 first-round pick Nolan Schanuel to mix and match throughout the rest of the infield. The club’s position player group has been stretched particularly thin in recent days thanks to the absences of Ohtani and outfielder Mickey Moniak, both of whom have been considered day-to-day for several days at this point.

As for Reyes, the 30-year-old righty sports a 7.45 ERA and 6.36 FIP in 9 2/3 innings of work with Anaheim this year, with similarly rough figures at the Triple-A level. In 36 innings of work with the club’s Salt Lake City affiliate, Reyes has mustered a 6.25 ERA with an elevated 12.3% walk rate. Nonetheless, he’ll offer the club pitching depth as they finish out the remainder of the 2023 campaign.

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Injury Notes: McClanahan, Rengifo, Kershaw, Stroman

By | at September 8, 2023 10:18am CDT

News that Rays ace Shane McClanahan would require Tommy John surgery already strongly implied that he’ll miss not just the remainder of the 2023 season but perhaps the entire 2024 campaign as well — and McClanahan has effectively confirmed as much to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin writes that the 26-year-old McClanahan expects to be sidelined until 2025 after renowned surgeons Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Keith Meister both made the same recommendation. Meister, who performed the procedure, also “cleaned up” some bone chips in McClanahan’s elbow, the pitcher added.

“I was really frustrated when I found out, but I can’t control that,” McClanahan tells Topkin. “…I want to control how hard I work, the quality of teammate I am and the consistency on the field. And ultimately, the next year, year and a half, whatever it may be, I’m going to work my butt off to make sure that when I’m healthy, it’s going to be the same me.” Topkin’s piece contains plenty of quotes from McClanahan on his injury, the surgery and his mindset as he embarks on a lengthy rehab process, so Rays fans in particular will want to check it out in full.

A few more injury notes from around the league…

  • Angels infielder/outfielder Luis Rengifo exited last night’s game with a strained left biceps that he apparently sustained taking swings in the on-deck circle prior to his first at-bat, per Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times. The Angels are further evaluating him today, but manager Phil Nevin conceded that the injury “doesn’t look good.” Further details will surely follow once the 26-year-old Rengifo has undergone imaging. A Rengifo injury of note would be the latest in a series of unwelcome developments for the Angels. He’s been the team’s hottest hitter for the past six weeks, evidenced by a scalding .342/.393/.602 batting line with nine homers, nine doubles, three triples and just a 14.6% strikeout rate in that time. On the whole Rengifo is hitting .264/.339/.444 in what has easily been the most productive all-around season of his still-young career. He’s under club control for an additional two seasons beyond the current campaign.
  • Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw still isn’t pitching at 100% following the shoulder strain that sent him to the injured list this summer, writes Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Kershaw didn’t reach 90 mph in his most recent start, and his average fastball velocity of just 88.4 mph in that outing was the second-lowest of any appearance in his career. Kershaw, however, is adamant that he can continue to pitch through the issue — and the Dodgers appear willing to let him do so. “If he is able to take the baseball, he’s going to take the baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said of the left-hander.
  • Marcus Stroman hasn’t pitched since July 31 due to inflammation in his hip and, more problematically, a rib cartilage fracture that was discovered as he was on the cusp of returning from that hip issue. However, he tossed 29 pitches during a live batting practice session yesterday, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times, and Cubs manager David Ross acknowledged that the right-hander appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery. Stroman will likely require at least one minor league rehab start (if not two), but it seems there’s a good chance the 32-year-old could return before season’s end — and perhaps factor into the postseason rotation. How Stroman fares down the stretch will be worth watching with a particularly close eye, as he has a $21MM player option for the 2024 season but has long appeared likely to decline that and return to the market in search of a lengthier pact.
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Luis Rengifo Wins Arbitration Hearing Against Angels

By | at February 16, 2023 2:12pm CDT

Infielder Luis Rengifo won his arbitration hearing against the Angels, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. He’ll earn the $2.3MM salary at which he and his representatives from MVP Sports Group filed, rather than the team’s $2MM submission.

Rengifo, 26 later this month, appeared in a career-high 127 games in 2022 and tallied 511 plate appearances, batting .264/.294/.429 with 17 home runs, 22 doubles, four triples and six steals. He bounced all over the infield, logging 693 innings at second base, 250 innings at third base and 99 innings at shortstop (in addition to a 15-inning cameo in the outfield).

That marked the most productive season of a four-year career for Rengifo,  who entered the season as a .216/.293/.325 hitter in 702 trips to the plate. The strong showing perhaps contributed to the Angels’ decision not to make a strong push for shortstop help this offseason. Instead, they’ll likely rely on a combination of Rengifo, David Fletcher and perhaps trade acquisition Gio Urshela to handle the bulk of the workload at shortstop.

Slick-fielding Andrew Velasquez remains on the 40-man roster as well, though he also has a minor league option left. Infield prospect Livan Soto is another candidate, although his brilliant .400/.414/.582 showing in an 18-game MLB debut last year was propped up by a .500 batting average on balls in play that clearly can’t be sustained over a larger sample. He’s also yet to play a single inning at the Triple-A level, so the Halos might want to give him some additional development time. A free agent like Elvis Andrus could conceivably fit in Anaheim still, but the Angels generally appear set with their infield depth given the combination of Rengifo, Fletcher, Urshela and free-agent pickup Brandon Drury.

This was the first trip through the arbitration process for Rengifo, who’ll be eligible for arbitration twice more before reaching free agency upon completion of the 2025 campaign.

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Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

By | at February 9, 2023 7:30pm CDT

The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

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Arizona Diamondbacks Athletics Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals

Requested Salary Figures For 33 Players Who Didn’t Reach Agreements By Arbitration-Filing Deadline

By | at January 14, 2023 5:35pm CDT

January 13 was the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to exchange salary figures in advance of possible hearings, and as usual, the large majority of players worked out one-year agreements (or extensions) for their 2023 salaries.  MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker detailed these agreements, though there is still quite a bit of unfinished business, as 33 players still don’t have their deals settled, and thus their 2023 salaries could be determined by an arbiter.

Typically, arb hearings take place in February or March, yet there isn’t anything officially preventing a team from still reaching an agreement with a player up until the moment an arbiter makes their ruling.  However, most clubs employ the “file and trial” strategy as a way of putting more pressure on players to accept agreements prior to the figure-exchange deadline.  In short, once the deadline passes, teams head to hearings with no more negotiation about a one-year salary, though clubs are typically still willing to discuss multi-year extensions.

Here are the 33 players who have yet to reach an agreement on their 2023 salaries, as well as the players’ requested salary and the team’s counter-offer.  As always, clubs (and the league as a whole) pay very close attention to arbitration salaries, since any outlier of a number can serve as a precedent in the future, thus raising the bar for both one particular players and perhaps players as a whole.  This is why teams are generally adamant about the “file and trial” tactic and taking the risk of a sometimes-awkward arb hearing, even in cases where there is a relatively small gap between the club’s figure and the player’s figure.

[RELATED: Arbitration projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz]

Nineteen of the 30 teams have at least one unsettled case remaining, with the Rays (by far) leading the way with seven players on pace to reach hearings.  Given that Tampa Bay entered the offseason with an enormous 19-player arbitration class, it perhaps isn’t surprising that the Rays still have a lot of work to do, even after trimming that initial class size with non-tenders and trades.  Teoscar Hernandez’s $16MM is the largest figure submitted by any of the 33 players, while Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette have the largest gap between submitted figures, each with a $2.5MM difference between their hoped-for salaries and the numbers respectively submitted by the Astros and Blue Jays.

The total list (which will be updated as settlements are reached and hearing results become known)….

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Angels Make Several Roster Moves

By | at June 11, 2022 5:49pm CDT

The Angels have made five roster moves, including optioning outfielder Jo Adell and left-hander Jhonathan Diaz to Triple-A.  Infielder Luis Rengifo returns from the paternity list, while the Halos also selected the contract of right-hander Davis Daniel.  To create room for Daniel on the 40-man roster, Anaheim designated outfielder Dillon Thomas for assignment.

One of the game’s top prospects, Adell was first optioned to Triple-A in early May, and then called up again last week when Taylor Ward was placed on the 10-day IL.  Adell posted a .902 OPS over 21 plate appearances during this latest stint, a positive showing considering how overmatched Adell has looked against MLB pitching since debuting back in 2020.

To that end, it is a little surprising to see Adell on the way back to the minors, yet it could simply be a case of roster construction.  Ward has been recovering well from his hamstring strain and is aiming to return on Tuesday, while Mike Trout was back in the lineup today after missing three games with a sore groin.  With less of a need in the outfield and with Shohei Ohtani monopolizing the DH spot, there isn’t a real everyday spot for Adell, and the Angels would prefer to see him get regular action in Triple-A rather than playing only sparingly in Los Angeles.

Thomas had his contract selected three days ago in another flurry of moves from the Angels, and the outfielder ended up appearing in one game during his cup of coffee on the active roster.  The 29-year-old inked a minor league deal with Anaheim during the winter.  Thomas has posted some big numbers at the Triple-A level for the Mariners’ and Angels’ affiliates in 2021-22, but that performance has only earned him five MLB games (the first five of his pro career).  Primarily a corner outfielder with some experience in center, Thomas could possibly get the attention of another team in greater need of depth on the grass.

Today is Daniel’s 25th birthday, and he’ll receive an unforgettable gift in the form of his first call to the big leagues.  A seventh-round pick for the Angels in the 2019 draft, Daniel has a 3.84 ERA over 161 2/3 innings in the minors, starting 31 of his 32 career games.  This includes a 3.64 ERA over 47 Triple-A innings this season, though Daniel has a modest 19.3% strikeout rate.

Daniel could now be lined up for a start in the Angels’ six-man rotation, though it remains to be seen exactly how the Angels may reshuffle their pitching order with an off-day coming on Monday.  An extra arm will be needed in some fashion, as the Halos have a doubleheader coming up on June 18.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions

Angels Place David Fletcher On 15-Day Injured List Due To Hip Strain

By | at May 8, 2022 5:31pm CDT

The Angels announced a set of roster moves today, including the placement of middle infielder David Fletcher on the 15-day injured list with a left hip strain.  Lefty Kenny Rosenberg was optioned to Triple-A, and outfielder Jose Rojas was placed on the injured list for an unspecified reason, implying a COVID-19 issue.  Joining the active roster are outfielder Aaron Whitefield (as reported earlier today) and infielder Luis Rengifo.

This is already the second time Fletcher has been sidelined by a hip strain this season, and he will be visiting a specialist on Monday to determine the extent of the problem.  Fletcher received cortisone shots during his first IL stint, and while the problem “hasn’t really gotten worse, it just wasn’t as good as we thought the injection would make it,” he told reporters, including Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times.  A next step won’t be known until Fletcher’s doctor visit, and it is possible surgery might be required.  Fletcher is hopeful that such a procedure wouldn’t put his season in jeopardy, as “hopefully I’ll get it fixed and be back pretty soon.”

The Halos have become pretty accustomed to playing without Fletcher thus far in 2022, though Matt Duffy‘s ongoing presence on the COVID-related injured list will further complicate matters.  Rengifo’s call-up will give the Angels an extra infielder to join Tyler Wade, Andrew Velazquez, and Jack Mayfield in juggling the second base and shortstop duties.

While Anaheim may have enough offense in the rest of the lineup to get by with more of a defensive focus up the middle, it does make for an imperfect situation even if Fletcher is able to return.  Fletcher (understandably) hasn’t hit much in his limited playing time this season, and batted only .262/.297/.324 over 665 plate appearances in 2021.  It was a big step backwards from Fletcher’s very impressive 120 OPS+/122 wRC+ performance in the shortened 2020 campaign, or even his closer-to-league average numbers in 2019.  If Fletcher does require surgery and need to miss a good chunk of the remaining season, the middle infield would seem like a natural trade deadline target area for the Angels if they remain in contention.

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Luis Rengifo Reportedly Facing Charges In Venezuela For Allegedly Falsifying Documents

By | at September 15, 2021 10:20pm CDT

An arrest warrant was recently issued against Angels infielder Luis Rengifo in his home country of Venezuela, according to reports from local news outlets (h/t to Sam Blum of the Athletic). Authorities allege that Rengifo and certain members of his family falsified divorce papers in order to sell property that jointly belonged to Rengifo and his estranged wife to Rengifo’s sister without his wife’s consent in 2019. Rengifo’s father, sister and an attorney allegedly involved in the process — all of whom remain in Venezuela — have already been arrested, according to reports.

It is presently unknown if/how the allegations will affect Rengifo’s playing status. Blum notes that local reports were also unclear whether the Venezuelan government plans to submit a request to have Rengifo extradited to face charges.

The Angels have declined comment. Rengifo released a statement through a spokesperson, stating “I am aware of the allegations in Venezuela and have hired a new attorney to defend me and my family. Due to the pending legal proceedings and investigation phase in Venezuela, I am not permitted to comment any further on this matter” (via Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Rengifo remains on the active roster and got the start at shortstop tonight against the White Sox.

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