Angels Announce Several Roster Moves
The Angels made several roster decisions ahead of Saturday’s matchup against the Dodgers. First baseman Nolan Schanuel is back from the IL. Outfielder Jorge Soler heads to the IL with an oblique strain. The club selected the contract of outfielder Gustavo Campero, then put him on the IL with a broken hand. Catcher Omar Martinez was designated for assignment.
The Soler move is retroactive to June 4. He was scratched on Friday with what was initially believed to be a hip injury. Instead, it’s an oblique issue. Soler has been mediocre at the plate through 58 games. The veteran has a 95 wRC+ across 243 plate appearances. Soler struggled mightily in May, posting a .571 OPS. He was off to a strong start in June, going 4-for-11 with two extra-base hits in a series against the Rockies.
Schanuel had slightly more than a minimum stay on the IL with an ankle injury. He should step back in as the club’s everyday first baseman. Schanuel hasn’t shown the on-base skills he’s had in previous seasons, walking at a career-low 6.3% clip. His .313 OBP is more than 30 points below his career mark.
Vaughn Grissom has stepped in at first base in Schanuel’s stead and played well. The former big-name prospect has slashed a respectable .246/.325/.410 in 40 games. He’s striking out just 11% of the time, while walking at a 9% rate. Grissom has been particularly effective in games he’s played first base, delivering a .988 OPS in 62 plate appearances. Grissom has also played second and third base this year. He might not have a permanent defensive position, but he’s earned regular playing time.
Campero has spent the entire season at Double-A. He went to the minor league injured list on June 1 with a fractured right hand. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported that Campero had an opt-out clause in his deal. Adding him to the 40-man roster allows the Angels to keep him in the organization. The 28-year-old outfielder has scuffled to a 74 wRC+ in parts of two seasons with the big-league club, but he was performing well in the minors this year. Campero had an .830 OPS with six homers and 11 steals with Rocket City before his injury.
After seven seasons in the minors with the Yankees, Martinez joined the Angels on a minor league deal. He earned his first MLB shot in early May after Travis d’Arnaud went down with plantar fasciitis. Regular starter Logan O’Hoppe was already out with a broken wrist. Martinez briefly tag-teamed the catching duties with Sebastian Rivero. The 24-year-old mostly appeared on defense. He had three plate appearances in five games, going 1-for-3.
Martinez will now head through the DFA process. The Angels can look for a trade partner before placing him on waivers. Martinez is still in his first minor league option year, which could intrigue teams in need of catching depth. If he clears waivers, he’ll head back to Triple-A Salt Lake and wait for his next big-league opportunity.
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images
Angels Designate Matthew Lugo For Assignment, Select Nick Madrigal
The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Nick Madrigal. He’ll take the active roster spot of first baseman Nolan Schanuel, who has been placed on the ten-day injured list with left ankle inflammation, retroactive to May 24th. To open a 40-man spot, outfielder Matthew Lugo has been designated for assignment.
Schanuel has been dealing with the ankle issue for a few days and hasn’t been in the lineup since Saturday. Since he’s been out for a while, the Halos were able to backdate his IL placement by the three-day maximum. It’s unclear how much time his ankle will take to heal but he will be eligible for activation in a week.
He has been having a down year in an odd way, with his walks drying up. His ability to get on-base has been his best asset, with a walk rate of 11.3% coming into this year. That is now down to just 6.3% in the current season, barely half of his previous pace. He swung at 26.2% of pitches outside the zone from 2023 to 2025 but that number is up to 28.6% this year. He made contact on those outside-the-zone swings 76.4% of the time in previous seasons but just 65.2% this year.
The result of that reduced plate discipline is a .262/.313/.387 line and 96 wRC+ on the year, a drop from his .259/.353/.371 line and 107 wRC+ in previous campaigns. Perhaps the ankle injury will give him a chance to reset and get back on track once he’s healthy.
Though Schanuel isn’t having his best season, it’s still a blow to an Angels club that is already in a tough spot. They are 21-34, tied with the Tigers for the worst record in the American League. Schanuel’s 96 wRC+ may be subpar but is still fifth on the team among guys with at least 20 plate appearances.
They will probably now have to cover first base with guys like Vaughn Grissom and Oswald Peraza. Grissom has a .233/.308/.379 line and 92 wRC+ on the year. Peraza is faring much better but is currently the second baseman. Moving him to first would probably mean more time at second base for Adam Frazier, who has a .236/.313/.375 line and 94 wRC+.
As the Halos juggle those guys around, Madrigal will give them a glove-first backup option. He has over 1,300 innings at second base and almost 700 at third with strong grades at both spots. He has stolen 17 bases in 23 tries.
Offensively, he has a contact-based approach with very little power and few walks but very few strikeouts. In 940 trips to the plate, his 4.6% walk rate and 9% strikeout rate are both much lower than average and he has just four home runs. That has led to a .274/.323/.344 line and 88 wRC+.
Despite the lack of punch from the batter’s box, the speed and defense had been enough to get him opportunities. Unfortunately, his 2025 season was wiped out by shoulder surgery. He had to settle for a minor league deal with the Angels coming into 2026. He has a .275/.353/.366 line for Triple-A Salt Lake this year. In the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, that translates to a wRC+ of 80.
Adding Madrigal will cost Lugo his roster spot. A second-round pick of the Red Sox, Lugo was one of four players the Halos acquired from the Sox in the 2024 Luis García trade. He was given a 40-man roster spot in November of that year to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to maintain the improved offense he showed that year. Between those two clubs, he slashed .287/.376/.578 on the farm in 2024, leading to a huge 156 wRC+. Since the start of 2025, he has a minor league line of .261/.339/.430, leading to a 91 wRC+. He has stepped to the plate 70 times in the majors and produced a .232/.243/.464 line and 89 wRC+.
In addition to the struggles at the plate, his defensive home has been a question. The Sox tried him out at shortstop and third base but moved him to the outfield in 2023. He’s considered a passable but not especially strong fielder in a corner spot.
Lugo now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Angels could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. He is still optionable, which could appeal to clubs in need of outfield depth. If he were to clear waivers, he would stick with the Halos as non-roster depth. Since he doesn’t have a previous career outright and is shy of three years of service time, he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of Cary Edmondson, Imagn Images
Angels Place Nolan Schanuel On 10-Day Injured List
The Angels announced this afternoon that first baseman Nolan Schanuel has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist contusion. Outfielder Matthew Lugo was recalled to replace Schanuel on the roster.
The 23-year-old Schanuel was selected 11th overall by Anaheim in the 2023 draft and made his big league debut later that same year. He was an above-average hitter from the very outset, slashing .275/.402/.330 (113 wRC+) in 29 games at the big league level during his draft year. A lack of power has limited Schanuel’s ceiling somewhat, but he’s still been a quality regular for the Angels at first base. This season, he’s slashed .266/.355/.383 (108 wRC+) with a career-low 12.3% strikeout rate, ten home runs, and five steals in six attempts. Most notably, he’s made strides at first base after starting out as a well below average glove to post average (+0 Fielding Run Value) defense at the position according some advanced metrics.
All of that is now on hold, as Schanuel is ticketed for the injured list for at least the next week. Schanuel was struck by a pitch from Phillies southpaw Ranger Suarez that at the time caused what was labelled as a left wrist contusion, the same diagnosis Schanuel is now headed to the shelf with. That was more than a month ago, so it’s not clear if this ailment is the same one that was caused by that hit by pitch. With that being said, Schanuel’s numbers have fallen off in a big way since that incident in Philadelphia. In 30 games, he’s slashed just .243/.328/.342 (90 wRC+). That’s a significant downgrade from the 113 wRC+ Schanuel posted through the end of that series against the Phillies, and since the end of that series Schanuel has been striking out more often and walking far less than 10% of the time, a major change of pace for a patient, OBP-focused hitter like him.
Whatever the cause of Schanuel’s ailing wrist, the Angels have clearly decided that it would be wise to offer the 23-year-old some time to heal. With a 61-68 record entering play today, the Angels sit 7.5 games back of an AL Wild Card spot and even further behind the AL West, so the possibility of a playoff berth is a remote consideration at best. That surely made it a relatively easy decision to prioritize Schanuel’s long-term health, and it stands to reason that the club won’t try and rush Schanuel back into the lineup before he’s completely healthy. Niko Kavadas, who made his MLB debut last year with Anaheim and is a career .184/.286/.327 (78 wRC+) hitter at the big league level, figures to handle first in Schanuel’s absence.
Replacing Schanuel on the active roster is Lugo, who made his MLB debut earlier this year and has played primarily center field after spending time both in the outfield and on the infield during his time in the minors. A second-round pick by the Red Sox back in 2019, Lugo came to Anaheim as part of a trade last summer. He’s done well in a limited look at the MLB level, with a .238/.256/.548 (115 wRC+) slash line in 17 games. That solid performance is mostly carried by his three homers, but he’s still looked like a viable complementary piece for the Angels’ outfield mix. Lugo could vie for playing time in center field, which is currently occupied by Bryce Teodosio. Jo Adell and Taylor Ward have locked down the outfield corners and seem all but certain to remain everyday players down the stretch, barring an injury.
Angels Reportedly “Weighing” Pursuit Of Pete Alonso
The Angels are reportedly “weighing” a pursuit of free agent first baseman Pete Alonso as they search for another bat to add to their lineup, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Alonso, 30, is the top free agent available at first base this winter but hasn’t found the market he was surely hoping for to this point in the winter. While plenty of clubs entered the winter with needs at first base, a number of feasible landing spots for Alonso have subsequently addressed the position in other ways: the Yankees added Paul Goldschmidt, the Astros signed Christian Walker, the Nationals traded for Nathaniel Lowe, and the Tigers shifted Colt Keith to first base after signing Gleyber Torres. Meanwhile, many of the teams that could potentially be in the market for first base/DH such as the Mariners, Padres, and Twins are facing payroll constraints that make a pursuit of Alonso quite unlikely.
That’s led to a feeling in recent weeks that a return to Queens may be inevitable for the slugger. The Mets have not yet filled their hole at first base, and while they’ve replaced Alonso’s bat in the lineup with Juan Soto it’s hard to deny that the club could benefit from adding another slugger to the mix, particularly a right-handed hitter like Alonso who can help balance out Soto and Brandon Nimmo‘s left-handed bats alongside switch-hitter Francisco Lindor. In recent weeks, however, it appears that Alonso’s market has begun to expand a bit. The Giants were connected to the slugger last week, and now the Angels have seemingly entered the fray as well. While both clubs would face a bit of a tight roster fit given the presence of incumbent first basemen on the roster, either club would surely benefit from adding Alonso’s bat to the middle of their lineup.
In Anaheim’s case, youngster Nolan Schanuel appears to hold the keys to first base for the time being. The club’s first-round pick in 2023, Schanuel rocketed through the minors to reach the majors shortly after being drafted and since then has slashed a respectable .255/.354/.357 in 176 games at the big league level. While the 22-year-old hasn’t developed the necessary power to be more than an average bat in the majors to this point, his phenomenal plate discipline suggests a bright future is ahead for the youngster. That makes it hard to believe that the Angels would kick Schanuel from the lineup to sign Alonso, but Heyman reports that both could coexist in the Anaheim lineup even with Jorge Soler entrenched as the club’s regular DH by moving Schanuel to left field.
It’s a novel solution to the problem given that Schanuel has not played the outfield before as a professional, but it’s not completely impossible to imagine him being able to handle the position defensively. After all, Schanuel got occasional reps in the outfield as an amateur and those days aren’t nearly as far behind him as they are for more established big leaguers or even fellow youngsters who spent more time in the minor leagues. That defensive risk could be worth taking if it means adding a hitter of Alonso’s caliber to the lineup, replacing the likely platoon of Jo Adell and Mickey Moniak the club currently seems poised to utilize in the outfield alongside Taylor Ward.
With that being said, it’s hard to imagine the Angels preferring an arrangement with Alonso that pushed Schanuel into the outfield to simply signing a big bat for their outfield mix and keeping their young hitter at his natural position. The Halos have also been connected to Anthony Santander on the free agent market recently, and Heyman concedes that the Angels landing Santander is “more likely” than the club ultimately ending up with Alonso due in part to the cleaner positional fit. With that being said, Santander’s market isn’t limited to the Angels. If he winds up signing somewhere else such as Detroit or Toronto, it suddenly becomes easier to imagine Angels brass being more willing to move things around to accommodate the addition of Alonso at first base given that the only other impact free agent available in the outfield would be Jurickson Profar, who lacks the lengthy track record of success that Alonso offers.
Perry Minasian Discusses Angels’ Future
Angels general manager Perry Minasian held an end-of-season press conference this week, with details provided by Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Though the club is wrapping up another disappointing season, Minasian expressed confidence in what he believes to be a budding core and indicated the entire coaching staff will be returning next year.
The Halos finished 2024 with a record of 63-99. Despite plenty of challenging seasons in the club’s history, that was actually their worst performance ever by a notable margin. Prior to this year, the club’s worst record was a mark of 65-95 in 1980. This year’s struggles continued a dreary run for the club, as they haven’t made the postseason since 2014, the longest active drought in the league.
“As far as the season goes, very frustrating from a small-picture standpoint,” Minasian said. “Big picture, there are a lot of things to be excited about. I believe this is the type of year that we’ll look back at a year from now, two years from now, and say that was huge.” Per Bollinger, Minasian highlighted that the Diamondbacks only won 52 games in 2021 but were in the World Series two years later, while the Royals only had 56 wins in 2023 but are in the postseason this year.
Whether the Angels can mount a similar climb into contention remains to be seen. Minasian seems to be encouraged by the development of young players such as shortstop Zach Neto, catcher Logan O’Hoppe and first baseman Nolan Schanuel, as well as pitchers José Soriano, Jack Kochanowicz and Ben Joyce.
Those players all showed encouraging signs this year, to varying degrees. Neto hit 23 home runs and stole 30 bases. His defensive metrics were mixed, as he had 11 Defensive Runs Saved but -5 Outs Above Average, but he was still graded by FanGraphs as being worth 3.5 wins above replacement on the year. O’Hoppe provided offense around league average, with a 101 wRC+ on the year, though catchers are usually about 10 to 12% below par. His work behind the plate was also considered to be solid, leading to a 2.1 fWAR tally. Schanuel’s contributions were more modest. He drew walks at a strong 11.2% clip but only hit 13 homers and also had mixed reviews for his glovework, leading to 0.7 fWAR on the year.
On the pitching side of things, Kochanowicz made 11 starts with a 3.99 earned run average. His 9.4% strikeout rate was well below average but he limited walks to a tiny rate of 3.8% and forced opponents to put 57% of balls in play on the ground. Soriano tossed 113 innings, which was an achievement in and of itself after he missed so much time due to injuries. But the results were also good, as he had a 3.42 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate and 59.7% ground ball rate. Ben Joyce used his triple-digit velocity to throw 34 2/3 innings with a 2.08 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate, 9.9% walk rate and 58.9% ground ball rate.
In addition to their solid results, those players are all cheap and controllable. None of those six have reached three years of service time, meaning none of them are guaranteed to qualify for arbitration this winter. Soriano could perhaps qualify as a Super Two player, depending on where the cutoff will be. He is going into the winter at two years and 121 days, which is close to where the line has been in previous offseasons. Regardless of which side of the border Soriano is on, each of these players can be affordably controlled through at least 2028.
But even with contributions from those six, the club was still a disappointment in 2024, so improvements will be needed elsewhere. Perhaps that will come from other young players like Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, Niko Kavadas, Christian Moore, Nelson Rada and others, but the club will also need to make some external additions, something that Minasian is aware of. “We definitely need more players,” he said. “There’s no secret there.”
It’s unclear at this point what kind of resources Minasian will have at his disposal for the winter, as he said he hasn’t yet discussed the 2025 payroll with owner Arte Moreno. The club did cut back on spending in 2024, winding up in the range of $176MM per the calculations of RosterResource. That was close to $40MM below the roughly $215MM they spent in 2023.
RR currently pegs the club at $109MM for 2025 but that’s not a complete picture of their situation. The club has 12 arbitration-eligible players, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting that group for a total of $37.6MM. Not every player in that group will be tendered a contract, but the Angels could be internally committed to the $140MM range already.
That would leave them some wiggle room if they were willing to carry forward a similar payroll to 2024, but it remains to be seen as to whether that will be the case after a 99-loss season. The club presumably took some revenue hits in terms of ticket sales, TV ratings and advertising in their first season of the post-Shohei Ohtani era.
Regardless of how the club handles its offseason, Minasian did reveal a bit about how he’s thinking about the club going forward. Notably, he wouldn’t commit to Anthony Rendon being the club’s starting third baseman nor even being on the roster.
“When Anthony has played, he hasn’t been productive,” Minasian said. “So he’s gonna have to come in and earn it. There’s no handouts. We’re starting to create some depth, where we have some versatile players that can do some different things, so the best players are gonna play, no doubt about it.” When asked if Rendon would continue to have a roster spot if things don’t turn around, he responded with: “That’s a great question. We’re going to look at everything. We’re going to look at what makes the best sense for this organization.”
Rendon’s struggles with the Angels are well documented at this point. He signed a seven-year, $245MM deal with the club going into 2020 but they haven’t seen much return on that investment. He was good in the first year of the deal, though that was the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Over the four seasons since then, he has frequently missed time due to injury and only played 205 games. As Minasian said, he hasn’t done well even when on the field, having hit .231/.329/.336 for a wRC+ of 89 over those four campaigns. That includes a dismal line of .218/.307/.267 in 2024, when he only got into 57 contests.
Rendon is now 34 years old, turning 35 next June, and has two years left on his deal. He’ll make $38MM in each of those two years, leaving $76MM to be paid out. It’s not uncommon for a club to give up on a player with an underwater contract. The Angels themselves did it not too long ago by releasing Albert Pujols. However, while some fans may yearn for the same to happen with Rendon soon, it would be unprecedented for a club to eat this much money.
The largest guarantee still owed to a player at the time of his release was when the Red Sox cut Pablo Sandoval loose in July of 2017. At that point, he was still owed $18MM in each of the next two years, plus a $5MM buyout on his 2020 option. He was also still owed a little more than a third of his 2017 salary of $17MM. Matt Gelb of The Athletic recently pegged the total at $48.3MM of what Sandoval was still owed when he was released, which is barely half of what Rendon is still owed.
Whether the Angels want to break that record remains to be seen. They could perhaps have Luis Rengifo take over at third base, though he’s also an option to be the regular at second base or perhaps serve in a utility role. Moore is a second baseman has already reached Double-A and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the club quickly promote him, since they did the same with guys like Neto, Schanuel and Dana. Matthew Lugo, acquired in the Luis García trade, had a strong year in the minors. He has reached Triple-A and can play all over the infield, though he has some time in the outfield as well.
Perhaps there will come a time when the club decides it would rather dedicate playing time to those guys rather than continuing to run Rendon out onto the field. The designated hitter spot might be used by Mike Trout with some regularity as the club tries to stave off his own injury troubles. Offseason acquisitions could further crowd the roster. Rendon could put together a nice stretch of health and flip the narrative but it seems his contract is going to guarantee him any opportunities.
AL West Notes: Semien, Schanuel, Erceg
Marcus Semien went 1-for-4 in the Rangers‘ 8-2 loss to the Marlins yesterday, marking his return to the lineup after sitting out Texas’ previous game. While off-days aren’t normally worth mention, Semien’s absence from Wednesday’s lineup ended a streak of 349 starts for the star second baseman, and it represented only his ninth missed game since the start of the 2019 season. The decision was made since Semien is dealing with a compressed nerve in his neck, as he told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and other reporters yesterday, and the hope is that resting both Wednesday and Thursday (when the Rangers didn’t have a game) will help get Semien back on track.
“I could have missed more time, but I’m trying to figure out how to fight through it,” Semien said. “It feels better after a day off and another day of rest. I’m happy about that. I just want to come back strong.”
The injury stems from a collision between Semien and Adolis Garcia while the two were chasing the same fly ball on May 18. Semien has hit only .135/.200/.189 over 40 plate appearances in the nine games since the collision, and also made three errors in the field. As Grant notes, Semien’s career splits indicate that he is generally a better hitter anyway later in the season, though this neck issue adds an unwelcome obstacle for a Texas club that has struggled to a 27-30 record in its defense of last year’s World Series championship.
More from around the AL West…
- Speaking of lingering injuries, Nolan Schanuel was a late scratch from the Angels‘ lineup yesterday due to left thumb soreness. Manager Ron Washington told MLB.com and other media that Schanuel has been bothered by his thumb for an unspecified period of time, which could explain the first baseman’s underwhelming .224/.294/.328 slash line through 206 plate appearances. It has still been less than a year since Schanuel was selected as the 11th overall pick in the 2023 draft, and his 2024 numbers have been a tough follow-up to his solid .275/.402/.330 mark over 132 PA last season, after the Angels fast-tracked him to the majors after just 97 minor league PA.
- Lucas Erceg was placed on the Athletics‘ 15-day injured list yesterday with what officially termed a forearm strain, and manager Mark Kotsay didn’t give reporters (including MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos) a timetable on when the reliever might be ready to return to action. However, it does seem like Erceg’s injury might be of the relatively minor variety, as Kotsay indicated that Erceg might be able to start throwing “sooner than later.” That’s certainly good news considering the ominous nature of forearm injuries, so it seems like Erceg could soon resume set-up duties in front of star rookie closer Mason Miller. Erceg has a 2.86 ERA over 22 relief innings, with a set of impressive Statcast metrics that include a superb 31% strikeout rate and 28% hard-hit ball rate.
AL West Notes: Scherzer, Rangers, A’s, Schanuel
Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer hasn’t been ruled out for contributing to the Rangers’ postseason push this year despite having suffered a teres major strain earlier this month. Just two weeks after being placed on the IL with the issue, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News noted that Scherzer had worked his way up to throwing a “light” bullpen today. Scherzer wouldn’t put a timeline on his potential return, telling reporters (including Grant) that “If you target dates, you get emotional & then you compete with the injury.”
Scherzer managing to return to the Rangers this postseason would provide a massive boost to the club’s pitching staff, which offers little certainty beyond lefty Jordan Montgomery and veteran righty Nathan Eovaldi without its future Hall of Fame ace fronting the rotation. It’s been an up-and-down year for Scherzer, who’s posted a 3.77 ERA and 4.33 FIP in 152 2/3 innings of work this year. While those numbers are uncharacteristically close to average for the veteran ace, he seemingly flipped a switch upon being traded to Texas. The righty posted a 2.21 ERA and 2.47 FIP in his first six starts with the club with a 33.6% strikeout rate, looking like vintage Scherzer before a pair of injury-shortened starts that preceded his trip to the injured list.
More from around the AL West…
- Sticking with the Rangers, the club activated left-hander Josh Sborz from the 15-day IL today and optioned lefty Jake Latz to Triple-A in a corresponding move. While Sborz sports a well below average 5.80 ERA in 49 2/3 innings of work this year, his peripheral stats indicate a much stronger performance as indicated by his 3.90 FIP, 3.41 xERA, 3.24 xFIP, and 3.11 SIERA. Much of this discrepancy comes from an extremely low 55.3% strand rate combined with an excellent strikeout rate (30.6%), solid walk rate (8.3%), and strong groundball rate (46.8%). If Sborz’s results can improve, he could be a valuable left-handed option out of the club’s bullpen headed into the postseason.
- MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed in an interview with the Associated Press today an earlier report by Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that MLB owners will vote on the Athletics‘ relocation bid during the owners’ meetings, which are scheduled for November 14-16. Akers also notes that the club is expected to announce the architect for the impending stadium prior to that announcement, with that decision expected to come as soon as next month. At least 75% of owners will need to approve the relocation proposal, though that is widely expected to be all but guaranteed.
- Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel has been out of action since fouling a pitch off his knee on Monday, which prompted him to exit the game in the seventh inning. While he’s missed the past two games nursing the injury, manager Phil Nevin indicated to reporters (including MLB.com) that the club was hopeful Schanuel would be able to return to the starting lineup as soon as Friday, following the club’s day off tomorrow. The Angels’ first-round pick in this year’s draft, Schanuel was called up to the big league club just one month after being drafted and has performed admirably in his first taste of both major league and professional pitching this summer, with a .284/.407/.343 slash line that clocks in at 16% better than league average by measure of wRC+. The club has relied on Brandon Drury at first base in Schanuel’s absence.
Big Hype Prospects: Schanuel, Winn, Marte, Harrison, Salas
We’ve reached the point of the season when prospect call-ups won’t expend their rookie status due to time spent on the roster. It’s still technically possible for such players to pass the plate appearance or innings pitched thresholds.
In any event, this marks an opportunity for teams to offer their young players time to acclimate in the Majors ahead of a Rookie of the Year bid in 2024. We saw similar with Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson last season. Let’s cover a few such players along with others on the ascent.
Five Big Hype Prospects
Nolan Schanuel, 21, 1B, LAA (MLB)
14 PA, .250/.357/.250
Schanuel was summoned by a desperate Angels club to cover for the absence of C.J. Cron. The 2023 draftee has over twice as many walks as strikeouts in limited professional action. In a perfect world, he likely would have spent more time in the minors working on achieving higher-quality contact. There isn’t a spot on the Angels roster for both Cron and Schanuel. In other words, we can expect Schanuel to return to the minors if and when Cron recovers from his lower-back tightness. Until then, we’ll see if Schanuel can learn to complement his discipline and feel for contact with better lift and exit velocities.
Masyn Winn, 21, SS, STL (MLB)
(AAA) 498 PA, 18 HR, 17 SB, .288/.359/.474
A high-probability league-average shortstop with upside for more, Winn is now 11 plate appearances into his Major League career. The well-rounded shortstop makes up for a lack of carrying traits (besides his impressive throwing arm) with an equal lack of weaknesses. There’s only one knock against him: merely adequate exit velocities. Adequacy is hardly damning praise. For a 21-year-old to possess his skills and traits means he has countless ways to take the next step from acceptability to stardom. He could do it on defense, through feel for contact, burgeoning power, speed on the basepaths, or a little bit of everything.
Noelvi Marte, 21, 3B, CIN (MLB)
(AA/AAA) 389 PA, 11 HR, 18 SB, .281/.360/.460
Marte was one of the first prospects covered by this column last season. I noted a slight souring among evaluators who were beginning to see him as more of a core performer than a future star. His performance this season remains prime for disagreement. The surface level stats are good-not-great, and his peripherals are a mixed bag. He’s a tad prone to swinging strikes. Even so, he avoids strikeouts while showing plus discipline. He also produces exciting top-end exit velocities for a 21-year-old. Some scouts think he’s close to physically maxed out. Others see room for further growth.
Broad strokes, the outlook is similar to Winn albeit from a lesser defensive position. There are so many ways for Marte to find his way to star-caliber production. The floor resembles a Major League core performer.
Kyle Harrison, 22, SP, SFG (MLB)
(AAA) 65.2 IP, 14.39 K/9, 6.58 BB/9, 4.66 ERA
Harrison makes for one of the toughest evals in the minors. He has a feel for missing bats along with the repertoire of a high-ceilinged starting pitcher. He also happens to struggle with command and control. Of his 21 starts, Harrison reached five innings exactly once. He never faced 20 or more batters. The relief risk is ooey-gooey tangible, but the Giants have every incentive to give him more time in the rotation. Presently, Harrison is expected to join a unit consisting of Logan Webb and a handful of struggling veterans like Alex Cobb, Alex Wood, Sean Manaea, and Jakob Junis. The Giants will be playing bullpen games from here through the end of the season.
Ethan Salas, 17, C, SDP (AA)
(A/A+) 257 PA, 9 HR, 5 SB, .257/.335/.447
At the tender age of 17 years, 2 months, and 20 days, Salas finds himself in Double-A. This latest promotion is virtually unprecedented, made all the more so because Salas hit just .200/.243/.229 in 37 High-A plate appearances. It doesn’t require an active imagination to wonder what else is going on here. Perhaps the Padres Double-A affiliate has a desirable instructor or facilities. Maybe, like a baby bird, he imprinted on one of the other players the Padres promoted to Double-A yesterday. Could a long-term contract be in the offing?
In any event, Salas is now the youngest player to grace Double-A in recent memory. He’s considered a precocious receiver with the potential to become a quality hitter too.
Three More
Carson Williams, TBR (20): The Rays promoted Williams from High-A straight to Triple-A. The move allows for Junior Caminero’s (Double-A) development to remain unaffected. Williams is 1-for-13 with two walks and six strikeouts. He’s running a 22.2 percent swinging strike rate with poor exit velocities. Note the tiny sample.
Samuel Zavala, SDP (18): Though not quite on the Salas-track, Zavala earned a promotion to High-A yesterday after hitting .267/.420/.451 with 14 home runs and 20 steals in 459 Low-A plate appearances. He has issues adjusting to pitches in certain parts of the strike zone, especially up-and-away.
Paul Skenes, PIT (21): Earlier today, the Pirates announced Skenes would join the Double-A club, skipping High-A in the process. Whether this move is in preparation for a 2023 or 2024 debut, it won’t be long before we see Skenes grace a big league mound.
Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.
Angels Promote Nolan Schanuel
In rather stunning news, the Angels are promoting first baseman Nolan Schanuel to the Majors less than six weeks after selecting him with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2023 draft, reports Peter Gammons. It’s a rare and extremely aggressive promotion as the Halos, whose all-in push at the deadline has yielded underwhelming results thus far, try to bolster the lineup and keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive in Shohei Ohtani‘s final season of club control. Schanuel has played in 21 minor league games (topping out at the Double-A level) and batted a combined .370/.510/.493 with 21 walks and just 10 strikeouts in 96 plate appearances. His promotion is now official.
Schanuel, 21, was regarded as the most MLB-ready bat in the draft, although a promotion to the big leagues in mid-August shatters even the most aggressive timetables pundits might’ve put on his potential ascension. The 6’4″ first baseman posted borderline farcical numbers at Florida Atlantic University, batting .386/.516/.698 in his college career — including a preposterous .447/.615/.868 slash in 289 plate appearances this past season. Schanuel’s bat-to-ball skills were unparalleled in this year’s draft class; he struck out in just seven percent of his college plate appearances and drew 71 walks against 14 strikeouts in 2023 (24.6% walk rate, 4.8% strikeout rate).
Impressive as Schanuel’s college and minor league numbers are, it’s still a move lacking in recent precedent. The White Sox fast-tracked lefty Garrett Crochet to the Majors in Sept. 2020, just months after drafting him, but that was in part due to the lack of a minor league season. Even that aggressive promotion came after Crochet had roughly three months to work with the team’s player development staff at their alternate training site. Looking even further back, right-hander Mike Leake skipped the minor leagues entirely after being selected with the No. 8 overall pick in 2009, though his debut came on Opening Day the following season. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper tweets that among position players, Schanuel’s promotion just 40 days after being drafted is the fastest rise to the Majors since Toronto’s Brian Milner back in 1978. Milner, promoted to the Majors just 17 days after being drafted, played in only two Major League games.
The Angels have made a habit of being quite aggressive in fast-tracking their prospects in recent years. Shortstop Zach Neto debuted earlier this season less than one year after going in the first round of the 2022 draft. Last year’s second-round pick, Ben Joyce, has already debuted as well. Lefty Reid Detmers, selected 10th overall in 2020, made his debut on Aug. 1, 2021. Righty Chase Silseth was an 11th round pick in 2021 and in the Majors by May of 2022. None of those quite match this level of aggression, but the Angels’ ultra-aggressive trajectory with Schanuel is on-brand for the organization.
The timing of today’s promotion likely isn’t coincidental. Today marks the first day that prospects can be promoted to the Majors and fall just shy of the requisite service to exhaust their rookie eligibility. So long as Schanuel (or anyone else promoted today) accrues fewer than 131 at-bats down the stretch, they’ll retain their rookie eligibility for the 2024 season. With the new prospect promotion incentives in the collective bargaining agreement, that’s a key status for teams to preserve; a top-100 prospect who wins Rookie of the Year can garner his team an additional pick in the following season’s draft.
Ultimately, the amount of control the Angels have over Schanuel will depend on multiple factors. Today’s promotion doesn’t necessarily cost them a year of club control, as he could well have earned a full year in 2024 anyhow. As it stands, he’s controllable through at least the 2029 season, although that path to free agency could be pushed back if Schanuel struggles in the big leagues and is eventually optioned back to the minors. For now, however, he’ll get the opportunity to show that his polished bat is ready for the challenges he’ll encounter at the game’s top level, while the Angels will take this opportunity to further demonstrate their commitment to fielding a competitive club to Ohtani as he nears free agency.
Angels Designate Chad Wallach For Assignment, Transfer Anthony Rendon To 60-Day IL
The Angels announced a series of roster moves today, including the previously-reported selection of prospect Nolan Schanuel. They also reinstated catcher Logan O’Hoppe from the 60-day injured list. One active roster spot was opened by first baseman C.J. Cron being placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 16, due to low back inflammation. Chad Wallach was designated for assignment, opening a spot on both the active and 40-man rosters. To open a second spot on the 40-man, third baseman Anthony Rendon was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Wallach, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Halos in the offseason and had his contract selected in April when O’Hoppe landed on the injured list due to a torn labrum in his shoulder. Wallach has been sharing the catching duties with Matt Thaiss since then, generally performing well by backup catcher standards.
He struck out in 34.2% of his plate appearances and only batted .209, but he hit seven home runs in just 149 plate appearances. His 84 wRC+ indicates he was 16% below average overall, but catchers generally produce less at the plate, as the league’s backstops have a collective wRC+ of 89 this year. He’s been graded as a decent defender this year, with +1 Defensive Runs Saved and framing marks close to average.
But just as he joined the roster as O’Hoppe went to the injured list, he now departs as O’Hoppe is activated. The Halos will be hoping that O’Hoppe can pick up right where he left off, as he was hitting .283/.339/.547 before the shoulder injury. The club will put Wallach on waivers in the coming days, since the trade deadline is now in the rearview mirror. If any other team were to put in a claim, they could control him for two more years via arbitration. If he were to clear, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.
As for Rendon, he was placed on the injured list in mid-July due to a left shin contusion after fouling a ball off his leg. An MRI in the days after that IL placement revealed a deep bone bruise and he was shut down at that point. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported this week that Rendon had yet to resume baseball activities. Once healthy, he’ll presumably need to get back into game shape with some kind of rehab assignment after this layoff.
Today’s transfer means he’s ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which would be the second week of September. Whether he’s ultimately able to return late in the year or not, this will go down as another frustrating campaign due to health reasons. Signed to a seven-year, $245MM deal after 2019, he has yet to play in 60 games in a season as an Angel, with just 43 so far this year. The first year of the contract wasn’t his fault, as the pandemic eventually led to a truncated 60-game schedule. But he’s made frequent IL trips in three straight seasons now.
Since the start of 2021, he’s played just 148 total games over that three-year stretch, going on the IL due to a left groin strain, left knee contusion, left hamstring strain, right hip impingement, right wrist surgery, another left groin strain and now this left shin contusion/bone bruise. He’s hit .235/.338/.363 in that time for a wRC+ of 97.