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Trey Cabbage

Angels Activate Ben Joyce, Zach Neto

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The Angels announced this afternoon that they had activated right-hander Ben Joyce from the 60-day injured list and shortstop Zach Neto from the 10-day injured list. In corresponding moves, first baseman Trey Cabbage and left-hander Kolton Ingram were optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. Anaheim’s 40-man roster stands at 39 after activating Joyce.

The club’s first- and third-round picks in the 2022 draft, Neto and Joyce were the first members of the 2022 draft class to reach the majors, with both doing so by the end of May this season. Each player has held his own at the highest level despite being fast-tracked to the big leagues, with Neto posting a 97 wRC+ in 252 trips to the plate alongside solid defense at shortstop, while Joyce has shown a fastball that sits at over 101 mph while posting a 4.50 ERA that’s 9% better than league average by ERA+.

While the respective debuts of each youngster have been impressive considering their lack of development time in the minor leagues, the 2023 seasons have been marred by injuries for both players. Joyce managed just four innings of work in five appearances before going on the injured list with ulnar neuritis in early June and missing the next three months. Neto, on the other hand, spent a month on the shelf earlier in the season due to an oblique strain before returning after the All Star break for a two-week stretch during which he batted an abysmal .180/.226/.340. He ultimately was placed back on the injured list in early August with lower back inflammation.

With three weeks left in the regular season, both rookies will be afforded the opportunity to finish their first big league campaign on a high note. Neto figures to take over as the club’s everyday shortstop, pushing Kyren Paris to the bench. Joyce, meanwhile, could get some looks in high-leverage situations down the stretch with key leverage relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez having been claimed off waivers by the Guardians at the end of August. That’s left the Anaheim bullpen with few clear high-leverage options beyond closer Carlos Estevez.

As for the players making room for the rookie duo, Cabbage is a left-handed power bat who first joined the big league club back in July, replacing Anthony Rendon as a member of the club’s infield mix. Cabbage has experience at first base, third base, and all three outfield spots, but ultimately struggled with the bat in 56 trips to the plate with the Angels, slashing just .208/.232/.321 with a massive 46.4% strikeout rate. Cabbage, 26, will need to cut down on the strikeouts significantly if he’s going to contribute in the majors as anything more than an injury replacement.

Ingram, meanwhile, posted phenomenal numbers in the minor leagues this season for the organization, including a 3.49 ERA in 28 1/3 Triple-A innings made all the more impressive thanks to the heightened offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. Unfortunately for the 26-year-old southpaw, his first taste of big league action back in June did not go as he surely hoped it would, as he was lit up for three runs in his major league debut while recording only one out. In all, Ingram owns a brutal 10.38 ERA in 4 1/3 innings of work at the big league level, though as a southpaw with success in the upper minors, he still figures to be an intriguing potential bullpen piece for the Angels headed into 2024.

Angels Place Mike Trout On Injured List

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August 25: Trout is now officially on the IL, per a club announcement, with Trey Cabbage recalled in a corresponding move.

August 24: The Angels are placing Mike Trout back on the 10-day injured list, general manager Perry Minasian informed reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). The three-time MVP had just returned from an IL stay on Tuesday.

Trout started in center field that night, going 1-4. He sat out both games of today’s doubleheader, ceding the position to Mickey Moniak. Minasian indicated that Trout remained in too much discomfort when hitting to continue playing through the injury. The GM didn’t provide a return timetable beyond noting that Trout won’t swing a bat for at least a few days.

His ’23 campaign was derailed when he broke the hamate bone in his left wrist on a swing. Trout underwent surgery on July 5 and was given a four-to-eight week recovery timetable. He briefly made it back around seven weeks later but evidently can’t proceed.

With five and a half weeks remaining on the schedule, it seems fair to wonder if Trout’s season could be in jeopardy. The Halos’ playoff hopes were already all but extinguished 48 hours ago. Since the 11-time All-Star’s effort to return, Los Angeles was swept in a three-game series by the Reds and lost Shohei Ohtani as a pitcher for the season. This will be their ninth straight year without a playoff appearance and, with the club now six games under .500, likely their eighth consecutive losing record.

As the Angels find themselves in the all too familiar position of playing out the string, they’ll presumably move cautiously with the future Hall of Famer. Trout has hit .263/.367/.490 over 362 plate appearances — still well above-average output but easily his worst rate stats since his age-19 rookie campaign. Moniak, who is hitting .282/.313/.496 through 278 trips to the dish, is likely to take over center field between Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk.

Angels Select Trey Cabbage, Outright David Fletcher

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The Angels announced a number of moves before tonight’s game with the Astros. Los Angeles selected first baseman/corner outfielder Trey Cabbage, recalled infielder Michael Stefanic and reinstated Zach Neto and Matt Moore from the injured list.

In corresponding moves, the Halos placed Anthony Rendon, Jo Adell and Sam Bachman on the IL. All three placements are retroactive to July 11. The position players will be eligible to return a week from now, while Bachman is out until at least July 26. In a final transaction, infielder David Fletcher has already cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster to clear a spot for Cabbage.

On the positive side, Cabbage gets his first MLB look. The left-handed hitter was a fourth round selection of the Twins out of a Tennessee high school back in 2015. He played in the Minnesota system through 2021, topping out at Double-A. After becoming a minor league free agent, he joined the Halos.

Cabbage has spent the entire season at Triple-A Salt Lake. He has demonstrated interesting physical tools, connecting on 23 home runs and stealing 24 bases in 84 games. Even in the Pacific Coast League, his .287/.358/.576 batting line is better than average. He and Adell share the league lead in homers, and he’s fifth among 68 PCL hitters (minimum 200 plate appearances) in slugging.

He’ll add a left-handed power bat to Phil Nevin’s bench. Cabbage has gone down on strikes at a lofty 31.3% clip in Triple-A and has posted elevated strikeout totals throughout his career. The swing-and-miss has kept him from reaching the majors before his 26th birthday, but the huge power production in the upper minors earns him a look.

Cabbage is the latest member of an Angels’ infield that has gone through numerous recent iterations. Injuries to Neto, Gio Urshela and Rendon led the club to acquire Mike Moustakas and Eduardo Escobar. Neto is back at shortstop tonight after a month-long absence because of an oblique strain. That pushes Andrew Velazquez to the bench, while Luis Rengifo draws in at third base.

Rendon is dealing with a left shin contusion after fouling a ball off his leg a week ago. He told reporters the injury hasn’t healed as hoped and declined to answer when asked if he was engaged in any baseball activities (via Sam Blum of the Athletic). Adell has a left oblique strain. Bachman has inflammation in his throwing shoulder; Nevin told reporters he’ll be shut down for a brief period but isn’t expected to require a long-term absence (relayed by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com).

Neto’s return squeezed Fletcher off the roster for the second time this season. The Halos also ran him through waivers in April. They re-selected his contract in late June but sent him back down after 11 games. Fletcher has gotten into 19 MLB contests on the season, hitting .213/.245/.298. He’s been far better in Salt Lake, putting up a .383/.431/.478 slash with more walks than strikeouts over 197 plate appearances.

Fletcher is making $6MM this season and under contract for the same amount through 2025. The $24MM extension he’d signed two years ago has given him ample financial security but ensured the Angels can send him through waivers without losing him. No other team is going to assume that money on a claim.

The latest demotion is timed so that the Halos can keep Fletcher in the organization as a non-roster player. He entered the season 61 days shy of the five-year MLB service threshold. He has picked up around 39 more days this year. Players with over five years of service time can decline a minor league assignment while retaining their entire contract; those with between three and five years would need to forfeit their guaranteed money to do so. Fletcher certainly isn’t going to pass on the money remaining on his deal, so the preemptive outright before he gets to five service years will keep him in Salt Lake.

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