Zach Neto might return to the Angels from the injured list as early as tomorrow night. Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com and Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register both noted that Neto was in Long Beach on Thursday following back-to-back games with Triple-A Salt Lake during his minor league rehabilitation.
Regarding Neto’s status, the team has not released any statements. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the 24-year-old pitched nine innings at shortstop in consecutive nights with Salt Lake. That was previously deemed necessary by manager Ron Washington before the team would even contemplate bringing him back. As they attempt to end a four-game losing streak, Neto now appears ready to return. This weekend, they will host the Giants for three games.
Late in the previous season, Neto had a right shoulder injury. It was always anticipated that his surgery in November would prevent him from starting on Opening Day. He wasn’t far behind, even though he didn’t play in any Spring Training games. On April 1, he started a rehab assignment. When facing minor league pitchers, Neto has not appeared to be in any worse shape. Over 13 games with Salt Lake, he had a.286/.397/.592 slash and four home homers.
Despite playing without what is likely their second-best position player, the Angels have managed to maintain a 9-9 record. Last season, Neto was the team’s most productive player. He appeared on 602 plate appearances and hit.249/.318/.443. With 30 stolen bases, he led the team, and with 23 home runs, he was only behind Taylor Ward. The 2022 first-round pick had an outstanding first complete MLB season.
For the first two weeks, Los Angeles has not had any productivity at shortstop. They had a.140/.169/.158 slash line going into play on Thursday, and in 60 plate appearances out of the position, they had no home runs. Only the White Sox have a worse on-base rating, and they rank last in slugging and batting average. Nearly all of the playing time has been split between Tim Anderson and Kevin Newman. Anderson has made 44 trips to the plate and is hitting.171 with one double. In nine games, Newman has three hits (all singles) and no walks. Nicky Lopez has only made one start since signing a major league contract shortly before Opening Day. He has a strikeout and is 0–6.
It is highly probable that someone will be assigned upon Neto’s return. No one on the Angels’ bench may be optioned, but they are not required to establish a 40-man roster place. Anderson, Lopez, J.D. Davis, and Newman all have more than enough service time to turn down a minor league assignment. Since Newman signed a $2.75 million free agent contract early in the offseason, it is doubtful that they will cut him. The appropriate action is probably to DFA one of the other three players.
