OC Register: Max Stassi, Juan Lagares join ranks of injured Angels

[AngelsWin.com]

The real winner of the Angels’ first road trip of 2021: taxi drivers.

Outfielder Juan Lagares (strained left calf) and catcher Max Stassi (sprained left thumb) were placed on the 10-day injured list prior to Tuesday’s game against the Royals. They were replaced by two taxi squad players, catcher Anthony Bemboom and outfielder Jon Jay.

With one game still to play in Kansas City, every player who began the road trip on the Angels’ taxi squad will have been added to their active roster. That includes pitchers Ben Rowen and Jaime Barria, and infielder Jack Mayfield.

To make room for Jay, who was not on the Angels’ 40-man roster, Dexter Fowler was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Fowler will have season-ending surgery on his left knee at a date to be determined.

The Angels now have four players on the 10-day IL: Lagares, Stassi, third baseman Anthony Rendon and pitcher Felix Peña. Adding to the laundry list, left fielder Justin Upton was scratched from the lineup with back stiffness in the hours before Tuesday’s game.

Jay got the start in left field and batted eighth in his 2021 debut.

Bemboom, 31, batted .208 (10 for 48) with three home runs in 21 games for the Angels last season. He will be the backup to Kurt Suzuki until Stassi returns.

Stassi’s injury is not considered serious. Maddon said he sprained the thumb on a foul tip early in Monday’s game against the Royals.

“I didn’t know from the side he was hurting,” Maddon said of Stassi. “I go out for the mound change, I asked him how he was doing. He said he wanted to be there for his pitcher. I get it but (in the seventh inning) we made the change.

“Give (Stassi) credit. He did a great job with Alex in spite of getting jammed up a little bit early on the thumb.”

Lagares tried running before Tuesday’s game, the third he’s missed since straining his calf Saturday against Toronto. Maddon said the injury improved, “but not to the point where we feel comfortable not hurting it more.”

Jay, 36, batted .160 (8 for 50) in 18 games with the Diamondbacks last season. He has a .283 batting average across 11 seasons with the Cardinals, Padres, Cubs, Royals, White Sox and D-backs. He signed a minor-league contract with the Angels in February.

Teams cannot replenish their taxi squads in the middle of road trips.

“There’s more people at the alternate site too that we like a lot also,” Maddon said. “We’re being tested almost with all five (taxi squad players). We feel good about our backups, whether it’s here with us in tow or back in Arizona.”

ROJAS STILL ADJUSTING

One day after Maddon said Jose Rojas would see the bulk of the playing time in Rendon’s absence, Mayfield got his first start of the season at third base. Rendon was placed on the 10-day injured list on Monday with a strained left groin.

Mayfield, 30, batted .250 (4 for 16) with two doubles in 13 spring training games. The Angels claimed him from the Atlanta Braves in February. Mayfield broke in with the Astros, played 10 games at third base from 2019-20, and did not commit an error in the field.

For Rojas, coming off the bench continued an early trend. He’s only played on consecutive days once this season, last Friday and Saturday against the Blue Jays. Playing intermittently has required Rojas to adjust to a new pace. The Anaheim native entered Tuesday 0 for 13 to begin his career.

Related Articles

• Alex Cobb, Shohei Ohtani lead Angels in victory over Royals
• Jose Rojas to get bulk of time at third for Angels with Anthony Rendon out
• Angels’ Dexter Fowler to undergo season-ending knee surgery
• Angels blown out by Blue Jays after review goes against them
• Angels place Dexter Fowler on IL with sprained knee, recall Jaime Barria

“I feel like the adjustments will come,” Rojas said.

“He does need to play,” Maddon said. “He does need to hit. He had a great camp. We all have a lot of confidence in him. He doesn’t have a lot of hits, but a big part of our win (Monday) was how well he played third base. This is a classic example of a guy who needs a couple more at-bats.”

ALSO

Shohei Ohtani’s next bullpen session has not been scheduled, Maddon said. … The Angels will continue to roll a five-man rotation until Ohtani is cleared to return from a finger blister. That means Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana, and Alex Cobb will start the three weekend games against the Minnesota Twins in Anaheim.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 0-0) at Kansas City (RHP Brad Keller, 0-1), Wednesday, 11 a.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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