OC Register: Angels place Mike Moustakas, Mickey Moniak on injured list

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — The Angels added two more names to their injured list on Friday, while the big one remains in the same limbo as he’s been for more than a week.

Shohei Ohtani, who has been out with a sore oblique, again did some type of workout before Friday’s game, but he was ultimately not in the lineup. He was hurt on Sept. 4.

Manager Phil Nevin reiterated what he’s been saying just about every day, that Ohtani “has always wanted to play,” so they continue to wait.

Meanwhile, outfielder Mickey Moniak and infielder Mike Moustakas both had to go on the injured list. Moniak has been out for 10 days with a back issue, and Moustakas has a bruised left wrist he suffered last weekend.

“Clearly he wasn’t going to be able to play for a little while, so the IL was something we had to do,” Nevin said of Moustakas.

Moniak said he’s felt a little better lately, but he still hasn’t been able to do any baseball activity. Moniak said he “wouldn’t rule out” returning this season.

“He had it looked at today and realized this is going to take a little more time than we thought, than he thought,” Nevin said. “We thought we could grind this out, but it hasn’t gotten much better. It’s gotten a little better, but not well enough to play, and obviously we’re a little short on bodies too.”

The moves allowed the Angels to keep rookies Jordyn Adams and Kyren Paris on the active roster. They had been optioned on Thursday to create spots for infielders David Fletcher and Jared Walsh to return.

The injuries also mean that any payroll savings from the Fletcher and Walsh moves has been erased.

By bringing up the two players with guaranteed contracts and sending down Adams and Paris, the Angels were saving about $6,000 per day in major league salaries for the two rookies. Now the players are still on the roster, with Moniak and Moustakas also collecting their major league salaries while on the injured list.

It’s unclear how close the Angels will finish to being under the luxury tax threshold when the calculation is done at the end of the season. They still could trim the number slightly by activating other injured players, like Jo Adell, C.J. Cron, Mike Trout or Anthony Rendon.

WELCOME BACK?

Neither Walsh nor Fletcher had much to say to reporters upon their return to the clubhouse for the first time since July.

Walsh gave several short answers. Asked about the frustration of being in Triple-A, he said: “Not a big deal. Just want to help the team finish strong.”

Asked the same question, Fletcher said: “It is what it is.”

Fletcher is nearing five years of major league service time, at which point he would be able to become a free agent and keep his full contract, instead of accepting an assignment to the minors.

When he was asked if he thought that was the reason the Angels kept him in the minors, he said: “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

UP NEXT

Tigers (RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long, 1-0, 3.60 ERA) at Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 6-6, 5.36 ERA), Saturday, 6:07 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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[jsnpritchett]

55 minutes ago, AngelsWin.com said:

WELCOME BACK?

Neither Walsh nor Fletcher had much to say to reporters upon their return to the clubhouse for the first time since July.

Walsh gave several short answers. Asked about the frustration of being in Triple-A, he said: “Not a big deal. Just want to help the team finish strong.”

Asked the same question, Fletcher said: “It is what it is.”

Fletcher is nearing five years of major league service time, at which point he would be able to become a free agent and keep his full contract, instead of accepting an assignment to the minors.

When he was asked if he thought that was the reason the Angels kept him in the minors, he said: “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

Sounds like things are a-o.k.!

[AngelsMetsWS]

3 hours ago, AngelsWin.com said:

They still could trim the number slightly by activating other injured players, like Jo Adell, C.J. Cron, Mike Trout or Anthony Rendon.

Yessss!!  The fans demand Rendon help the team out here!  Have him play on crutches to save that tibia.