The Angels could welcome Zach Neto back from the injured list as soon as tomorrow evening. As Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register and Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com each observed, Neto was in Long Beach on Thursday after playing consecutive games with Triple-A Salt Lake on his minor league rehab stint.
The team has not made any declarations on Neto’s status. The 24-year-old made it through nine innings at shortstop on back-to-back nights with Salt Lake on Tuesday and Wednesday. Manager Ron Washington had previously called that a necessity before the team would consider reinstating him. Neto now seems poised to rejoin them as they try to snap a four-game skid. They’ll play host to the Giants for three this weekend.
Neto injured his right shoulder late last season. He underwent surgery in November that was always expected to keep him out of the lineup on Opening Day. While he didn’t appear in any Spring Training games, he wasn’t far behind. He began a rehab assignment on April 1. Neto has looked no worse for wear against minor league pitching. He hit four home runs with a .286/.397/.592 slash over 13 games with Salt Lake.
The Angels have managed a 9-9 record despite playing without arguably their second-best position player. Neto was the team’s most productive player last season. He hit .249/.318/.443 across 602 plate appearances. He led the club with 30 stolen bases and trailed only Taylor Ward for the team lead with 23 homers. It was an impressive first full MLB season for the 2022 first-round pick.
Los Angeles has gotten no production at shortstop over the first few weeks. They entered play Thursday with a .140/.169/.158 slash and no home runs in 60 plate appearances out of the position. They’re last in batting average and slugging, while only the White Sox have received a worse on-base mark. Tim Anderson and Kevin Newman have combined for almost all the playing time. Anderson is hitting .171 with one double over 44 trips to the plate. Newman has three hits (all singles) and no walks in nine games. Nicky Lopez, who signed a major league contract just before Opening Day, has only made one start. He’s 0-6 with a strikeout.
Neto’s return will almost certainly result in someone getting designated for assignment. The Angels don’t need to create a 40-man roster spot, but no one on their bench can be optioned. Newman, Lopez and J.D. Davis all have more than enough service time to refuse a minor league assignment, as does Anderson. It’s unlikely that they’d drop Newman, who signed a $2.75MM free agent deal early in the offseason. One of the other three players is likely to be DFA as the corresponding move.