ATLANTA — Christian Moore’s diagnosis of a sprained left thumb is one of those occasions when a player feels relief even as he’s going on the injured list.
When Moore jammed the thumb of his glove hand into the ground while trying to make a diving stop on Wednesday night, he and many watching feared the worst.
Tests showed nothing requiring surgery, so the Angels’ rookie second baseman said he is hoping to be back in a couple of weeks. Interim manager Ray Montgomery suggested that might be a “best-case scenario” and he stopped short of giving a timetable.
“I think it’s pretty much up to my body and how it heals itself,” Moore said. “Hopefully I can be out there in two weeks. That’s kind of my thing. If I can get out there quicker, obviously we can do some things with the glove, maybe putting something in there.”
Moore dove to his right for a ground ball in the sixth inning on Tuesday night. His first reaction was to hope he hadn’t broken any bones. He wanted to remain in the game, but he couldn’t.
Once tests revealed nothing that required surgery, Moore said he was relieved.
“That was great news to hear,” he said. “The quicker I can get back out there with these guys, that’s definitely what I want to do. I want to help this team win. It was definitely a relief.”
Moore, 22, had been providing the Angels with solid defense at second base and he had shown a knack for getting big hits. The Angels 2024 first-round draft pick, Moore had eight RBIs and all of them either tied the score or gave the Angels the lead. His three home runs all came in the seventh inning or later.
“Everything we talked about, just the defensive side of the ball, the IQ, the baseball IQ, everything was as advertised and maybe a little bit better,” Montgomery said.
STEVENS GETS THE CALL
Chad Stevens got the call to replace Moore on the major league roster. It was the first appearance on a big league roster for the 26-year-old utilityman.
News of Stevens’ likely promotion spread quickly when he exchanged hugs with teammates when he was removed in the middle of an inning of Triple-A Salt Lake’s game on Wednesday night. Even better, the Bees were playing Tacoma, which is near Stevens’ hometown, so his parents were at the game.
“Joy, a little bit of shock, for a second it doesn’t all hit you,” Stevens said. “And then you hug all your teammates and get back to the clubhouse, and then you kind of realize what’s going on.”
Stevens was the 11th-round pick of the Houston Astros in 2021. He was released in May 2024, and the Angels signed him.
A right-handed hitter, Stevens had a career .237 batting average with a .719 OPS in the minors before this season. He hit .307 with 14 home runs and a .925 OPS at Triple-A this season.
“We have great hitting coaches here in the minor leagues,” Stevens said. “(Hitting coordinator) Phil Plantier comes to mind. He helped me a lot. He kind of cleaned up some things with my path and my setup and my approach. It’s kind of paid dividends this year.”
Stevens has played 212 games at shortstop, 144 games at third base and 48 games at second in the minors. The Angels put him at second for his major league debut, while keeping Luis Rengifo at third. Montgomery said a part of the decision was to keep Rengifo where he’s more comfortable. Stevens said he’s comfortable any of those positions.
The Angels did not need to create a 40-man roster spot for Stevens because they had a vacant spot after they designated Hector Neris for assignment last week. Neris was officially released on Thursday.
NETO’S ARM
Shortstop Zach Neto, who missed time with a right shoulder injury last weekend, said he’s going to have to be cautious with his throws for now. He tried to make a spinning throw to get Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. in the first inning on Wednesday night, and it didn’t feel good.
“The player I am, I want to make every play,” Neto said. “It’s hind of hard, but you gotta do what you gotta do. You gotta listen to your body sometimes, and I feel like that what I gotta do right now.”
Neto said he feels like he has the arm strength to make every standard throw, but “it didn’t feel so great” when he tried the awkward throw to get Acuña.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Kyle Hendricks, 5-6, 4.66 ERA) at Blue Jays (LHP Eric Lauer, 4-1, 2.60 ERA), Friday, 4:07 p.m. PT, Apple TV+, 830 AM