MILWAUKEE — On the precipice of guaranteeing a 10th consecutive losing season, the Angels learned Tuesday that they’ll play the rest of this one without their top offensive player.
Shortstop Zach Neto was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hand ahead of the team’s series opener against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
The hand had been bothering Neto since Aug. 20, when he was hit by a pitch from Cincinnati Reds right-hander Nick Martinez. He appeared in each of the Angels’ next 20 games and slugged five home runs while posting a .728 OPS, but he has missed the last three after aggravating the injury during a game last Thursday against the Seattle Mariners.
When the Angels made their way East to Milwaukee, Neto returned to Southern California for further testing which revealed the strain and led the team to the decision to shut him down.
“I think it’s safe to say that we’ve probably seen him play his last game unfortunately this season,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “That said, I think when you look at the body of work and what he’s done, he should be incredibly proud of the season he had. It’s not the way anybody wants to end it. But I mean, the work on the field speaks for itself. This is probably the smart thing to do in this situation.”
Neto, 24, had been successfully building upon his breakout 2024 campaign and was the Angels’ team leader in Wins Above Replacement at 5.0, according to BaseballReference.com. He appeared in 128 games – starting 122 – and was slashing .257/.319/.474 with 26 home runs, 62 RBIs and a .793 OPS.
Highly-touted Denzer Guzman was in the starting lineup for a third straight game on Monday and will continue to see action at shortstop down the stretch with Neto unavailable. Ranked ninth among Angels minor-leaguers by MLBPipeline.com, Guzman was slashing .247/.343/.426 with 17 homers and 74 RBIs in 129 games between Double-A Rocket City and Triple-A Salt Lake when he earned his first major-league call-up on Saturday.
“He’s earned it,” Montgomery said. “I told him ‘you’re going to play.’ It’s exciting anytime you can bring up a young, talented player like that at his age. The biggest message for him is, just play your game. Don’t try to do anything to prove your worth or prove that you belong here – you belong here, you are here.”
O’HOPPE RETURNS, EARNS CLEMENTE HONOR
There was some good news on the injury front Tuesday.
First baseman Nolan Schanuel is expected to start a minor-league rehab assignment with Salt Lake on Wednesday, and catcher Logan O’Hoppe was reinstated from the seven-day concussion list and in the starting lineup against Milwaukee.
O’Hoppe been out since A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson inadvertently nicked him with a warm-up swing.
“It was time that I needed, for sure,” O’Hoppe said. “Everything went exactly according to plan, and I feel really good today.”
O’Hoppe was also announced as the Angels’ nominee for the Robert Clemente Award for community and public service in recognition of his work visiting various children’s hospitals and cancer patients throughout Southern California.
WELCOME BACK, RAY
After missing the Angels’ weekend games in Seattle, Montgomery was back on the bench Tuesday night.
The series against the Brewers was a homecoming of sorts for Montgomery, who had two stints as a member of Milwaukee’s front office.
“There’s a lot of good people here from the owner on down and nothing but good things to say about anyone here,” said Montgomery, whose Milwaukee highlights including scouting former first-round draft pick and current associate manager Rickie Weeks and selecting Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
Back then, the thought of ending up on the bench as a major-league manager hadn’t even crossed Montgomery’s mind.
“If you’d have told me six, seven years ago that (I’d) be doing this, I would have laughed at you,” Montgomery said. “But in the same breath, I don’t take it lightly. Situationally how we got to this point wasn’t how anybody would draw it up, but since we’ve been in it, it’s been great.
“The guys have responded. We could be winning a few more games, but that is what it is.”
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Jose Soriano, 10-10, 4.13 ERA) at Brewers (RHP Brandon Woodruff, 6-2, 3.32 ERA), Wednesday, 4:40 p.m. PT, FDSN West, 830 AM