Angels shortstop Zach Neto underwent surgery this week on his right shoulder, which may cause him to miss the start of the season.
General manager Perry Minasian said Friday that Neto tried to rehab the injury for the first month of the offseason but was still feeling some discomfort, leading to surgery.
Minasian would not elaborate on how much of the season that Neto might miss.
“I’m not going to give time frames, but there’s a possibility he does miss some of the beginning of the season,” Minasian said.
Neto was injured on a slide late in the season. The Angels called it “irritation.” Although Neto didn’t play the final three games of the season, there was no indication it was a long-term injury or one serious enough to require surgery.
“He was rehabbing the last couple weeks, still felt it,” Minasian said. “So we wanted to take another look at it, just to make sure this isn’t something that we deal with during the season. To get it out of the way now and get it fixed, we felt like was the best thing. He felt like was the best thing. And, you know, we’ll see where it goes.”
Neto, who turns 24 in January, is coming off a season in which he hit .249 with 23 homers — and Angels record for a shortstop — with a .761 OPS.
“Obviously, Zach’s really important to this club,” Minasian said. “I feel like it’s something we were proactive with. Again, there’s a possibility he misses some time, but to have it done now and make sure he’s ready to go when he does step into the lineup and fully healthy and all those things, it’s something we don’t have to worry about going forward. I think (that) is really, really important.”
The Angels have Luis Rengifo to be a backup shortstop, and they also acquired Scott Kingery earlier this month.
Kingery, 30, is a former top prospect with the Philadelphia Phillies. He spent all of last season in Triple-A, where he hit .268 with 25 homers and an .804 OPS.
“I know it’s not a big, big time name, or might not be perceived as a huge move, but for us, (Kingery’s) ability to play shortstop, center field, move around a diamond, his production in Triple-A, his ability to run the bases, his ability to defend was really, really intriguing to us, and part of building depth,” Minasian said. “He’s somebody that can move around and do a lot of things, and help fill holes.”