The Los Angeles Angels have made some puzzling roster selections lately, however their newest transfer is perhaps some of the questionable.
After years of frustration with Anthony Rendon’s incapacity to remain wholesome, the staff seemingly addressed the problem by signing Yoan Moncada — one other participant with a prolonged harm historical past. Earlier than the 2025 season has even begun, Moncada is already coping with a thumb harm that might land him on the injured listing.
This raises an apparent query: What precisely have been the Angels considering?
Rendon’s tenure in Los Angeles has been a catastrophe. After signing a seven-year, $245 million contract in 2020, he has performed in simply 200 video games throughout 4 seasons. His accidents embrace hip, hamstring, groin, wrist and shin points, all of which have prevented him from being the offensive power the Angels anticipated. The Angels wanted a substitute when Rendon went down once more this spring with a hip harm that may seemingly sideline him for your entire 2025 season.
Enter Moncada, one other participant who has spent extra time on the injured listing than on the sector lately. In 2024, he performed simply 12 video games for the White Sox attributable to persistent again points. The 2 seasons earlier than weren’t significantly better — he managed solely 92 video games in 2023 and 104 in 2022, coping with varied lower-body strains and different nagging accidents. Regardless of his once-promising potential, Moncada’s manufacturing has steadily declined, making him a dangerous possibility for a staff scuffling with sturdiness.
The Angels’ resolution to herald Moncada looks like a determined try and plug a gap with out contemplating the probability that he, too, would find yourself injured. If Rendon’s frequent IL stints have been a major downside for the staff, why would it not financial institution on somebody with an equally troubling harm historical past?
Even past well being considerations, Moncada’s offensive manufacturing has dropped considerably. His final standout season was in 2019 when he hit .315 with 25 dwelling runs. Since then, his numbers have steadily declined, together with his energy fading and his batting common plummeting. Over the previous three seasons, he has mixed for simply 25 dwelling runs and struggled to take care of a league-average OPS.
This transfer is one other instance of the Angels’ long-standing downside: an absence of clear course in roster building. After ending final within the AL West in 2024, they made a number of veteran additions — Moncada, Tim Anderson, Yusei Kikuchi, Kyle Hendricks, Jorge Soler and Kenley Jansen. Nonetheless, it’s unclear if these strikes make them a real contender.
As an alternative of committing to a whole rebuild or a decisive playoff push, the Angels appear caught in a cycle of patchwork fixes. Banking on Moncada to remain wholesome after watching Rendon wrestle with the identical subject is emblematic of this flawed strategy. Now, with each doubtlessly out, the staff finds itself scrambling for solutions once more.
If the Angels wish to escape mediocrity, they should begin making extra considerate, long-term roster selections. Changing one injury-prone participant with one other isn’t the answer.
