Angels Manager Has No Idea How Infielder Suffered Injury, Putting Opening Day in Doubt

Jun 17, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) is congratulated by bench coach Ray Montgomery (81) and manager Ron Washington after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Angels have had an interesting offseason.

As the team looks to come back to the contending conversation after an abysmal 63-win season, a key free agent signing has suffered an unknown injury.

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Veteran third baseman Yoan Moncada was acquired to bring his nine seasons of experience to the hot corner. After playing just 12 games last season due to an adductor strain, Moncada is looking to have a monster year and show the baseball world how much he still has left in the tank.

After being out of commission since April of last season, it was only fitting that the first — which proved to be only — game he played again in 2024 after his recovery was a mid-September matchup in Anaheim.

As for the injury suffered this spring, manager Ron Washington is just as perplexed as anyone.

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“Just one day, he came out there and the doc said that he hurt his thumb,” Washington said. “That could happen many ways. He doesn’t even know. He just woke up one morning and his thumb was messed up. Might have been something that happened and it didn’t affect him till the next day. But it is a deep bruise, and he can’t throw. And he has trouble swinging the bat.

"When you’re swinging the bat, you’re pulling down on that, so you’ve got to be cautious.”

With Opening Day right around the corner, the skipper was also unsure if Moncado would be available for the March 27 season-opener.

“We’ve just got to wait and see,” Washington said. “Depends on how quick he heals.

“It looks like he’s going to be on the shelf for a minute, nothing is torn. Just got some deep bruises. We’ve got to let it settle down before we start letting him try to hit.”

As Washington said, letting things settle for now before forcing the veteran to throw or hit before he is ready may prove to be the smarter move in the long run, especially for a team eyeing to once again get back to October baseball.

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