The Angels will have to be without rookie shortstop Zach Neto for a several-week stretch this season, hurting their playoff hopes.
The Los Angeles Angels suffered more bad injury news this week with fast-rising shortstop Zach Neto landing back on the shelf.
Neto was dealing with back discomfort for a few weeks and landed on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 4, his second IL stint this season. Amid a productive rookie campaign, the 22-year-old appeared to recover quickly and get off the injured list only for a setback to impede his progress.
Angels beat reporter Rhett Bollinger announced that Neto's recent tests revealed serious back inflammation which could keep him off the field for several weeks.
Angels manager Phil Nevin had a semi-optimistic take on Neto's injury status:
"We're trying to get ahead of this. We think we got ahead of where it's going to be extremely lengthy. I don't want to put a number on it, but it's gonna be a few weeks."
Angels: Zach Neto lands back on injured list
Prior to their last two wins, the Angels were trying to grit their teeth through a seven-game losing streak during a critical stretch of their season. Their latest victories against the Giants helped to slow down the skid, but L.A. will need nothing short of a miracle to sneak its way into the playoffs.
At 10.5 games out of a wild card spot with a 1.2 percent chance of making the postseason, the Angels received their latest depressing update in the form of Neto's nagging back issue. In his first year in the majors, Neto is slashing .241/.315/.411 with eight homers and 30 RBIs.
Maybe for a short period of time after the trade deadline, the Angels had a chance. They had faith. They held onto Shohei Ohtani and added short-term contending talent to support him at the expense of their talented farm system. Maybe, just maybe, this would be their year.
A week and change later, the Angels may have lost the last shreds of hope as they face one of the toughest schedules in baseball in the final sprint of their season. Neto's solid rookie year will be wasted. Ohtani's unicorn talents will be wasted. It will be difficult to look at the Angels' 2023 season and see it as anything other than a waste.
