The Angels announced that infielder Luis Rengifo has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 4) due to inflammation in his right wrist. In corresponding moves, the Halos selected the contract of infielder Keston Hiura from Triple-A, and moved right-hander Andrew Wantz to the 60-day injured list.
Rengifo was removed from Wednesday’s game after appearing to injure himself on a swing. Per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register on X, the club said he had some wrist soreness and would be going for imaging. The X-rays found no break, per Fletcher on X yesterday, but it seems the inflammation and soreness are enough that the club will put him on the shelf for at least a little while.
How he progresses in the coming weeks will be an interesting situation to monitor as he is one of the most straightforward trade candidates this summer. The Angels are 36-50 and one of the few clear sellers this year. Rengifo has just one year of club control beyond this one, making $4.4MM here in 2024 with another pass through arbitration upcoming. The Halos are considered to have a poor farm system, making it unlikely that they will return to contention by next year.
He was a solid contributor for the Halos in the previous two seasons but has seemingly taken a step forward here this year. He slashed .264/.315/.436 over 2022 and 2023, with that production translating to a 108 wRC+. Here in 2024, he currently sports a line of .315/.358/.442 and a 127 wRC+.
At least some of that is probably luck, as Rengifo had a .289 batting average on balls in play in the 2022-23 period but is up to .349 this year. But it’s still his third straight season of producing above-average offense. He also provides plenty of defensive versatility, having played all three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base. He’s not considered an especially strong defender anywhere, but the versatility is still attractive to clubs. He’s also added a base-stealing component to his game with 22 swipes this year, more than the 18 he had in his entire career coming into this season.
Those on-field contributions, as well as his salary and extra year of club control, will make him very attractive if he’s healthy. The trade deadline is on July 30, so he has lots of time if this is just a minor issue. But if he suffers any sort of setback, the Angels might miss their window to capitalize on his trade value. Injured players can still be traded but it’s…
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