The Los Angeles Angels took a flier on Yoan Moncada this offseason. The often banged up veteran was expected to start at third base for LA but a spring training thumb injury is worse than the Angels anticipated, throwing Moncada’s availability into question.
While the team has serious concerns, Moncada is confident that he’ll be in the lineup at the start of the season. “I feel like I’m gonna be ready for Opening Day… That’s what I’m aiming for right now. So that’s my mindset,” Moncada said, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
The Angels haven’t ruled out a trip to the injured list but manager Ron Washington is rooting for Moncada to play. “[It] was just a deep bruise. And we all recover from deep bruises differently, so I’m hoping he’s a quick recover-er. So that’s great news. Gonna keep working and hope that when Opening Day shows up, he’ll be there,” Washington said, via MLB.com.
Yoan Moncada hopes to turn things around with the Angels
Moncada came to the Angels on a one-year, $5 million deal after the Chicago White Sox chose not to pick up his $25 million club option for 2025. Moncada spent the last eight seasons in Chicago and he was a member of the historically awful White Sox team that lost a record 121 games last season.
However, Moncada managed to avoid most of that misery as he missed 150 games in 2024 with a left adductor strain. He sustained the injury in April and it kept him sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Injuries have been a recurring theme for Moncada, slowing his once promising career. He missed 128 games from 2022-2023 dealing with oblique, hamstring, foot and back issues. Now he has a deep bone bruise he picked up from hitting his own thumb on his own glove.
Although he’s yet to be cleared to hit or throw, Moncada likes his chances to get healthy in time for the opener. “I’m just day to day… Based on that, we’ll be implementing more things to get better and get ready,” he said, per MLB.com.
Moncada won the starting third base job over Angels veteran Anthony Rendon, who also has a lengthy injury history. If Moncada isn’t ready to play by Opening Day, Los Angeles will move Luis Rengifo to third and newly acquired infielder Tim Anderson will play second base.
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