TEMPE, Ariz. — The injury woes for Anthony Rendon continue to define his Angels tenure and the newest installment comes before spring training even begins.
Rendon will undergo surgery on his left hip "in the near future" according to general manager Perry Minasian. This is Rendon's second hip surgery in his time with the Angels, the first being in the 2021 season on his right hip to repair an impingement.
"He's been rehabbing all offseason and he's had some difficulty with his rehab over the last couple weeks," Minasian said. "We had a couple different doctors take a look at it and he's going to have surgery, and we'll see where it goes."
As for a timeframe to return, Minasian didn't want to put one on but said that it will be a "long-term rehab." Rendon's first hip surgery in August of 2021 took his rehab into the offseason and he was ready for opening day the following season. Given that this surgery will be happening right before the season starts, there is a lot of uncertainty if Rendon will be able to play in the 2025 season.
Rendon has two seasons and $72 million remaining on his seven-year $245 million contract he signed in the winter of 2019. Since then, Rendon has appeared in 257 of the Angels' 708 games and has wildly underperformed besides the Covid-shortened 2020 season. Rendon's season-high in games played as an Angel is 58 in 2021. Last season, Rendon hit just .218 with a .574 OPS in 57 games played. Rendon hasn't hit a home run since July 1, 2023.
Although it's not official yet, the Angels agreeing to a one-year contract with third baseman Yoán Moncada this past week makes a lot more sense now.
Rotation locks
Minasian gave a list of four locks on the Angels starting rotation with the fifth spot being open to take. The four locks are Tyler Anderson, José Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi and Kyle Hendricks.
"We've had some guys that have pitched here and have had some success at different times," Minasian said. "We'll take the spring and see how it plays out, and we'll go with the best team."
Those presumably in contention for that fifth spot who have had starts with the Angels previously are Reid Detmers, Jack Kochanowicz, Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri and Chase Silseth. Kochanowicz was the most successful of the bunch last season, boasting a 3.99 ERA in 11 starts because of his ability to fill the zone and get weak groundballs at an elite clip. Kochanowicz's 3.8% walk rate ranked in the 98th percentile on Baseball Savant and he also was 94th percentile in groundball rate at 56.5%.
Neto injury update
The Angels announced in early November that shortstop Zach Neto underwent right shoulder surgery and is unlikely to be ready on opening day. Today, Neto said he received "good news" from doctors but couldn't specify what the news was.
"It's nice to be 23, isn't it?" Minasian said, although Neto turned 24 a couple of weeks ago. "You recover a little quicker. We're excited with where he's at. With that being said, we're going to go through the process. We're not going to rush him."
Neither Neto nor Minasian have a timeframe to return or know if Neto will be ready for opening day.
Neto said he hasn't been cleared to begin throwing yet but was cleared to swing last week. He has been taking swings off a tee and has been building from there since Saturday.
As for expectations this season for Neto, his main focus is on being able to play every day.
"When I come back to play, I hope to expect to play every day and not be able to miss a couple weeks or miss a couple days from anything on my shoulder or anything injury related," Neto said.
Stephenson update
Robert Stephenson enters the second year of his three-year $33 million contract with the Angels and is finally back on the mound after his Tommy John surgery in April of last year.
Today is Stephenson's first day on the mound since beginning his rehab after doing flat grounds for the last couple of weeks. Stephenson said that he thinks he will have six to eight weeks of mound work before facing live hitters and does not know when he will be activated.
"It's felt really good," Stephenson said of his rehab. "I've had zero issues throughout the whole process and it's honestly been a lot smoother than I expected it to be. But my arm feels great right now."
Despite feeling great, Stephenson also said he's trying to hold back and make sure he doesn't overdo it.