The Angels are designating infielder Keston Hiura for task, experiences Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (X hyperlink). The transfer opens an energetic roster spot for the reinstatement of Luis Rengifo from the 10-day injured listing. The Halos now have two vacancies on their 40-man roster.
Rengifo missed round three weeks with irritation in his proper wrist. It doesn’t appear all that critical. The Halos happily managed to get him again every week earlier than the deadline, giving him just a few video games to show he’s at full well being. The switch-hitting Rengifo is likely one of the higher offensive choices who needs to be out there this summer season. He’s hitting .315/.358/.442 throughout 269 plate appearances.
Whereas he’s unlikely to take care of a .349 common on balls in play, Rengifo ought to nonetheless be an above-average hitter. He makes a ton of contact and topped 15 homers in 2022 and ’23. Over the previous two and a half seasons, he owns a .275/.325/.437 line over greater than 1200 journeys to the plate. He has destroyed left-handed pitching whereas delivering league common outcomes towards righties. Rengifo isn’t an important defender wherever, however he’s able to bouncing across the infield and infrequently logging nook outfield reps.
Rengifo is making $4.4MM this season. He’s controllable by means of arbitration for yet one more season. MassLive reported yesterday that the Pink Sox have proven some curiosity, although they’re seemingly one in all many groups that’ll be in contact with the Halos. Speculatively talking, the Yankees, Pirates and Royals are just a few others that will make sense as suitors for Rengifo.
Hiura received the decision along side Rengifo’s IL placement. The previous #9 general decide went 4-27 (all singles) and struck out 10 instances in as many video games. That was Hiura’s first main league work since 2022. Since a superb rookie marketing campaign 5 years in the past, he’s a .203/.287/.384 hitter with a 38.5% strikeout charge on the MLB degree.
The UC Irvine product has continued to hit effectively towards Triple-A pitching, however he hasn’t carried that over towards MLB arms. He owned a strong .270/.346/.536 slash over 68 minor league contests with the Tigers and Angels earlier than being referred to as up. He’s out of choices, so the Halos couldn’t ship him again to the minors with out taking him off the 40-man roster. It’s unlikely they’ll discover a commerce associate, so Hiura is prone to hit the waiver wire this week. He has already cleared outright waivers as soon as in his profession and will elect free company if he goes unclaimed once more.
