Angels place 3B Anthony Rendon on the 10-day IL with a groin injury

Anthony Rendon has had a rough time of it since signing his big free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels after the 2019 season, struggling at the plate while appearing in just 157 games from 2020 to 2022 due to a variety of health issues. He was enjoying a bit of a bounce-back year so far in 2023, hitting .301 in the middle of the Halos’ lineup — only for the injury bug to rear its head yet again.

After missing the last two games with groin tightness, L.A. placed Rendon on the 10-day IL on Monday afternoon. Livan Soto was called up from Double-A to take his place on the roster. The team has yet to offer any sort of prognosis, but Rendon at least is hopeful that it’s not too serious:

You can understand Rendon’s frustration, as this is yet another bad break in a string of them since he arrived on the West Coast. The third baseman established himself as one of the premier two-way players in the game during his time with the Washington Nationals, notching a .874 OPS, an All-Star nod and, of course, a World Series ring in D.C. He cashed in on that in a big way in his first foray into free agency, signing a monster seven-year, $245 million deal with L.A. ahead of the 2020 season. He was his typical self in that pandemic-shortened campaign, slashing .286/.418/.497, only for ailments to his groin, knee, hamstring, hip and finally wrist to derail each of the next two years.

He entered 2023 finally healthy and finally hitting like himself again, but now an Angels team desperate to make a postseason push will need to fill a hole in the heart of its lineup. If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that Jared Walsh seems to be nearing a return, which will allow Gio Urshela to slide back over to third base while Rendon is out.