Angels GM Provides Update on Zach Neto Injury

Maren Angus-Coombs | 7 Hours Ago

Sep 26, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) reacts after injuring himself during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Shortstop Zach Neto underwent right shoulder surgery in early November and is on the road to recovery.

The Los Angeles Angels are anticipating Neto to miss the beginning of the season but will re-evaluate him when he arrives at spring training.

“He’s doing great,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said. “As good as we can hope. No timeframe. He’ll come to spring and we’ll see where he’s at. When he’s ready to play, he’ll play.”

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Neto suffered the injury during a slide into second base against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 26, missing the final three games of the season. It also wasn't the only injury he suffered during the second half. He attempted to rehab the shoulder for three weeks after the season, but ultimately needed surgery. This is a significant setback for the Angels, as Neto had a breakout season, posting a .249/.318/.443 slash line with 23 home runs, 34 doubles, 30 stolen bases, and 77 RBIs in 155 games.

“He had a surgery a couple days ago and I’m not one for timeframes, but he could miss the start of the season,” Minasian said in early November. “We’ll see where that goes. But he did have the surgery on the shoulder. I can’t get into details. But he will miss some time. And how much time, we’ll see.”

Neto and the Angels were really hoping to avoid surgery but after weeks of rehab without any relief, surgery was the only option.

“You discuss it with the player and the rehab route was the route that was chosen,” Minasian said. “That's something that we talked about. As that process went along, he still felt it. It was something we felt like, let's jump ahead of it and let's make sure. He’s obviously very important to us. So he'll have the surgery and we'll see when he comes back.”

Neto's surgery is the reason why Minasian went and traded for Scott Kingery.

“Depth is going to be important this winter anyway, we knew that,” Minasian said. “Obviously, Zach's really important to this club. It’s something we were proactive with. But depth is something we talk about all the time.”

Kingery is someone who can fill in at shortstop until Neto returns and then could see time playing all over the field as long as he produces offensively. He isn't a big name but is coming off a year at Triple-A that saw him hit 25 homers and steal 25 bases.

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