{"id":95532,"date":"2025-02-12T14:24:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T19:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=95532"},"modified":"2025-02-12T14:24:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T19:24:42","slug":"yoan-moncada-replaces-anthony-rendon-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/02\/12\/yoan-moncada-replaces-anthony-rendon-angels\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Rendon Injury Leads to New Starting Third Baseman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will undergo hip surgery, an operation that will sideline him for a long period, general manager Perry Minasian told reporters on Wednesday. Rendon, 34, is entering his sixth season as a member of the Angels, appearing in 257 games while compiling a .242\/.348\/.369 slash line. Rendon won&#8217;t be the only notable Angels player beginning the season on the injured list. Shortstop Zach Neto will miss the start of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:b2kutgxqlltwc6lhs724cfwr\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lhypkjbjtw2p\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreieyve2iedop6jcdfl2zwj76qqgrspjwsqxcgshyanjf5zri5aorru\">\n<p lang=\"en\">NEWS: Anthony Rendon is having hip surgery and will miss a significant amount of time, Angels GM Perry Minasian announced.<\/p>\n<p>Rendon had a setback in his rehab the last few weeks, per @samblum3.bsky.social.<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:b2kutgxqlltwc6lhs724cfwr\/post\/3lhypkjbjtw2p?ref_src=embed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">[image or embed]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Athletic (<a  href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:b2kutgxqlltwc6lhs724cfwr?ref_src=embed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@theathletic.bsky.social<\/a>) <a  href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:b2kutgxqlltwc6lhs724cfwr\/post\/3lhypkjbjtw2p?ref_src=embed\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 12, 2025 at 12:36 PM<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/static\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With Rendon out, the Angels will turn to infielder Yo\u00e1n Moncada, who signed a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/02\/07\/angels-sign-yoan-moncada\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">one-year, $5 million contract<\/a> over the weekend. Moncada, 29, has dealt with injuries himself, however, not appearing in more than 100 games in a season since 2022. Moncada has batted .236\/.291\/.387 over the last three years.<\/p>\n<h2>Yo\u00e1n Moncada Next Man Up as Angels&#8217; Third Baseman<\/h2>\n<p>Moncada broke out in 2019 for the Chicago White Sox but batted .236\/.291\/.387 over the last three years. Last year, for a White Sox team that lost a record 121 games, Moncada played in 12, sitting out five months due to an adductor strain. He returned in late September, taking one at-bat, then sat out for the rest of the season. He will look to rebound after a disappointing end to his White Sox tenure.<\/p>\n<p>Moncada gives the Angels a seasoned option at third base. Defensively, he came up as a second baseman but moved to the hot corner in 2019. He&#8217;s been serviceable ever since, compiling 11 Outs Above Average over the past seasons, although his OAA total is minus-1 since the beginning of 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Now, he represents one of the key additions in an Angels offseason <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/31\/jorge-soler-griffin-canning-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">headlined by the trade<\/a> for outfielder Jorge Soler and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/11\/25\/yusei-kikuchi-angels-3-year-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">signing of left-hander<\/a> Yusei Kikuchi. If he can tap into his former potential and become a reliable contributor at the plate, he could help stabilize the Angels&#8217; offense while Rendon recovers. However, the team&#8217;s success will rely on his ability to stay on the field and shake off the injuries that have plagued him in recent years.<\/p>\n<h3>What to Expect From Moncada in 2025<\/h3>\n<p>The pressure will be on Moncada to show he can stay healthy and consistent. If he does, his combination of power and defensive versatility could be a major asset for the Angels. The Angels&#8217; pitching staff, bolstered by the addition of Kikuchi, will benefit from a steady presence at third base, and the offense will look for Moncada to provide some much-needed balance as they navigate through Rendon&#8217;s absence.<\/p>\n<p>According to FanGraphs&#8217; 2025 projections, Moncada is expected to bat .245\/.316\/.384 with 11 home runs, 48 RBI and a 98 wRC+. Moncada is expected to play 122 games, with 480 at-bats, resulting in a .245 batting average, .316 on-base percentage, and .384 slugging percentage. He is projected to hit 11 home runs, drive in 48 RBIs, and achieve an 89 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus), indicating below-average offensive production.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, while Moncada&#8217;s offensive projections are modest, his defensive skills and potential for improvement could make him a valuable asset for the Angels this season.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: \u00a9 Katie Stratman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will undergo hip surgery, an operation that will sideline him for a long period, general manager Perry Minasian told reporters on Wednesday. Rendon, 34, is entering his sixth season as a member of the Angels, appearing in 257 games while compiling a .242\/.348\/.369 slash line. Rendon won&#8217;t be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":95536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1071],"tags":[1261,780,772,2298,5906],"class_list":["post-95532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angels","category-mlb","tag-anthony-rendon","tag-jorge-soler","tag-yoan-moncada","tag-yusei-kikuchi","tag-zach-neto"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95537,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95532\/revisions\/95537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}