Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian has so far gone all out to bolster his team's depth in the offseason. For one, Minasian traded for Gio Urshela in November, as he sent pitching prospect Alejandro Hidalgo to the Minnesota Twins to haul in the veteran infielder.
Urshela is not projected to be an everyday player for the Angels in the upcoming season, although he is slated to receive a fair share of at-bats over the course of the campaign due to his versatility in the infield. Urshela has plenty of experience patrolling all four infield positions.
For Angels manager Phil Nevin, he plans to roll out Urshela at the first base, third base, and shortstop spots throughout the 2023 season.
“I can see him playing a lot of first base against left-handers,” Nevin said during a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio. “Anthony’s gonna need his days [off] at third, so that’s a day for Gio there. And he can play a day or two a week at short.
“So he’s gonna play.”
Angels first baseman Jared Walsh and third baseman Anthony Rendon are coming off of injury-plagued seasons. Now with Urshela in the fold, the versatile infielder can very well be that safety net for the Angels at both positions.
“You’ve heard me say this a lot this offseason, but it’s about depth and protecting ourselves in a lot of different spots,” Minasian said in November. “He’s a really good player. He can do a lot of different things. Obviously, his natural position is third base, but we feel like he can play first. He can stand in at second and can even fill in at short.
“So just the ability to add a player of this caliber to our group of infielders we currently have, we thought it was the right move.”
Urshela featured in 144 regular season games in what turned out to be his lone campaign with the Twins last year. He wound up recording 13 home runs and 64 RBI for the American League Central side, as he emerged as a reliable hitter in the bottom half of its lineup.
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