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Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels continue to stay afloat in the American League playoff race, despite missing a plethora of key players including Mike Trout, Gio Urshela, Anthony Rendon, and Brandon Drury.
Drury in particular hasn't played since late June due to a shoulder injury but told reporters Saturday that he plans to begin a rehab assignment early next week and will eye a return to the Halos next Thursday.
Via Sam Blum:
“Brandon Drury said he’s starting a rehab series with SLC this week and hopes to return on Thursday, when the Angels come back to Anaheim.”
Drury has suited up 75 times in 2023, hitting .277 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. He's been arguably the Angels' third-best player behind Trout and Ohtani. Needless to say, this is a guy they need back in the mix ASAP.
He's mostly featured at second base and first base this year but can absolutely play the hot corner as well, although Mike Moustakas has been doing a respectable job over there. The Angels are currently four games above .500 at 54-50 and sit four games back in the AL Wild Card race.
With Trout not too far off a return as well, it couldn't be a better time for Los Angeles to get closer to full strength. They've already committed to contending for the postseason after deciding to keep Ohtani at the deadline.
Drury signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Angels last offseason after bouncing around between three teams in two seasons including the San Diego Padres and New York Mets. As long as all goes well in his rehab stint at Triple-A Salt Lake City, we can expect the veteran to be back in the lineup sooner rather than later.
