The Los Angeles Angels have gotten off to a decent start in the 2023 season, posting a 7-6 record through their first 13 games. However, not everyone has been playing at a high level, with one such guy struggling being David Fletcher. Fletcher hasn't had the start to the season that he was likely hoping for, and it's forced the Angels into a fairly shocking decision.

Fletcher only played in 61 games in 2022 for LA, and was likely hoping this season would be a bounce back campaign for him. He's recorded just two hits in his first 16 at-bats, though, and the Angels decided enough is enough. They surprisingly decided to option Fletcher to Triple-A, while calling up one of their top prospects in Zach Neto to take Fletcher's spot in the majors.

Via Angels PR:

“The Angels have made the following transactions: selected the contract of INF Zach Neto, optioned INF David Fletcher to Triple-A Salt Lake, transferred RHP Chris Rodriguez to 60-day injured list.”

While the demotion of Fletcher is surprising, the promotion of Neto is equally surprising, as the highest level he's played at is Double-A so far. But Neto has been raking to begin the season (.444 BA, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 1.374 OPS) and the Angels likely figured he couldn't be much worse than the slumping Fletcher, so he will get the call to the majors here.

It will be interesting to see how much Neto plays now that he's made it to the MLB, and how long Fletcher is stuck in the minors for. At his best, Fletcher is a versatile contact-hitting infielder who can be a big help, but right now, he's hurting Los Angeles more than he's helping them. Both moves are surprising, and it will be worth seeing how they play out for LA now.