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Commitment is not an easy thing to do, really in any stage of life. The fear of failure and humiliation can be too crushing for some. The Los Angeles Angels put themselves out there ahead of the trade deadline, taking a massive leap to try to make the playoffs and subsequently keep Shohei Ohtani in the offseason.
They are cruelly learning that there is not always a straightforward, quick-fix path to success. Already losers of three in a row and five out of their last seven, the Angels (56-54) just got dealt more bad news that threatens to prologue their downward spiral.
Rookie shortstop Zach Neto revealed he is being placed on the 10-day injury list with lower back inflammation, according The Athletic's Sam Blum. He has battled ailments throughout the season and has not been the same player since returning from his last stint on the IL. Even so, Neto's continued development is important both for the short and long-term outlook of the franchise. It is now halted again.
It should be noted that infielder Brandon Drury, who is hitting .277 with 14 home runs, is being activated off the IL, per Angels PR, and is expected to rejoin the MLB roster. Though, LA cannot afford to keep going around in this give-and-take cycle. This is the worst possible time to be short-handed.
The colossal wave of misfortune that has flooded Anaheim is potentially detrimental to the MLB as well. Teams who are walking the tightrope between postseason contention and mediocrity might think twice about being buyers at the trade deadline for fear of plunging to their doom.
LA general manager Perry Minasian mortgaged a significant piece of the future to land former Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito, while also adding C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk from the Colorado Rockies. Giolito is 0-2 with a 12.00 ERA and has actually helped bring the Angels further away from October baseball.
None of this is to shame him or the franchise. Whether or not the Angels become a cautionary tale is not really the point. Commitment can be a beautiful thing, but with it comes a potentially damaging amount of risk. With Zach Neto not in the lineup for the time being, more damage might be coming.
