The Angels welcomed back Left Fielder Justin Upton on Monday, June 17th. The Angels activated Upton from the 60-day Injured List after he suffered an injury to his left big toe.
Upton was diagnosed with turf toe on his left big toe during the Angels-Dodgers Freeway series before the official season began. In order to make room for Justin Upton, the Angels designated for assignment (DFA’d) Outfielder Cesar Puello, who had played in 12 games for the Angels. In those 12 games, Puello hit .390 with 3 doubles, 3 Home Runs with 12 RBI in 41 at-bats.
The Angels saw Justin Upton return to the lineup Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays and he hit 4th in the lineup behind Designated Hitter Shohei Ohtani. In his first at-bat Upton, hit the first pitch for a Home Run in the 2nd inning to tie the game up at 1. He eventually came around to bat again in the same inning and that saw him hit a line drive to the left fielder for a single. Upton ended up going 2 for 4 with a walk in the Angels eventual 10-5 win over the Blue Jays.
Prior to the Angels game versus the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, June 16th, the Angels decided to DFA RHP Cody Allen. The Angels had signed the longtime Cleveland Indians Closer to a 1-year deal on January 20th, 2019 for $8.5MM. Allen, was successful in the saves department going 4 for 4 in save opportunities but struggled to pitch in other situations. Cody Allen pitched to a 6.26 ERA with a record of 0-2 in 23 innings through 25 games. He gave up 25 hits, 16 runs, 9 Home Runs, walked 20, and struck out 29 in those 23 innings pitched. Allen looked to be coming around after coming off of the Injured List, but his last two outings saw him give up 6 runs.
Cody Allen acknowledged he did not pitch well for the Angels when he said, ” Carrying around the numbers I’ve been carrying around for a little bit, the organization has a responsibility to put the best product on the field and I just haven’t been that.”
Allen will go through waivers after being DFA’d and he will likely clear due to the amount of money owed to him this season. After that, he will have the option to elect free agency, which is what will likely happen and any team can sign him for the league minimum which is about $550K.
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