Rendon could return this year, would be ‘bonus’
Anthony Rendon had a goal in mind after he decided to get the surgery to repair a partially dislocated tendon in his right wrist.
“I was gonna push myself to try to come back as soon as possible,” Rendon said over the weekend during the Angels’ penultimate homestand of the season. “Whether we’re in the hunt, whether we weren’t in the hunt.
“I think that’s still a possibility.”
A return this season — the Angels have 16 games left after their 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday — is not certain.
Rendon had surgery to repair the tendon in June. The estimated recovery time was four to six months. If he is activated from the injured list, he first will have to serve a five-game suspension stemming from the Angels’ brawl with the Mariners in June.
Dealing with that suspension this year would mean the third baseman could start next season without that hurdle.
“He’s still progressing,” athletic trainer Mike Frostad said. “Our goal for him is to be healthy going into next season and to have a normal offseason. If he gets to play this year, it’s a bonus, but we haven’t laid anything out that’s going to be in that type of time range.”
Angels interim manager Phil Nevin recently said that Rendon’s advances in his rehabilitation were surprising.
“He’s doing a lot of things on the field that we weren’t sure he was gonna get to at this point,” Nevin said Sept. 6.
Rendon was cleared to start taking ground balls and lightly toss balls from about five feet in the middle of August. This month he added throwing across the length of the infield and hitting in the batting cages.
“We’re progressing each day trying to do more,” Rendon said. “Try to break up all that junk that’s been tight for so long after surgery because [my wrist] was immobile . ... If it hurts the next day, then it means we did too much. We haven’t had those days yet. Hopefully it just continues to go that way.”
Rendon said he started feeling discomfort in his wrist during his third at-bat in the Angels’ game against the Washington Nationals on May 8. He was put on the injured list at the end of May, returned June 10 and played in four games before his wrist problem proved too much to continue playing.
Rengifo remains hot
Luis Rengifo’s bat has been hotter than ever. But he wasn’t the only Angel launching balls over the fence Sunday.
Rengifo had the second multihomer game of his career. He recorded his first Friday night.
“I can’t believe it,” Rengifo said after the Angels’ win. “I don’t try to hit homers. I’m trying to hit the ball, and the ball carried and, just, I’m so happy for that.”
Also going deep was Livan Soto, Rengifo’s friend and a fellow Venezuelan. On Sunday, Soto, who was called up the day before, had his first major league hit, a single in the third inning, and connected for his first home run in the seventh.
Rengifo hit a leadoff homer in the first inning and a tiebreaking, two-run shot in the third.
Soto’s two-run home run gave the Angels insurance runs.
“Every baseball player that dreams of getting to the big leagues, dreams of getting that first hit to relax them a little bit,” Soto said in Spanish.
“Then, after the home run, running the bases, my legs were shaking. But I’m very happy.”
Angels starter Reid Detmers (6-5) pitched six innings, giving up one run and four hits, walking two and striking out three.
José Quijada came on in the ninth inning to close out the Angels’ third straight victory.