ANAHEIM — Early in Zach Neto’s minor-league injury rehab assignment with the Salt Lake Bees, the shortstop took a cutoff throw in shallow left field and fired a throw to the plate. Then he waited for the pain.
When no discomfort came, Neto knew he passed the final hurdle in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery.
“That’s when I kind of that mental block went away from my head, saying, ‘Hey, I’m, I’m good to go now,’” Neto said from the third-base dugout before Friday’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants.
Neto had just been activated from the injured list and placed in the lineup batting seventh for his season debut while back at shortstop. In a corresponding move, infielder Nicky Lopez was designated for assignment.
Friday might have been the Angels’ 19th game of the season, but to Neto, it felt like No. 1 in his career.
“It’s probably the closest thing to my debut, getting that call,” Neto said. “Just coming here, kind of where it all started again, so I’m excited to be back and get to work and be with the guys again.”
The Angels could use him. Their .150 batting average from their shortstops in the early going was next-to-last in baseball heading into Friday’s slate of games. Their combined slugging percentage of .167 was worst in baseball.
In Neto, the Angels now plug in a player who batted .249 last season with a .318 on-base percentage to go along with 23 home runs, 77 RBIs and a team-best 34 doubles. Neto was not a Gold Glove Award finalist last season but played some dynamic shortstop in his first season under Manager Ron Washington’s guidance.
“If you’re talking about the defensive end, it’s night and day,” Washington said of Neto’s progress.
On offense, Washington is confident “that there’s a lot more.”
Neto’s injury occurred Sept. 26 while diving into second base on a stolen base attempt against the Chicago White Sox. The season ended three games later and while he tried to…
Read the full article here
