TEMPE, Ariz. — The Angels have another infielder looking for a comeback season.
Like third baseman Anthony Rendon and first baseman Jared Walsh, David Fletcher also endured a season lost to injury in 2022. While Fletcher doesn’t have the huge contract that Rendon does, he nonetheless would like to again be the player he was a couple of years ago.
“That’s my expectation,” said Fletcher, who is in the mix for everyday playing time at shortstop in 2022. “My expectation of myself is to hit around .300 and play good defense.”
Fletcher hit .319 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, his third consecutive season of improved offensive numbers, earning a five-year, $26 million deal heading into 2021.
And 2021 started off well, including a 26-game hitting streak and a .315 average in late July. But Fletcher finished 2021 with a six-week stretch hitting .150 and then saw his 2022 season ruined by injuries.
He felt a core muscle tear in spring training and played through it for more than a month before succumbing to surgery, which cost him nearly three months. In September, he was hit on the hand by a pitch and tried to play through that even though he clearly couldn’t swing at all.
“It was the first year I was really hurt a lot, had a major injury,” Fletcher said. “It sucked not being able to play, but it’s nice to come in this year healthy. Hopefully, that’s the only year that I’m injured.”
Manager Phil Nevin said that he’s noticed Fletcher, 28, looking a little stronger this year, the result of extra time in the gym. Fletcher joked that it’s “just a tight shirt.” He said he’s not trying to change anything.
There is a part of his game that has clearly changed over the past two years.
From 2018-20, when Fletcher produced a .292 average and .732 OPS, he swung at 37.4% of the pitches he saw, including 26.4% of pitches that were out of the strike zone.
In 2021-22, he swung at 46.8% of pitches, including 33.4% of pitches out of the…
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