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 rehab the injury early in the offseason, he ended up having surgery early in November.
He now will blend in with a club that got off to a 9-5 start, although the Angels return home from a nine-game road trip on a four-game losing streak while falling in five of the last six games.
It is a perfect time for the Angels to get a jolt of energy, although Washington cautioned against his young player trying to do too much.
“I’m not the savior, I’m just here to do my job, to try to help this team,” Neto said. “Do everything we can to win. We’ve got a lot of good guys on this team. Everybody has a bad road trip. Every team is bound to have one. The Dodgers had one. And unfortunately, it was our turn.
“We’re just here to come into the homestand and kind of get back on the winning side of it. And keep everything rolling.”
NO TIME TO REST
Washington toyed with the idea of giving Mike Trout the day off in Friday’s series opener but instead, he put his top player in the lineup as the designated hitter while batting third. Trout has six home runs and 14 RBIs in the early going, but the three-time American League MVP was batting .179 with a .278 on-base percentage through Thursday.
“We’re playing the San Francisco Giants; we need everybody,” Washington said of this weekend’s opponent, which entered the series with a 13-6 record. “So I’ll give Mike his time off as DH. He’ll probably get a full day off at some point. Can’t say when.
“We just came off a four-game losing streak. I can’t have the best player I have sitting on the bench.”
ROSTER CRUNCH
After signing with the Angels as a free agent in March, Lopez was informed he was designated for assignment after playing in just four games. He did not have a hit in six at-bats.
Lopez did manage to play left field, third base, shortstop and even pitched one-third of an inning with a walk. He played shortstop in his one start this season.
UP NEXT
Giants (RHP Landen Roupp, 1-1, 4.80 ERA) at Angels (RHP Kyle Hendricks, 0-1, 4.20 ERA), Saturday, 6:38 p.m., FDSN West, 830 AM