San Diego Padres Are The LA Angels Of The South With Six Ex-Angels In Camp

When the LA Angels took the field yesterday in Tempe they got a blast from the past staring back at them as their opponent, the San Diego Padres, had two players in their starting line-up who had played for the Angels in years past.

In total the Padres have six former LA Angels on their Spring Training roster. Four of which are non-roster invitees which means their chances of making the Padres opening day roster are a lot less likely as they are not under a major league contract.

Former Angel veteran shortstop Erick Aybar and outfielder Collin Cowgill played in the game yesterday with Aybar going one for three with a single and Cowgill went 0 for 3 playing in center field for the Padres.

More from Halo Hangout

In addition to Aybar and Cowgill, the Padres also have outfielders Nick Buss and Rafael Ortega in camp who both played for a short time with the Angels last season. Ortega was the better of the two providing one of the best defensive plays of the year by an outfielder not named Trout. Ortega did a headlong dive to rob the Dodgers Carl Crawford of extra bases in the clinching game of the Freeway Series a 7-4 Angels victory.

Of the players who played in left field for the Angels last season Ortega and Jefry Marte showed the most potential, but Ortega’s lack of offense was his demise as he hit only .232 with one homer and 16 RBI’s with eight stolen bases. Buss was even worse hitting .198 going 16 for 81 with one homer and eight RBI’s and he stole two bases.

Cowgill last played for the Angels in 2015 batting .188 with 13 hits in 69 at-bats homering once and driving in two runs. Last year he played even less for the Indians, who the Angels traded him to late in the 2015 season. In 2016 Cowgill, a university of Kentucky graduate went one for twelve with one single.

Want your voice heard? Join the Halo Hangout team!

Write for us!

Aybar probably has the best chance to make the Padres team since he is versatile and can play outfield as well as shortstop and second base. Aybar had a rough year in 2016 after being traded with pitching prospect Sean Newcomb to the Atlanta Braves for current Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

Aybar played in 97 games hitting .242 with two homers and 26 RBI’s and a paltry .293 OBP. It was so bad that the Braves traded him to Detroit where Aybar played in 29 games hitting .250 with one homer and eight RBI’s with a much more respectable .343 OBP.

The Padres are looking for a veteran leader and Aybar along with fellow former Angel pitcher Jered Weaver could fill those shoes nicely. Weaver of course has long been a leader on the Angels and when he was not offered a contract renewal this winter he decided to join the Padres in early February signing a one-year three million dollar contract with incentives to pitch for San Diego.