Angels News: Teheran, Rengifo, Suarez added to IL without cause

The Los Angeles Angels placed three players on the 10-day injured list without a formal announcement, indicating a possible COVID-19 issue in summer camp.

The Los Angeles Angels made a few interesting additions to the team’s injured list on Monday evening. However, three of the four players were added without an announcement, indicating that the team may have placed them into COVID-19 protocol.

While Dillon Peters, who was still recovering from an oblique strain suffered during the initial spring training, was added to the injured list as expected, three other names were added to the report without any word from the team. That includes starter Julio Teheran, infielder Luis Rengifo, and reliever Jose Saurez, per Maria Torres of the LA Times.

While the team is unable to disclose any medical issues related to Coronavirus, the assumption is that all three players have entered the protocol due to some level of exposure to the virus due to the lack of other announcements.

Teherean, who was signed this past winter and expected to be a big part of the Angels’ rotation in 2020, is a notable addition to the report. The right-hander has been noticeably absent at workouts thus far, and the team has been unable to comment as to his whereabouts.

After going 10-11 with a 3.81 ERA and an 8.3 K/9 last season for the Braves, Teheran inked a one-year, $9 million deal with the Angels in December.

Jose Saurez was also in the mix for the team’s rotation picture, which was expected to feature six arms (including Teheran). The left-hander made his MLB debut last season, going 2-6 with a 7.11 ERA and an 8.0 K/9 over 19 games (15 starts). Interestingly enough, Saurez threw a bullpen on Saturday with the team.

As for Rengifo, he’s already had an interesting offseason. The infielder was part of a failed trade that would have brought back Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling from the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the deal ultimately fell apart when the Dodgers paused on it while awaiting the Mookie Betts deal to complete. Angels’ owner Arte Moreno was said to have pulled the deal in frustration.

Appearing in 108 games in 2019, Rengifo hit .238/.321/.364 with seven home runs and 33 RBI. He’s expected to fill a utility role with the club this season, seeing time at both second base and shortstop.

Now, it is important to note that there is no confirmation that any of these players have tested positive or even been exposed to the disease. However, with the league mandates preventing the release of information – without player consent – in regards to the disease, the team can only acknowledge when a player has been added to the injured list. That creates a bit of speculation as to whether the player has entered coronavirus protocol or not.

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Regardless, we hope for all three players (and Dillon Peters) to get healthy as quickly as possible.