Angels fans should be infuriated by Zach Neto injury timeline

The Angels franchise is the epitome of one step forward, three steps back.

Just when the team appeared to be building momentum towards a 2025 turnaround season, news broke that the team's crowned jewel in the foreseeable future needed to undergo surgery on his right shoulder. Zach Neto, one of the best shortstops in the league, will miss time. How much time? Who knows. The news, like most breaking news that surrounds the Angels, is vague.

This surgery news flabbergasted Angels fans. They assumed everything was fine with Neto's right shoulder and the team had it under control, as it was an incredibly under-reported on story after the season ended. The offseason stories concerning Neto solely revolved around how good he was in 2024, how he was going to keep ascending, how underrated he was, where he stands amongst American League shortstops, etc.

In Angels fans' eyes, justified or not, they believe that either the Angels were not plugged in enough on Neto's status or they were incredibly plugged in and still could not make the decision for him to get surgery in a timely manner. Perry Minasian claimed that he was pleased that the organization was "proactive" with this situation. He also said that he hopes that he misses "minimal time" yet did not provide a timeline for his return to baseball activities. Minasian also declined to say what the surgery or injury were specifically.

The vast majority of baseball fans are not in the knowhow when it comes to the optimal path to venture down concerning players' injuries. Was the Angels' decision making surrounding Neto's shoulder good? Who knows. Angels fans are resigned to the franchise's failures and will constantly second guess the team's methodologies, given how they have seen franchise run for the past decade. They see their up-and-coming star get a surgery 40 days after the injury occurred that might make him miss Opening Day and they get upset. The optics are always terrible with this franchise.

Could the franchise simply lack the manpower necessary to run a successful franchise? The Angels' front office is one of the thinnest units in major league baseball, and perhaps simply adding more people could have gotten the Angels out ahead of this Neto decision.

“He was rehabbing the last couple weeks, still felt it. So we wanted to take another look at it, just to make sure this isn’t something that we deal with during the season. To get it out of the way now and get it fixed, we felt like was the best thing. He felt like was the best thing. And, you know, we’ll see where it goes.”

Is Neto missing a few games at the beginning of the 2025 season the biggest deal? No. The season will not be determined within the first month, but the Angels' heavy emphasis on competing next year is causing hair-pulling from the fans. Zach Neto is the Angels' most valuable and entertaining player now and in the foreseeable future. Neto led the team in wins above replacement, and was poised for another incredible campaign. This setback, not having a normal offseason or Spring Training, is potentially catastrophic for the organization if it causes their shortstop to regress next season. Angels fans are just praying that the team is making the right call here, and Neto can look like normal next season. Here's hoping this surgery does not railroad yet another season of Angels baseball.

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