Josh Lowe continues to tempt the Angels into a decision they must resist

Just when you thought you could throw dirt on the idea of Josh Lowe returning to the Los Angeles Angels roster (barring injury), the former Tampa Bay Ray is singing a siren's song with his performance down in Salt Lake.

Like so many others, this Angels' dart throw was a big bust, with Lowe slashing a career-worst .184/.226/.320 and subtracting 0.5 fWAR from the club over 45 games. The fact that it took so long to send the 28-year-old down was egregious, but now it wouldn't be shocking if Los Angeles was tempted to give him another shot.

In six games with the Bees, Lowe has hit .385/.484/.615 with a homer and three steals over 31 plate appearances. The Angels love churning their roster, trying to find a spark, but in this case, they'd just be stepping on a rake.

Angels need to accept the fact that they have better options than Josh Lowe in 2026

First things first, the duo of Wade Meckler and Jose Siri is getting the job done in Lowe's stead. Siri is hitting .313/.353/.625 with a homer since coming up. It's fair not to believe in his bat, given it's been only 17 plate appearances, and the fact that the 30-year-old has struck out at a clip of 33% or higher in each of his major league seasons. For now, he's a hot hand and a stellar defender, though.

Siri isn't the prize, though. It's too early to claim that Meckler is, but he was an intriguing pickup over the offseason, and now the hometown kid is showing out. After hitting his first career big league home run on May 22, Meckler got the Angels going during their May 30 rout of the Rays with a first-inning grand slam.

Meckler has always made good swing decisions and displayed a good hit tool in the minors, but he never showed much power. That's something he's worked to rectify.

“Even in the Minor Leagues, I've been doing a better job of backspinning the ball to the pull side,” Meckler told reporters after the game. “It's always been the thing that's limited the power. Just better spin on the ball this year.”

It's only been eight games, but so far it's working for him. The former Giants farmhand is slashing .308/.333/.538 to complement that pair of dingers. He just turned 26 on April 21, so there might be some untapped potential there, and it would behoove the Angels to give him some run and see, just as they have with Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom.

If Meckler does indeed flop, the Halos have another option to go to, giving Lowe a second chance. In a seemingly never-ending effort to increase Christian Moore's versatility, the club is now giving the 2024 first-round pick left field reps. Moore, despite the positional chaos, is hitting .274/.432/.467 down in Salt Lake, and likely should have already been called up given his performance. Now, he'll likely stay down a little while longer to see if he can actually play the new position.

Lowe hitting well in Triple-A bodes well for the Angels, not as a roster solution, but as a potential trade piece. He won't fetch much, but if he continues his hot streak, he might be able to be swapped for a more appealing asset come July. Until then, the Halos have other options to turn to.

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