David Fletcher injury update shows LA Angels may be thin at SS/2B for whole road trip

Evan Desai

David Fletcher, LA Angels / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

David Fletcher left last Monday's LA Angels game with left hip tightness, and didn't end up coming back and playing the next day. He also wasn't in the lineup to begin the next series against Texas. Sure enough, it turned out that he didn't even attend. He didn't even make the road trip:

SS David Fletcher is not on the road trip and is getting treatment on his hip in Anaheim, head trainer Mike Frostad said. No timetable for his return. OF Taylor Ward is on track to return on Saturday. RHP Griffin Canning is throwing a bullpen session on Tuesday in Houston.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) April 14, 2022

Well, Angels.com beat writer Rhett Bollinger says there is "no timetable for his return," but if he did not make the road trip, it could very well potentially mean that he won't join the team on the road trip at all. All anyone currently knows is that he's receiving treatment and isn't there right now.

Even if he was at least with the team as they traveled to Arlington, it could spell trouble if he wasn't in the lineup. Now, he's not only not in the lineup, but is also not with the team.

The LA Angels' road trip ends after their game against the Astros on Wednesday.

If David Fletcher continues to not play for the LA Angels for this new series against Houston, expect Tyler Wade, Matt Duffy, and Andrew Velazquez to treat it as another tryout. Whoever plays well in Fletcher's absence is more likely to receive playing time at second when Fletcher gets back.

Fletcher has of course been playing short to start the season, as he can play either spot at a very high level. He started off the year on a rough note while he was out there, hitting .077/.077/.231 (.308 OPS) in his five games (13 at-bats). He did, however, put his wheels to use on a triple for his lone hit of the season.

Hopefully this injury won't interfere with him getting back to 2020 form on offense. The Angels at least know, however, that they can always count on elite defense from him whenever he gets back.

Evan Desai

Evan Desai has covered MLB with FanSided for 3 years, first as a contributor for FanSided's New York sports publication--Empire Writes Back--and now as the expert at Halo Hangout, the Angels publication for the network. He also runs Reign Of Troy, the USC FanSided publication, and has covered college sports since 2019--most notably USC and UCLA for the Pac-12 Network, University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University for Arizona PBS, and Arizona State University for Sports Illustrated's ASU publication. He has also run the Clippers FanSided publication in the past, Clipperholics, and has made two stops at NBC Sports.