LA Angels News: Injury updates on Luis Rengifo, Taylor Ward from spring training

Spring training is the time when all teams, including the Los Angeles Angels, have to take stock of what they have going into the season. For most players, that means getting back in shape to play every day and seeing what adjustments need to be made before getting into games that matter. However, for some players, camp is all about seeing how they are recovering from injuries suffered last season (or even during the offseason), while figuring out when they can be ready to go again.

The Angels have certainly dealt with their fair share of injuries over the last few years. Shohei Ohtani's elbow injury basically ended any hope that LA could make a playoff run last season. Mike Trout has missed a lot of time over the last three seasons. That doesn't even account for the ongoing saga that is Anthony Rendon, who both has been constantly hurt and also loves to complain about having to play baseball, despite being paid $38 million a year to do so.

Fortunately, the Angels actually got some good injury news out of spring training for a change, as more information has emerged about the recoveries of Luis Rengifo and Taylor Ward.

Angels News: Luis Rengifo on track for return after freak injury

It is pretty hard to suffer a season-ending injury in the on-deck circle unless it involves getting drilled by a foul ball, but Luis Rengifo pulled it off when he ruptured his biceps tendon last September. It was a shame, because Rengifo had been playing really well before the injury, but sadly he had to have surgery to repair the tendon, which ended his 2023 campaign.

The good news is that despite the severity of the injury, Rengifo was able to start doing baseball activities in January and ended up having a relatively normal offseason. Assuming he has no setbacks in camp, Rengifo should be ready to go to start the season. If he can replicate his success in the second half of 2023, the Angels will be all the better having him around again.

Angels News: Taylor Ward cautiously optimistic about recovery from hit by pitch

One of a hitter's worst nightmares is getting hit by a high and tight heater in the face, but unfortunately that is exactly what happened to Taylor Ward last season. Ward was putting together a pretty decent season through the end of July when an errant 92 mph fastball from Alek Manoah caught Ward in the face and ended his 2023 season on the spot.

Ward ended up suffering multiple fractures to his face and needed three plates and plastic surgery to get made whole again, but the outcome could have been a lot worse given the circumstances. Ward is in camp, seems to be fully recovered from the injury, and has take batting practice for a month before arriving at spring training. He may take a little bit of time to get back into game shape after not being able to eat solid foods for so long, but all signs point to Ward taking the field for the Angels soon, assuming he doesn't have any issues during live BP.

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