Luis Rengifo injury magnifies Angels trade deadline miss, puts pressure on draft pick

The Los Angeles Angels lost one of their best players on Tuesday despite the game being rained out. Angels second baseman Luis Rengifo will miss the remainder of the 2024 after undergoing wrist surgery. The Halos also lost pitcher Chase Silseth for the rest of the year.

Rengifo was having a fine season in LA with a .300/.347/.417 slash line, but two trips to the IL put his season in jeopardy, and now he's fully on the shelf. Still, several teams were reportedly inquiring about Rengifo at the MLB trade deadline last week.

But the Angels missed an opportunity to capitalize on Rengifo's career-best campaign. The Halos decided to hold onto Rengifo at the trade deadline rather than deal the 30-year-old for some much-needed prospects. It remains to be seen if the injury played a role there.

Luis Rengifo injury magnifies Angels trade deadline miss, puts pressure on new top prospect

Rengifo's trip to the IL only reinforces the foolishness displayed by Perry Minasian and the Angels' front office. With desirable assets like Rengifo, Tyler Anderson, and Taylor Ward on the roster, Minasian should have been more aggressive in his pursuits to find a trade partner. Now, Rengifo's trade value will surely take a hit during the offseason, making a return to LA in 2025 all the more likely.

But Rengifo's injury may well open the door even wider for the Angels' top draft pick Christian Moore. The Halos have shown no aversion in the past when it comes to fast-tracking prospects to the major leagues, and Moore is no exception. Moore was the Angels' first-round draft pick just over a month ago.

The former Tennessee Volunteer was already promoted to Double-A Rocket City, and fans should not be surprised to see Moore in an Angels uniform later this year. LA followed a similar line of thinking with former first-rounders Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel.

Moore is currently just 2-for-8 since making the jump to Double-A, though the 21-year-old does have a home run. Though Brandon Drury and Luis Guillorme can certainly fill in at the keystone, Rengifo's injury feels like the perfect excuse for the Angels to do what they wanted to do all along — get Moore to the big leagues ASAP.

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