One move the Angels have to make at first base

The Los Angeles Angels were dealt a big blow with Jared Walsh starting the season on the Injured List. Walsh was an all-star in 2021 but then struggled last season mainly due to his injury which he got surgery to correct. The slugging first baseman went to Spring Training healthy and was swinging the bat very well only to land on the Injured List with headaches and insomnia.

Hopefully Walsh is back soon, as the Angels have needed him to really make their offense (and defense) click.

With Walsh out, the Angels have used Jake Lamb as their primary first baseman against righties. It's time to say that hasn't worked. There is a move the Angels can make to try and offset the loss of Walsh for the time being.

The LA Angels should promote Trey Cabbage to play first base against righties until Walsh returns

The Jake Lamb experiment should come to an end. He was an all-star back in 2017 and had a nice Spring Training, but it just hasn't worked for him at the MLB level in games that count since that all-star season. He has just three hits in 26 at-bats this season and has been hitting mostly fifth and sixth. I was in favor of him starting the year with the big league club due to the Walsh injury, but it just hasn't worked

With the Angels in need of another lefty bat, Trey Cabbage could be the answer. He's primarily a corner outfielder and would be even better as a primary DH, but Cabbage does have 86 games of experience at first base in his minor league career, and his bat is probably MLB-ready.

In 2021, he hit 27 home runs splitting time in Single-A and AA back in the Twins system while playing in only 108 games. Last season he played in only 30 games after his season ended prematurely due to a fractured forearm, but was slashing .327/.434/.664 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI in those games. He was absolutely crushing the ball for AA Rocket City.

This season, Cabbage has played eight games in AAA Salt Lake and has 12 hits in 30 at-bats (.400 average) with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, and 11 RBI. I always take numbers in the PCL with a grain of salt, but it's easy to get excited over home runs like these.

It's obviously impossible to say how Cabbage will perform at the MLB level but it's hard to see him costing them games in the field and he can't possibly be worse than Lamb has been at the plate, right?

Angels' first basemen have struggled mightily, and Cabbage can give them a big boost against right-handed pitching.