The Angels optioned Moniak to Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.
Moniak has had a tremendous spring, logging a 1.185 OPS alongside 11 RBI and two steals in 46 plate appearances. The Angels starting outfield of Taylor Ward, Mike Trout and Hunter Renfroe is already set, but if Moniak is able to carry his spring production into the Triple-A season, he could be seeing major-league at-bats again fairly soon as a fourth outfielder.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Swing adjustments paying off
Rotowire
Moniak made some adjustments to his swing in the offseason, and he is now pushing for an Opening Day roster spot, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Moniak spent time at 1RM Performance in San Diego during the offseason and also worked with Angels assisting hitting coach Phil Plantier in an effort to refine his swing. The results this spring have been promising, as he's slashing .400/.438/.667 with a home run, three doubles, a triple, five runs, five RBI and two stolen bases over 32 plate appearances. Most importantly, he's struck out only four times after fanning at a massive 39.3 percent rate over 112 plate appearances last season. The Angels' starting outfield is set with Taylor Ward in left, Mike Trout in center and Hunter Renfroe in right, and both Jo Adell and Brett Phillips are in competition with Moniak for the fourth outfielder spot. Among the three, Moniak has looked the most impressive this spring, especially in terms of contact -- Adell has 16 strikeouts in 35 at-bats while Phillips has been punched out 15 times in 29 plate appearances. Manager Phil Nevin made it clear that the team's priority is fielding the best team, saying of the position battle, "Contracts, or however they go, we're trying to win. We're taking the best group. So I would say certainly there is competition."
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Starting in right field
Rotowire
Moniak (hand) will bat sixth and play right field in Saturday's Cactus League contest against the Mariners.
Moniak missed nearly half of last season with a pair of fractures, one in his right wrist and another in his left middle finger. He ended the year on the injured list after getting hit on the hand again, but that issue doesn't appeared to have carried over into the start of this season. Still just 24 years old, the 2016 first-overall pick will compete for a bench outfield spot in camp. His career .157/.218/.268 line in 66 MLB games doesn't give much reason for optimism.
Moniak (hand) was placed on the injured list Thursday, ending his season, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Moniak was hit in the hand by a pitch Wednesday against Oakland, and while his initial X-rays were negative, the Angels nonetheless decided he was best served heading to the injured list. It's unclear whether or not that implies that further tests found a fracture. The young outfielder missed most of the first two months of the season with a broken hand and later missed a month with a fractured finger. He hit just .170/.207/.302 in 37 games when healthy.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Makes early exit Wednesday
Rotowire
Moniak left Wednesday's game early after getting hit in the hand by a pitch in the sixth inning, Trent Rush of Angels Radio AM 830 reports.
Moniak has already missed a large portion of this season with a broken finger, and it seems possible that he re-injured the same finger. It's still unknown how severe the injury is, but Moniak was visibly in pain when he walked off the field.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: X-rays negative on hand
Rotowire
Angels interim manager Phil Nevin said initial X-rays on Moniak's hand returned negative after the outfielder fouled a ball off himself in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Athletics, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports. He struck out in all three of his plate appearances before exiting the contest.
Though the initial tests on Moniak's hand were encouraging, Nevin noted that he was uncertain if the 24-year-old would play again this season. At the very least, Moniak looks like a safe bet to miss Thursday's series finale, which will likely pave the way for Jo Adell to make a start alongside Taylor Ward and Mike Trout in the outfield.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Out of Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Moniak is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Athletics, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Moniak has a .553 OPS in 13 games since he returned from the injured list Sept. 9 and will head to the bench Tuesday after he started the past three contests. Jo Adell will take over in left field and bat eighth.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: On bench against southpaw
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Moniak isn't starting Thursday against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Moniak is on the bench for the fourth time in the last seven games since left-hander Martin Perez is pitching for Texas on Thursday. Jo Adell will start in left field and bat sixth.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Sitting against lefty
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Moniak isn't in the lineup Tuesday against the Rangers.
The lefty-hitting Moniak will retreat to the bench as southpaw Cole Ragans is set to begin the game for Texas. Instead, righty Jo Adell will start in left field for the Angels, batting seventh.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Sitting against lefty
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Moniak is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
The lefty-hitting Moniak will exit the starting nine with southpaw Marco Gonzales on the bump for Seattle. Platoon mate Jo Adell will replace Moniak in left field.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Not in Friday's lineup
Rotowire
Moniak is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Mariners.
Moniak started the past two games and will head to the bench after he went 2-for-8 with a home run, a double, two RBI and two runs. Jo Adell will start in left field and bat sixth.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Two extra-base hits
Rotowire
Moniak went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run home run and two runs scored during Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Guardians.
Moniak accounted for the majority of the Angels' offense on the day, ripping a two-run homer in the third inning while also coming around to score after recording a two-out double two frames later. Moniak has all three of his long balls on the season in his last nine starts, and he's hitting .265 with six RBI and seven runs scored in that span. Despite the strong stretch, he's had an underwhelming season in the majors by maintaining only a .183/.221/.354 line across 87 plate appearances.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Sits after three straight starts
Rotowire
Moniak is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians.
While the Angels faced right-handed starting pitchers in the past three contests against Houston, Moniak was included in the lineup each time and went 3-for-12 with a pair of extra-base hits and a stolen base. He'll take a seat Monday against Guardians lefty Konnor Pilkington, but the lefty-hitting Moniak could end up settling into the large side of a platoon in the outfield with the righty-hitting Jo Adell.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Records first steal
Rotowire
Moniak went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Astros.
Moniak got the start in left field for the second straight game since he was activated from the injured list. He was able to pick up a steal in the second inning after a single. The outfielder has just one multi-hit effort this year in 25 games between the Angels and the Phillies. He's slashing .164/.211/.269 with two home runs, five RBI, eight runs scored and a steal through 72 plate appearances. It appears Moniak is poised to challenge Jo Adell for a platoon role in left field, which would see the former earn most of his playing time versus right-handed pitchers.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Returns from IL
Rotowire
Moniak (finger) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Friday.
Moniak will ultimately return to the Angels ahead of their three-game series with the Astros on Friday instead of rehabbing through the weekend, as was previously reported. The outfielder will provide Los Angeles an additional depth option down the stretch. Moniak has produced a .167 batting average with two homers, five RBI and eight runs scored over 60 at-bats in 23 games this year with the Phillies and Angels.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Expected to rehab through weekend
Rotowire
Moniak (finger) will likely continue his rehab stint with Triple-A Salt Lake through this weekend, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Moniak has been out of action for over a month, so the team isn't rushing his return. He participated in his first rehab game with Salt Lake on Wednesday, swatting a solo home run in five at-bats. Moniak could see ample playing time upon his return with the Angels likely to be evaluating their roster for next season.
Moniak (finger) is starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
He has been taking swings in indoor batting cages and with his rehab assignment beginning this week, Moniak could return as early as this weekend. Moniak hit .286/.333/.714 with two home runs in five games between getting traded to the Angels and getting injured Aug. 6.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Hits in cage
Rotowire
Moniak (finger) took swings in indoor batting cages Friday, per MLB.com.
Moniak has been working his way back from a fracture to the tip of his left middle finger suffered while attempting to bunt against Seattle on Aug. 6. He began hitting off a tee early in the week and has now progressed to taking swings in the cage. The Angels remain optimistic that Moniak will have time to return before the end of the regular season.
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Angels' Mickey Moniak: Hitting off tee
Rotowire
Moniak (finger) hit baseballs off a tee Monday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Moniak continues to progress from a fractured left middle finger, as he gained clearance to take dry swings over the weekend and has since been given the green light to take part in tee work. Per Bollinger, Moniak is expected to be activated from the 10-day IL before the conclusion of the regular season.
