The Los Angeles Angels made a series of roster moves prior to their matchup against the Houston Astros on Friday, which included selecting the contract of Trey Cabbage from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Cabbage was originally selected by the Minnesota Twins in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB Draft but hadn’t made it to the big leagues until this point. He spent seven seasons with the Twins before signing a Minor League contract with the Angels prior to the 2022 season.
Cabbage hit .287/.358/.576 with 16 doubles, 23 home runs and 64 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 81 games with the Bees before his call-up to the Majors.
Cabbage reflected on his journey and is proud to have overcome all of the hurdles he faced to realize his dream, per Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group:
“Every bit of it is a grind,” Cabbage said of his journey. “Everybody who’s been through it, they all know how tough it is and how hard we work. Obviously, everybody has their struggles. The big one for me, injuries. I got hurt when I first got drafted. Didn’t play hardly at all last year. It’s just a blessing to come out here and to be able to play as many games as I have so far and then still be healthy and hopefully play the rest of the season, wherever that may be.”
Cabbage recalled a low point in his career when the Twins did not invite him to their alternate site after the 2020 Minor League Baseball season was canceled. He used that as motivation to get to the big leagues:
Cabbage was not invited to the Twins’ alternate site, so he worked out in his parents’ basement and took batting practice with his father that year. The experience out of baseball only reinforced his desire to get to the big leagues.
“That makes you realize that I didn’t want to do anything else,” Cabbage said.
Cabbage is naturally an outfielder but the Angels are giving him an opportunity to play first base, and he acknowledged wanting to improve both defensively and offensively:
“Obviously a lot of improvements have been made defensively and offensively,” he said, “but we’re going to keep on top of that, making sure we get all the early work and all the work we can during BP. Hopefully when it comes to the game, then everything just flows normally.”
Cabbage made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter in the Angels’ 7-5 loss to the Astros on Friday and grounded out. He flew out in another pinch-hit appearance the following day but ended up scoring the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Trey Cabbage shines in first Angels start
Cabbage received his first MLB start at first base in the Angels’ 9-8 loss to the Astros on Sunday and went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
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