Angels All-Star Outfielder Day to Day With Back Injury

Los Angeles Angels All-Star outfielder Jorge Soler has been out of the lineup since Tuesday with a lingering back issue, and will be evaluated when the team returns home for their series against the Houston Astros on Friday.

“We’re going to be day-to-day on (his back),” manager Ron Washington said. “We weren’t going to push it.

Washington said Soler was available to pinch-hit in Thursday's loss to the Yankees, but that he could not play in the field. With designated hitter Mike Trout also unable to play the field, Soler will need to recover enough to man right field before his return.

Soler came to the Angels in the offseason after the Halos traded pitcher Griffin Canning to the Atlanta Braves. He has been a decent addition to the offense, batting .207 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs through 67 games so far.

The 2023 All-Star is missing the power he has brought in previous years this season, as his slugging percentage of .350 would be the second-lowest season total of his career.

Soler hit 36 home runs in his All-Star season with the Miami Marlins, and led the American League with 48 when he played for the Royals in 2018. He is currently on pace for less than half of those numbers.

The former World Series MVP has slashed .240/.328/.456 throughout his career, but his averages on the Angels fall short of each of those marks. He's striking out at a clip of nearly 30 percent this season, and his expected batting average — which is the same as his true batting average this season — is in the bottom five percent of MLB.

Before his back injury, Soler had also been battling groin tightness for a couple weeks, though Washington insisted that didn't factor in his omission from the lineup.

The Angels will hope Soler can overcome his back problem and return to the lineup, as they are still in contention for the postseason. They are currently two games out of an AL Wild Card spot, and sit 6.5 games out of first in the AL West. Their series against the Astros begins at the Big A on Friday at 6:38 p.m. PT.

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