Angels place versatile starting infielder on injured list

The Los Angeles Angels announced they have placed infielder Gio Urshela on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left pelvis. Michael Stefanic was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to replace him on the active roster.

Urshela was forced out of Thursday’s win over the Rangers in the first inning. He was on crutches postgame and imaging has evidently revealed a fracture. The team hasn’t provided any kind of return timetable but it seems likely he will be out past the minimum 10 days.

It’s a brutally-timed injury for team and player alike. The Halos lose a starting infielder for the second straight day after rookie shortstop Zach Neto landed on the shelf Thursday with an oblique strain. While Anthony Rendon isn’t on the injured list, he is out of Friday’s starting lineup after being hit in the wrist with a pitch. Rendon finished Thursday's contest despite being in too much discomfort to swing – because of the Halos’ lack of infield depth.

That’s not the case Friday — Brandon Drury was serving a one-game suspension for arguing with an umpire, while Stefanic is now on hand — but it highlights how quickly the Angels have been put in a precarious position. Losing Urshela likely thrusts Jared Walsh into everyday first base duty for the time being. The former All-Star has been off to a brutal start since returning from a season-opening IL stay. Walsh is hitting .119/.257/.186 in 27 games.

Urshela, acquired from the Minnesota Twins over the offseason, has had a fine (but unexciting) first season in Orange County. He is hitting .299/.329/.374 over 228 trips to the plate while splitting his defensive work between the two corner spots with occasional shortstop reps. He has made plenty of contact offensively, but is walking at a meager 4.4 percent clip and only has two home runs.

That is a downgrade from the .285/.338/.429 line Urshela posted during his lone season in Minnesota. The injury will prevent him from building towards last year’s production for the time being. Depending on how long he’s sidelined, it could also deal a hit to his market value. He’s slated to hit free agency for the first time in his career next offseason, making this a pivotal campaign for him.

The Halos enter play Friday with a 39-32 record. They’re four-and-a-half back of Texas in the AL West and a game out of the Wild Card race. It’s shaping up to be an aggressive summer for Perry Minasian and his staff as they try to capitalize on Shohei Ohtani’s final season of arbitration control by pushing into the playoffs. Infield additions looked like a potential deadline goal even before the injuries to Neto and Urshela. That’d be all the more true if one or both is out for a long period of time.