The Los Angeles Angels registered Jack Neto, one of the team’s top prospects and one of the team’s next-generation shortstops, to the major league roster on the 16th (Korean time). Chris Rodriguez was moved to the 60-day disabled list to avoid adding Neto, who was outside the 40-man roster.
A player had to be sent down to the minor leagues to make Gneto’s 26-man major league roster. The Angels’ selection here was somewhat shocking. It was the downgrading of David Fletcher (29), who was the team’s main infielder, to the minor leagues. 스포츠토토
Fletcher, who made his major league debut with the Angels in 2018, was noticed in 2019 with a batting average of 0.290 in 154 games. His slugging is lacking, and Fletcher, who is not an on-base player but boasts an extreme contact percentage, has done well in his batting average. He also had a good 0.319 batting average in 2020. He was a relatively stable defender at both shortstop and second base.
The Angels signed a five-year, $26 million (approximately 34.5 billion won) contract with Fletcher ahead of the 2021 season. It guarantees five years until 2025, and the club has options for 2026 and 2027. However, Fletcher’s batting average fell to 0.262 in 2021 and 0.255 in 2022. The type with a lot of walks, not from the beginning, but the on-base rate also fell, and the scoring production hit the bottom as well.
The call-up of Neto, who has not yet had a lot of minor league experience, is also related to Fletcher’s sluggishness. In his eight games this year, his batting average stood at 0.125, and his OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) was just 0.250. His attack power is too low.
Fletcher’s annual salary this year is 6 million dollars (about 8 billion won). There are still 6 million dollars in 2024 and 6.5 million dollars (about 8.6 billion won) in 2025. Of course, he is not a very expensive player in the recent market with many $300 million players appearing. However, it is rare to find a team that pays a minor league player $6 million a year. If there is a player with a headache, it is common to let them go. This is because it only takes up a spot in Triple A.
Neto is an inexperienced player, so there is a high possibility that Fletcher will be left in the minor leagues and promoted to the major leagues later. Fletcher’s time in the minor leagues may be short. However, the fact that this happened in the process can be seen as a proof of the failure of the Angels investment to some extent.