Los Angeles Angels utility man Chris Taylor played two rehab games in the Arizona Complex League and could return to the Halos as soon as this week during their series against the New York Mets.
“He’s going to dictate that on how he comes out of playing a full nine-inning game on defense,” Montgomery said of Taylor’s potential return.
Taylor has played two rehab games so far, starting one in right field and the other at designated hitter. He played six innings in right field before exiting the game. Across the two games, he went 4-for-6 with two RBIs and two walks.
The Angels signed Taylor after the Los Angeles Dodgers released him in May. He played 10 games with the Halos before a fastball hit him in the hand against the Athletics on June 9, sending him to the injured list. In his brief stay with the Halos, he batted .200 and had one home run with a .694 OPS.
LaMonte Wade Jr. has been the go-to backup outfielder in Taylor’s absence, however with Nolan Schanuel’s scary exit from Sunday’s game after getting hit by a pitch, Wade could see more time at first, leaving the Angels with minimal depth in the outfield. If that is the case, the Angels could use Taylor back as soon as possible to potentially rest some weary legs in a 13-game stretch with no rest days.
The Angels are in a pivotal part of their season, sitting just four games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card with 10 days until the MLB trade deadline. They have three games on the road against the New York Mets before a homestand where they will face their division and Wild Card rivals, the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
The Angels’ seven games against those two teams make all the difference for the remainder of their season, as they will have to decide to go all in for their first playoff appearance since 2014 or to put it off for another year and hope their young core can continue to blossom.
They begin their three-game series in Queens on Monday at 4:10 p.m. PT
