Gustavo

Campero

It seems like an odd move to put an injured Campero back on the 40-man roster, but the Angels must have their reasons. Campero, 28, hit .202/.272/.346 in 114 plate appearances for the Angels between 2024 and ’25. He was at .287/.375/.455 in 44 games for Rocket City before getting hurt last week.

The Angels thinned out their battle at second base on Saturday morning when they optioned Christian Moore and Kyren Paris to Triple-A Salt Lake and in the evening Nick Madrigal joined them. That leaves just Adam Frazier, Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom remaining to fight it out. Madrigal performed well during the spring, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with three RBI.

Campero did his damage in the fifth inning, smacking a two-run triple off of Jaxon Wiggins that pulled the Halos to within a run at 4-3. He then scored the tying run as Kyren Paris delivered an RBI single. The 28-year-old outfielder is hitting .250 (2-for-8) with three RBI in the early going this spring as he looks to secure a reserve role on the Angels’ Opening Day roster.

Campero returns a week after being non-tendered. He’s hit .202/.272/.346 in 114 plate appearances for the Angels over the last two seasons, and even if he were to step up some offensively, his defense isn’t good enough to make him a quality reserve outfielder. On the other hand, the fact that he’s a capable third catcher is nice.

Campero and Rivero are now free agents who will almost assuredly be looking at non-roster invite contracts with new organization in 2026.

Campero is battling a right ankle sprain and isn’t going to make it back in time before the end of the season, so the Angels will find a better way to utilize his spot on the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old outfielder finishes the season hitting .172/.273/.345 with three homers, eight RBI, four stolen bases and a 14/5 K/BB ratio in 66 plate appearances for the Halos.

Campero suffered the injury when his foot got stuck in the wall while trying to rob a home run from Max Muncy in the eighth inning on Monday night. Fortunately, he suffered only an ankle sprain in the process, though he’s still going to miss a couple of weeks at a minimum. Niko Kavadas was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move on Tuesday.

Campero tried jumping to catch the homer and got his left foot stuck in the wall, causing an injury that forced him to be carted off. The Angels didn’t update his status after the game, but odds are that he’ll be forced to the injured list.

Campero took Shane Smith deep for just the second homer of the season for the 27-year-old. He remains as off the fantasy radar as any player who is active in the majors. That may seem mean. It’s just the honest truth. Congrats on the homer, however.

Campero is up to provide depth in the outfielder after Jorge Soler was placed on the injured list with back inflammation. Campero was awful in his previous stint with the Angels, and offers zero fantasy upside.