Vaughn

Grissom

Grissom heads to the injured list after missing three consecutive contests over the weekend with side tightness. No word yet on the severity of the strain, which will determine how much time he misses. The 25-year-old has proven to be a worthwhile reclamation project for a perpetually rebuilding Los Angeles franchise, hitting .246/.325/.410 with four homers and 27 RBI across 155 plate appearances through 40 games.

This might mean that Vaughn Grissom is IL bound, which would be unfortunate. The 22-year-old Guzmán has hit .336/.403/.571 for Triple-A Salt Lake. If he thrives, he could get a chance to stick at second or third, and while it probably won’t happen this year, the Angels could consider moving Zach Neto off shortstop to make room for Guzman in the future.

Grissom was a late scratch from Friday’s lineup due to tightness in his left side and now he winds up missing the entire weekend series against the Dodgers. It sounds like he has shown improvement and will be able to avoid a trip to the injured list, but if this lingers into the start of next week, the Angels may be forced to make a move.

He’s considered day-to-day. Nick Madrigal will start in his place at second base and will bat eighth for the Angels against Roki Sasaki and the Dodgers on Friday evening.

Tonight’s homer was hit 106.8 mph off Michael Lorenzen. Grissom’s .246/.325/.410 line isn’t spectacular, but his 47 percent hard-hit rate, in combination with a tiny 11 percent strikeout rate, is very impressive. It seems doubly painful that the Red Sox traded Kyle Harrison for Caleb Durbin when they could have just gone forward with Grissom instead.

Schanuel underwent an MRI on Wednesday that revealed the ankle issue after experiencing calf tightness the past couple days. The 24-year-old didn’t feel right after testing his leg earlier this week. There is no timetable for his return. It’ll be Vaughn Grissom handling the cold corner in his absence.

Grissom started at first base with Nolan Schanuel (calf) still out. He had a two-run single in the third inning before a big hit late. With the Angels trailing in the eighth inning, Grissom hit a two-out grand slam. It was his third home run in his last 206 at-bats. He’s hitting .233 with a .687 OPS.

That makes two days in a row Schanuel has sat since leaving with calf tightness on Saturday night. Vaughn Grissom is batting third and playing first base in Schanuel’s absence tonight.

The Guardians are throwing a left-handed pitcher, so Nolan Schanuel will be on the bench, but Zach Neto is also being dropped from the leadoff spot to sixth in the order. Neto is hitting .167/.265/.310 in 11 games since the start of May with a 31 percent strikeout rate, but Grissom is also hitting .188/.257/.344 in 10 games in May with an 11.4 percent strikeout rate. Grissom has been the hotter hitter in the most recent games, going 4-for-13 over the last three games with one home runs, one double, and four RBI. It remains to be seen if this is a consistent change the Angels make because that would put Grissom on the radar in deeper formats.

Vaughn Grissom is replacing him in the fifth spot. Adell is hitting .279/.318/.418, but the Angels are apparently hoping to get more out of Grissom’s on-base ability. It’s the first time this season that Adell has hit lower than sixth.