Yoán

Moncada

Moncada is facing a lengthy absence after hitting the shelf with right knee inflammation back in late May. He’ll be out until at least late July following this latest procedural move.

It’s the same knee that Moncada hurt during the 2025 campaign and it sounds like it has been bothering him for a while now. He underwent an MRI exam on Friday, the results of which are not yet known. Donovan Walton was promoted from Triple-A Salt Lake to take his place on the Angels’ active roster.

Moncada gets a breather after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and he’s already whiffed 36 times in 103 plate appearances this season. He’ll sit with Oswald Peraza hitting eighth and handling the hot corner.

Moncada has 15 hits and 36 strikeouts in 103 plate appearances this season, and that’s just not going to cut it. The Angels had both Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom on the bench so that they could start Moncada and Adam Frazier tonight, and they have Christian Moore and Denzer Guzman toiling in Triple-A. At some point, it’s going to make sense to play the youngsters.

Moncada, a switch-hitter, has now found himself on the bench against three straight left-handers in favor of Oswald Peraza. If he’s now in a platoon situation, expect him to also sit out on Saturday against Cole Ragans. Otherwise, it’s possible that he’s dealing with an underlying physical issue. Fantasy managers may want to get him out of lineups for the weekend if possible.

Mike Trout, Jo Adell, Jorge Soler and Oswald Peraza also homered in the outburst. Moncada’s was his second of the year. He has a terrible 37-percent strikeout rate so far, which is why he’s batting .184. But the power and walks are still there, at least; he taken 11 free passes and also been plunked a couple of times, leaving him with a .355 OBP that’s nearly double his average.

Candelario, who spent parts of three seasons with the Cubs earlier in his career, draws his first start of the year with Yoán Moncada on the bench following a mental mistake at the hot corner during Monday’s series-opening loss. The 32-year-old veteran made Los Angeles’ season-opening roster in a bench role as a non-roster invitee in spring training. He can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats for the moment but it’s worth noting that he’ll get chances at a couple different spots with the Angels.

Moncada atoned for an earlier defensive miscue by launching a two-run homer off Cubs reliever Colin Rea in the seventh inning to get Los Angeles back within four runs at the time. It was his first big fly of the season.

Moncada hit a 370-foot blast in the third inning to put Cuba up 3-0 at the time. He also had a 103.4 mph groundout, giving him two of the eight hardest hit balls in the contest. Moncada claims he has dropped 20 pounds during the offseason to stay healthy this year. He will begin the season as the starting third baseman for the Angels and could be worth a roll of the dice in AL-only leagues or deeper fantasy formats.

The 30-year-old infielder hasn’t appeared in more than 100 games in a season since 2022, so anything that he can do to improve his health and durability is a welcomed development. He missed 32 games with right knee inflammation and 22 games with a thumb injury in 2025. Whether or not his new sleek physique will translate to better offensive performance remains to be seen.