There has already been several injuries to key players throughout MLB and on Tuesday night while attempting to leg out an infield single, Josh Hamilton was added to the injury list. In the seventh inning Hamilton dove head first into first base on an attempt to beat the throw from Mariners shortstop Brad Miller. Hamilton was then lifted in the ninth inning for Ian Stewert to face Fernando Rodney in what was ultimately a 5-3 Angels loss. An MRI on Wednesday revealed a torn UCL in Josh’s thumb that will require surgery. The estimated recovery time for this injury is 6-8 weeks.
This comes as a major blow to the Angels who saw Hamilton hit .333 this spring in 33 AB’s. That hot hitting carried over nicely into the regular season as Hamilton was arguably the hottest hitter in baseball before tearing his UCL as he was hitting .444 (12-for-27) with two home runs and 6 RBI in his first 8 games played.
The Angels will look to weather the storm while Hamilton recovers and will need other players to step up in his absence. J.B. Shuck and Collin Cowgill will takeover in LF for the Angels while Hamilton recovers from thumb surgery. The Angels will return home on Friday night to open a three-game series against the New York Mets.