Los Angeles Angels: Zack Cozart needs a minor league stint once healthy
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Angels have been up and down thus far this season and have had one constant downside in infielder Zack Cozart.
The Los Angeles Angels‘ season thus far has been a rollercoaster. The team has looked like one of the worst in Major League Baseball at times and then has ridden hot streaks at other times to even out the year.
As it currently stands, the Angels have a 15-17 record and are third in the American League West. That might not seem all that great but it is much better than the 9-16 record the team had just over a week ago. A 6-1 run has brought them back around .500.
There are times where the offense looks great, times when it looks poor. Some nights the pitching staff and bullpen do a great job, other nights they show their weaknesses. It has been pretty hard to gauge exactly who the Los Angeles Angels are, but one thing has been clear: something needs to change for Zack Cozart.
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Cozart, who is currently on the 10-day IL due to a neck strain, has been absolutely dreadful thus far this season. The IL move was retroactive to April 24, so Cozart could be set to return any day now.
Instead of returning to the big league club, Cozart needs to take some time down in AAA Salt Lake to work on his swing and his production. The big league club can no longer afford his ice cold bat in the lineup and would get more value with him working on his craft in AAA rather than riding the pine in the big leagues.
Cozart has reached base just 11 times in 70 plate appearances this season. He has seven hits, two walks and 13 strikeouts on the year. His .282 OPS is worse than a decent player’s batting average and is the worst in the entire Majors for hitters with at least 70 plate appearances.
His -23 wRC+ is the worst among all hitters with 70 plate appearances and he has the 13th-worst fWAR. The only reason that 12 other guys have been worse is because of how many plate appearances Cozart has.
If he had the same amount of plate appearances as the player with the worst WAR, Jackie Bradley Jr. (107), he would have the fourth-worst WAR, based on his current averages. The only thing keeping him afloat then is his slightly above average defense.
It is clear that something is not clicking for Cozart and this is not something that is just happening out of the blue. Cozart played just 58 games for the Los Angeles Angels last season with a .219 batting average and .658 OPS.
Meanwhile, the team has both Tommy La Stella and David Fletcher to call on for second and third base, respectively. La Stella has been decent, but much better than Cozart, while Fletcher has been really solid.
Recent call-up Luis Rengifo has even been much better than Cozart. Rengifo already has two fewer hits than Cozart has in 47 fewer plate appearances.
Next. Angels will not make the playoffs with current plan. dark
Cozart was not a cheap signing and was viewed as someone that could come in and bolster the offense after his standout 2017 season. The Los Angeles Angels would be much better off if Cozart could figure things out, which should require a trip to the minor leagues.