ANAHEIM — Nolan Schanuel was just getting hot when he suffered the injury that, as it turns out, ended his season.
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“It definitely sucks because I was doing really well when I got hurt,” the Angels first baseman said on Friday, after Manager Kurt Suzuki revealed that he wasn’t going to make it back this season from the strained intercostal muscle that put him on the shelf. “I would say I understand better the player that I am and the player that I can be. I definitely learned a lot this year that I can carry on and bring it to next year.”
Schanuel last played on Aug. 20. He started a rehab assignment last weekend, but he felt some continued soreness, so the Angels brought him back to Anaheim. They then decided that there was no point in trying to get back with so few games left in the season.
Schanuel, 24, finishes his third full season with a career-high .276 batting average and a .736 OPS, which is slightly lower than last year’s .742. He hit seven home runs, after hitting 12 last season.
Schanuel’s on-base percentage was .351, which is right in line with his career numbers.
Schanuel’s season started poorly, which he has said was partly because he played with a bad ankle after hurting it running the bases in early April. He eventually went on the injured list.
After coming back in June, Schanuel hit .295 with a .781 OPS for the rest of the season.
“Just understanding that I can be a really good contact bat in the lineup, hit for high average, and the power will come,” Schanuel said. “I think if my power shows up in doubles, that’s kind of the hitter I have to be.”
Suzuki said he still sees upside for Schanuel.
“There’s always ways to improve, whether it’s working on bat speed, doing speed training,” Suzuki said. “The guys do workouts. You’re always trying to evolve through the offseason and find ways to get better. We’re going to come up with a plan and sit down and have a conversation and help him prepare something to try to improve this offseason.”
The big question about Schanuel will remain whether his power will lead to more homers.
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“I think it can,” Suzuki said. “He’s fairly young, and his bat-to-ball is elite. I think as he gets older, the power is going to show up in games. You see it in BP. He’s got power in BP. Time will tell. You can’t just say, ‘This guy is going to hit 20 homers,’ because you never know. But I think it’s in there.”
GOOD NEWS FOR NATERA
Left-handed reliever Samy Natera Jr., who is on the injured list because of forearm inflammation, said his MRI exam showed nothing that requires surgery. He’s planning to be down for about six weeks and then have a normal offseason.
Natera said it was a “big time” relief.
“I wanted to finish strong, but it happen,” Natera said. “Just excited for next year and getting ready for that.”
Natera, 26, put himself on the map as a high-leverage reliever during his first three months in the big leagues, posting a 3.13 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 31⅔ innings.
BAD NEWS FOR PARIS
Utility player Kyren Paris suffered a fractured right index finger when a ground ball hit him awkwardly during pregame work on Thursday. He was placed on the injured list on Friday, ending his season. Paris said it’s a small fracture, so he’ll be fine in three or four weeks, leaving his winter unaffected.
The Angels recalled outfielder Bryce Teodosio to replace Paris on the roster.
Paris, 24, went 0 for 15 in his only eight major league games this season. He had shown encouraging signs at Triple-A, hitting .307 with a .981 OPS, even though it hasn’t yet translated to the majors.
NOTES
Left-hander Reid Detmers comes into Saturday’s start with 199 strikeouts this season. Shohei Ohtani was the last Angels pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts, in 2022. The last left-hander to do it was Chuck Finley in 1998. …
Double-A Rocket City will play Game 1 of the best-of-three Southern League championship series against Biloxi, a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate, on Sunday night. The Angels haven’t won a league title in Double-A since 2008.
UP NEXT
Twins (RHP Joe Ryan, 6-10, 3.84 ERA) at Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 6-8, 3.36 ERA), Saturday, 6:38 p.m., ABTV, 830 AM
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