Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols will miss the next four and a half months after having surgery last week on his right foot.
Albert Pujols underwent a surgical procedure on his foot last week. He is expected to resume full baseball activities in 4 1/2 months.
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) November 9, 2015
It’s a tough blow for the Angels, as the injury will keep the 35-year-old out of Spring Training and could extend into the start of the regular season. The slugger had trouble with his foot late in the season and was moved from first to DH by the club in a move to alleviate his soreness.
According to Angels general manager Billy Eppler, Pujols tried resting his foot in the first month of the offseason, but will now opt for surgery to repair his plantar plate in his right foot.
“He just needed to have some time from the end of the season to get it tested and see how it responds and when he did, he still had some discomfort in there,” Eppler told the Orange County Register.
Pujols had a bounce back season of sorts in 2015, hitting 40 home runs, and was named to his first All-Star team since 2010. His averages, however, dropped down to a career low. He hit just .244 with a .307 OBP. He still has $165 million owed to him over the next six seasons, so if this injury affects his performance further, the Angels are going to be in the quite the hole financially.
In the absence of Pujols, Los Angeles will turn to 25-year-old C.J. Cron who made 58 starts at first base for Angels last season. Cron had a decent 16 home runs in 113 total games, hitting .262 with a .300 OBP. He’s got some promise, but he doesn’t have the power (at least yet) that Pujols had in 2015. Outside of Pujols and superstar outfielder Mike Trout, the Angels don’t really have that much power in their lineup, so I’d expect Eppler to try to address this problem in the offseason.
