ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Los Angeles Angels infielder Zack Cozart will undergo another procedure on his injured left shoulder, this one an arthroscopic debridement that will essentially clean damaged tissue in hopes of getting him on track toward a full recovery.
Cozart will not return this season -- a reality the Angels had long accepted -- but is hopeful of swinging the bat again in six weeks and riding that into a normal, healthy offseason.
Cozart, 33 and in the middle of a three-year, $38 million contract, re-tore the labrum that was surgically repaired on the final day of June in 2018. He felt a sharp pain after a swing in a game against the Minnesota Twins around the middle of May and said he played through pain for a couple of weeks before landing on the injured list. Doctors believe that swing was the genesis of Cozart's re-injury.
Cozart spent his first seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and made the All-Star team in 2017, but has been unable to match that success with the Angels. In 96 games through his first two seasons, Cozart has batted only .190/.261/.296.
Dr. Neal ElAttrache will perform the next procedure in Los Angeles on Wednesday with the hope it will eliminate the need for another full-scale shoulder surgery.
"It's pretty complicated, actually," Cozart said. "I've learned a lot about my anatomy in the past two months that I didn't really care about until now. Hopefully, this works and just cleans it up; I can get my motion back and get the strength in there again and start swinging."
