Angels place 2B Christian Moore (thumb) on 10-day IL

The Los Angeles Angels placed rookie second baseman Christian Moore on the 10-day injured list on Thursday because of a left thumb sprain.

In a corresponding move, the Angels selected the contract of shortstop Chad Stevens from Triple-A Salt Lake. Stevens was slated to bat ninth in the order and start at second base in his major league debut on Thursday at Atlanta.

Moore, 22, dove while attempting to grab Ozzie Albies’ grounder up the middle for a single and left the game in the sixth inning of an 8-3 loss to the host Braves on Wednesday. Moore was replaced by Kevin Newman.

“Anytime you see somebody like (Moore) have an injury like that, you fear the worst,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said.

He said that Moore missing two weeks might be “looking at the best-case scenario.”

Moore made his major league debut on June 13. He is batting .189 (10-for-53) with three home runs and eight RBIs in 18 games.

The Angels selected Moore with the eighth overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Stevens, 26, was batting .307 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs in 72 games at Salt Lake.

The Angels also released right-hander Hector Neris, 36, who was 3-0 with a 5.14 ERA, seven walks and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings over 21 relief appearances this season.

Neris also pitched this season for the Braves and was 0-1 with a 45.00 ERA after allowing five earned runs over one inning, giving him a combined 7.80 ERA for 15 innings in 2025.