Few people who follow baseball will make note of the Angels players who performed well during the Shohei Ohtani-Mike Trout years, as clearly the organization did not do a sufficient enough job of building around them. Well, the team did, in fact, find some guys who were able to play well around their two superstars. Unfortunately, a lot of those position players are either out of the league or on their last legs in pro ball.
One of those players is Brandon Drury, who was hands down the Angels’ third best player in 2023 — Ohtani’s final season in Anaheim. Drury was solid both at the plate and on the field in ’23, and the season prior was a Silver Slugger award winner during his tenure with both the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres. He is 32-years-old but might be out of the league soon due to a down year (to say the least) in 2024 and what has transpired this year.
Slugging former Angels third baseman’s bizarre season continues with silent release
During the offseason, Drury signed a minor league contract with the lowly Chicago White Sox. He actually performed admirably during spring training and was primed to turn that minor league contract into a major league deal with the South Siders. Unfortunately, Drury suffered a broken thumb and injured wrist after a HBP at Triple-A Charlotte, and was just released by the White Sox.
Sure, once Drury heals from his wrist injury he might be able to sign another MiLB deal with another team. However, it’s relatively clear that his best days are behind him and he might never appear in the big leagues again given his age, injury history and how poorly he played in 2024. A once solid player might just be a minor league depth option now at best.
Drury’s 2024 season was one of the worst in Angels history, and his 2025 season has been marred by unlucky injuries. Drury might not receive many headlines for his release from a White Sox affiliate, but it really stinks that his career is winding down in this strange manner. He is clearly a hard worker, he grinding his way from being a 13th round pick into a Silver Slugger and had such a pretty swing at the plate. Hopefully he is able to reclaim some of his former glory soon, and Angels fans will be grateful that he was able to at least provide some production around Ohtani and Trout in 2023.