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Angels Move Julio Teheran To Bullpen

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Right-hander Julio Teheran was a key offseason acquisition for the Angels, but the right-hander has struggled out of their rotation so far. Manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday the Angels will move Teheran to their bullpen as a result, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report. The Angels haven’t named a replacement, though Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register suggests it could be Jaime Barria or Matt Andriese.

The 29-year-old Teheran joined the Angels on a one-year, $9MM contract in free agency. At the time, he was coming off a long and respectable run as a workhorse in Atlanta, where he pitched from 2011-19. Teheran ended his Braves tenure with seven straight seasons of over 170 innings and a cumulative 3.67 ERA/4.23 FIP.

The production Teheran gave Atlanta would’ve been (and still would be) welcome for the Angels, who have struggled to find consistent rotation options in recent years. But Teheran, whose 2020 was delayed because of coronavirus concerns, has fallen flat in three starts, in which he combined for a mere eight innings. At the same time, he has already given up 11 earned runs on 13 hits, including six homers, with five walks against six strikeouts.

Of course, Teheran’s far from the only disappointment on an Angels club that hoped to contend this year but has instead gotten off to a dismal 8-16 start. They seem to be lining up as sellers heading into the Aug. 31 trade deadline, and with Teheran just a few months from another trip to free agency, the Angels could try to move him. That will be a tall order, though, unless he rebounds from their bullpen over a short period of time.

Outrighted: Phillies, Angels

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Let’s check in on a few of the latest outrights…

  • Phillies hurlers Enyel De Los Santos and Trevor Kelley cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com tweets. The Phillies designated both right-handers for assignment in recent days. De Los Santos joined the Phillies in a one-for-one swap with the Padres for infielder Freddy Galvis before 2018. While De Los Santos then had a strong first season in the Phillies’ system, his stock fell last year in a rough showing divided between Triple-A and the majors. Kelley, whom the Phillies claimed off waivers from the Red Sox last winter, allowed four earned runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings this year before Philly designated him.
  • The Angels outrighted Jose Rodriguez to their alternate site after he cleared waivers. Rodriguez has thrown 21 1/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball as an Angel since 2019, but he has allowed five home runs, struck out just 13 hitters while walking 12, and logged a 6.72 FIP/6.27 xFIP.

Taylor Cole Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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Angels right-hander Taylor Cole announced on Instagram that he underwent surgery on a bothersome shoulder Wednesday (hat tip to Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times). It’s unclear how much time Cole will need to recover, but he wrote that there’s “a difficult road” ahead.

The 30-year-old Cole, an ex-Blue Jay, appeared in the majors in each of the two previous seasons with the Angels. He prevented runs at an impressive rate in 2018 (2.75 ERA), but not so much last year (5.92). In all, Cole has thrown 87 2/3 innings of 4.62 ERA/3.31 FIP ball with 9.14 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 49.1 percent groundball rate since the Angels signed him to a minor league contract in 2018.

In the wake of his 2019 struggles, the Angels outrighed Cole in late March. He hasn’t rejoined their 40-man roster since then, but he was part of their 60-player pool.

Latest On Andrelton Simmons

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Injured Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons is closing in on a return, manager Joe Maddon said Monday (via Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times). Simmons, who landed on the IL on July 28 with a left ankle sprain, has progressed to taking batting practice.

Ankle problems have slowed Simmons since last season, during which the 30-year-old totaled only 103 games played. Simmons’ well-known defensive wizardry continued then, but his offense dropped off a cliff compared to his respectable 2018-19 performance. Still, as Jeff Todd of MLBTR explained, Simmons entered this season as an especially interesting pending free agent. Thanks to the shortened campaign and the time he has already missed, though, Simmons doesn’t have much time to rebuild his stock before a potential trip to the open market.

Since Simmons went down in the first week of the season, the Angels have turned to David Fletcher at short. Fletcher has been highly productive so far, and the Angels surely want his bat in the lineup every day, but he’s versatile enough on the defensive side to move around the diamond. That will give Maddon the freedom to pencil the two in on a daily basis when Simmons is able to return.

Angels Designate Jose Rodriguez

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The Angels have designated righty Jose Rodriguez for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot was needed for southpaw Jose Suarez, who was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to the team’s alternate training site.

Soon to turn 25, Rodriguez first reached the majors in 2019 as a swingman for the Halos. He has only allowed six earned runs in 21 1/3 MLB innings, but he has managed only a 13:12 K/BB ratio and has also coughed up five long balls. The Angels obviously don’t expect that high-wire act to continue succeeding.

If and when he earns his way back to the bigs, the 22-year-old Suarez will hope to improve upon a challenging debut season. He was tagged for 23 long balls and limped to a 7.11 ERA in 81 frames last year. The Los Angeles organization will certainly remain patient given Suarez’s history of high strikeout rates as a minor-league starter.

Angels Recall Patrick Sandoval For Start, Option Luke Bard

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The Los Angeles Angels optioned Luke Bard to their alternate site today, recalling Patrick Sandoval in his place, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource over at Fangraphs.

Sandoval made his major-league debut last season going 0-4 across 10 appearances (9 starts). His first start of the season came last week in a 10-2 Angels win over the Mariners. Sandoval didn’t get the win as he lasted only 4 innings, though he more than did his part in contributing to the win. Sandoval threw 62 pitches – 40 for strikes – notching 4 strikeouts, walking one, and giving up 2 runs (though only 1 was earned). The 23-year-old southpaw entered the year as the Angels’ #7-ranked prospect per MLB.com, #6 by Fangraphs. The Angels certainly hope/expect the lefty and his 55-grade curveball will establish himself as a rotation mainstay – a role they’ve struggled to consistently fill over the years.

Sandoval made his second start of the season tonight, going six strong innings while allowing two runs. He’s quickly becoming a favorite of manager Joe Maddon. While the plan was for Sandoval to throw between 70-80 pitches, Maddon allowed him to hang around for 94. Sandoval continues to develop nicely after the Angels acquired him from Houston for Martin Maldonado just before the 2018 trade deadline.

Bard, 29, is looking to establish himself as a righty out of Maddon’s pen. Across 32 appearances last season, Bard logged 49 innings with a 4.78 ERA/4.81 FIP, showing off his ability to hold the line for multiple innings at a time if need be. He has just one inning so far this season – it was scoreless. In all likelihood, he’ll find himself back in the Angels’ pen before too long.

Poll: Big-Budget Long-Term Payrolls

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Looking at long-range payroll commitments, there’s a fairly sizable gap between the top-five spenders and the number six club (the Padres, at a total of $396MM). Here’s that top-five:

Rank Team Total
1 Angels $651.00
2 Yankees $612.00
3 Dodgers $533.36
4 Nationals $488.68
5 Phillies $488.50

That list isn’t remotely surprising. Some other deep-pocketed teams have pared back or simply not yet agreed to blockbuster extensions with existing stars. The handful of teams listed above have each recently agreed to monster contracts with one or more superstars.

Looking at a team’s future outlook involves quite a bit more than its contractual commitments. We’d want to consider controllable young talent, the prospect pool, and a wide variety of business factors in assessing which organization is best-situated for the long haul.

Here, though, we’ll just focus on the deals that are already locked in. First, I’ll re-list each of those five teams’ eexisting commitments. Then, you will vote for the one that you’d most prefer to have were you operating a large-budget franchise. (Click on the links to expand the image.)

The Angels feature two mid-prime superstars, including the greatest player of this generation.

The Yankees have an ace, a former MVP who could still return to his former glory, and a group of quality players.

The Dodgers had only limited future commitments until they struck a bold deal to keep one of the game’s best players.

The Nationals are all-in on high-grade rotation pieces.

The Phillies spent big to pluck high-end talent from division rivals.

Which is the best slate of contract commitments? (Poll link for app users; response order randomized.)

Which big-budget contract mix is best?
Dodgers 43.93% (2,067 votes)
Yankees 21.04% (990 votes)
Angels 15.71% (739 votes)
Nationals 11.50% (541 votes)
Phillies 7.82% (368 votes)
Total Votes: 4,705

Latest On Simmons, Ohtani

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Angels skipper Joe Maddon provided an update on the injury situations of shortstop Andrelton Simmons and starter/DH Shohei Ohtani. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to cover the chat (Twitter links).

In the case of Simmons, who is nursing an ankle injury, he’s not going to be activated as soon as eligible. Fortunately, it isn’t as serious as the one he suffered last year, but there’s still some healing left to be done.

Simmons is “still pretty sore,” Maddon explains, and will likely not be back in the “real immediate future.” Maddon continued: “From what I read today, it’s progressing but not as quickly as it could.”

Meanwhile, tantalizing talent Shohei Ohtani is expected to be back in lineup tomorrow. That’s a consoling development after the recent news that he’ll be sidelined from mound work for the foreseeable future after suffering a forearm injury.

Ohtani, who didn’t pitch last year due to Tommy John surgery, spoke to media members including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (Twitter link) this evening. The injury isn’t that severe, by Ohtani’s reckoning, which at least seems to indicate he’s not at risk of another procedure.

When asked about the possibility of ultimately focusing only on one side of the game, Ohtani said he’d rather keep trying to do both. At the same time, he indicated he’d be open to considering that possibility if the team made such a request. It seems unlikely at this point that the Halos would forgo a chance to see Ohtani reemerge on the mound.

Angels To Activate Julio Teheran

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The Angels will activate right-hander Julio Teheran from the injured list Wednesday, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The team has yet to formally announce the move, but Fletcher notes that manager Joe Maddon indicated as much on a pre-game radio appearance last night. It’ll be Teheran’s 2020 debut and mark his first start as an Angel. The longtime Braves righty inked a one-year, $9MM contract as a free agent this past offseason.

Teheran, 29, opened the season on the injured list after receiving a positive Covid-19 test just before he was slated to report to Summer Camp. Teheran told the L.A. Times’ Mike DiGiovanna that he was symptomatic in late June and early July, but he was eventually able to join Angels summer camp about three weeks ago. He’s previously stated that he only believed himself to be about a week behind schedule, and Teheran reportedly tossed a three-inning simulated game with about 55 pitches thrown last week. He may not be fully stretched out just yet, but he should be able to up his pitch count from that level in tonight’s debut against the Mariners.

An early return from Teheran is a welcome sight for the Angels, who have already been dealt a brutal blow in the rotation after Shohei Ohtani suffered a strained flexor mass. He’s not expected to pitch again this year, leaving the Angels with a rotation mix of Teheran, Andrew Heaney, Dylan Bundy, Griffin Canning and a slew of fifth starter candidates. The Angels have enjoyed strong starts to the season from Bundy, Canning and Heaney, creating some hope that the staff will be able to withstand the loss of Ohtani. Lefty Patrick Sandoval and right-hander Matt Andriese have each started a game apiece as well.

Teheran once rated not only as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball but as one of the top five overall prospects in the game according to each of Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus. He posted a terrific 3.03 ERA in his first two full seasons back in 2013-14 but ultimately settled in as a durable mid-rotation workhorse. Over the past seven seasons in Atlanta, Teheran has averaged 32 starts and 190 2/3 innings per season, logging a cumulative 3.64 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.16 HR/9 and a 38.3 percent ground-ball rate.

Angels Don’t Expect Shohei Ohtani To Pitch Again In 2020

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Angels right-hander Shohei Ohtani went down Monday with a Grade 1-2 flexor pronator mass strain. It looked then as if Ohtani wouldn’t make a return to the mound this year because of his four- to six-week timeline to begin throwing again. Manager Joe Maddon confirmed Tuesday that Ohtani is likely done as a pitcher for 2020, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (Twitter links). The team will reevaluate his forearm Wednesday, according to Maddon (via Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times).

Fortunately, as an ultra-rare two-way talent, Ohtani’s not finished contributing for the year. Even though he probably won’t pitch again in 2020, Ohtani’s healthy enough that he’ll continue factoring in as a designated hitter. He has been quite successful in that role (not so much in the early going this year), though it’s nevertheless a loss for the Angels and the sport itself that the 26-year-old hasn’t been able to complete a season as a pitcher. The former Tommy John surgery patient has just 53 1/3 innings under his belt since he emigrated from Japan before the 2017 campaign.

Elsewhere on the roster, Maddon revealed that just-promoted outfield prospect Jo Adell will play every day. The elite farmhand, 21, will make his much-anticipated debut against the Mariners on Tuesday. The hope is that Adell and the return of all-world center fielder Mike Trout, who has been on paternity leave, will give the 3-7 Halos a desperately needed shot in the arm.

With Adell now in the mix, the Angels will platoon fellow corner outfielders Justin Upton (a right-handed hitter) and Brian Goodwin (a lefty) through year’s end. That isn’t the outcome the Angels envisioned when they signed Upton to a five-year, $106MM contract before 2018, but his production has been lacking since last season. Goodwin has been a bright spot dating back to 2019, on the other hand, and he’s off to a dazzling .333/.412/.667 start over 34 plate appearances this year.

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