The Angels announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever Jacob Rhame off waivers from the Mets. Rhame was in the Mets’ 60-man player pool, and the Mets have already announced that his spot will be filled by right-hander Ryley Gilliam. The Angels’ pool will grow to 57 with the claim — assuming Rhame is indeed added.
Rhame, 27, was originally a sixth-round pick of the Dodgers back in 2013 but landed in the Mets organization via the trade that sent Curtis Granderson from New York to L.A. He’s spent parts of three seasons in the Mets’ bullpen but has yet to find much success. In 47 2/3 MLB innings, Rhame has worked to a 6.23 ERA and 6.06 FIP with averages of 7.6 strikeouts, 4.5 walks and 2.08 homers per nine innings pitched.
That said, Rhame also averages just under 96 mph on his fastball and, in 2018, posted impressive swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates (13.4 percent and 35.8 percent, respectively). The spin rate on both his four-seam fastball and his curveball ranked among the game’s elite that season, so the Angels are surely hoping that with some adjustments to his approach, Rhame’s raw abilities will translate to improved bottom-line results.
Rhame underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery last August, but MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that he’s been throwing off a mound in Summer Camp, which bodes well for his readiness to return. He’s out of minor league options, so Rhame will either need to break camp on the team’s expanded 30-man roster or else once again be exposed to waivers.
Gilliam, 23, was the Mets’ fifth-round pick just two summers ago and quickly rose through the ranks in the system, topping out in Triple-A last year. The Clemson product breezed through Class-A Advanced in 2019 and posted respectable numbers in Double-A before being torched in 9 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball. But Gilliam has punched out 87 hitters in just 56 pro innings (14.0 K/9, 35.1 percent overall strikeout rate) and ranks inside the organization’s top 30 prospects at both MLB.com and FanGraphs. He’s said to have a pair of above-average to potentially plus pitches: his heater and curveball. With no minor league season in 2020, it’s possible that Gilliam will largely skip over Triple-A and make his big league debut at some point this summer.
hope he throws fast!
Did you only read the headline?
Yes, he throws fast.
what headline? did you read it?
I Did. Then when I read
” Rhame also averages just under 96 mph on his fastball and, in 2018, posted impressive swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates (13.4 percent and 35.8 percent, respectively). ”
It was pretty obvious he throws fast.
When it was posted — as with many transactions when they’re announced by the team — only the first couple sentences were there with the “More to come” tag.
good!
thank you, steve!
I really didn’t mean any disrespect. Sometimes I don’t read the full link and I still post.
Vizionaire
Have we really not have enough back and forth that we don’t have some respect for each other? I have respect for you.
same here, 11!
What a touching exchange. I DONT LIKE IT. I expected commenters to insult each other’s intelligence and refuse to see the other persons point of view. Sticking to your guns even with mountains of evidence that prove you wrong is the bread and butter of this site.
Had it been StrikeFour, you would have witness some fire works. :)
despite the differences in political beliefs we both are angels fans. and halo11 seems well-versed. there is nothing i should not respect him for.
That’s amazin news…for the Mets.
His numbers are not good over 3 years. What’s the attraction for Halos here?
They’re the Angels. Not much to say.
pitching depth is a good thing…plus, Eppler has had luck finding guys who were struggling and getting them to turn around (Robles for example when they claimed him from the Mets a few years back)
Easy. Robles had a nice year but you might want to see him duplicate that first. Robles had a couple of decent seasons with the Mets and then the HR ball hit him hard. Rhame is not nearly as talented as Robles. All his pitches are straight as a string.
I don’t think people are saying Robles is an all-star. But he was a waiver wire pick that looks to be a major league player.
and it’s not just him. many more performed better with the angels. now that we have a wizard of a pitching coach, that might expand to the rotation.
The only thing Angel pitchers do more of, is spend time on the DL. If I was him, I’d be wary of any adjustments their coaching staff wants to make to his approach. Tommy John on the horizon.
The Angels have a new pitching coach. He was the Indians pitching coach that groomed their staff.
Maybe he had something to do with their success, maybe he didn’t, but the Angels past injuries had nothing to do with him.
He’s cheap? Dunno, that’s all I’ve got.
Throws hard, elite spin rates, above average swinging-strike and chase rates.
Steve, Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway must have seen something he liked from his Mets days. Though Mets fans might joke about that, it’s a shot worth taking given Mickey’s background. People need to remember that last year was an aberration for many pitchers due to the juiced baseballs. Especially relievers given the brevity of their outings.
Callaway did wonders with him while with the Mets. Actually…He didn’t. But sure, more of the same will produce different results.
They turned Robles around…
The Angels have had success with a number of good bullpen arms. The problem is they are overworked.
Getting innings from starters will help the pen immensely. Not that they will be getting a lot of innings from their starters.
Average 96 mile an hour fastball and an elite spin Rate on his curveball maybe under pitching coach Mickey Callaway make a few adjustments could become a useful relief pitcher
angels have picked a few of relief pitchers for a very good effect. the gm assembled the pen that was great until they ran out of steam covering innings for injured starters.
There’s zero risk.
Good raw stuff. At the butt-end of the roster, that’s about as much as you can hope for.
“Can you do something with him?”
“Maybe.”
That’s about as promising as these things get.
Thank you Angels. Thank you. I never thought the Mets would get rid of him on their own.
No thank you Mets
Why would you thank the Mets for a scrub? Lol
Because they took Robles and that worked out well. Gotta hope lightning strikes twice
It’s not just Robles. Pena, Buttrey, Anderson, Noé Ramirez.
The Angels have shown some competence is picking up BP Arms.
Serviceable MLB relief pitchers.
Very true. They have done well with reclamations. It’s weird they don’t get the credit that Searage got for years, like he was some magician. I just meant Robles is probably why they would thank the Mets again.
The best one of all was Petit,
Washington gave him half a million dollars not to pitch with them.
Angels picked him up, he pitched great, then Oakland signed him to a three year deal.
The Angels have a talented bullpen. Factor in the additions of Maddon and Callaway, and it wouldn’t be a shock if they contend in 2020. With the short schedule, there’s little chance of pitchers being overworked. Get what you can from six serviceable starters, then ride the pen to the finish line. Regardless of what anyone thinks about the ’20 setup, it’s an opportunity for the Angels to move toward building a winning culture. They have depth, both pitching and otherwise. And we know Trout and Rendon are capable of carrying a team for quite a long stretch. If I was an Angels fan, I would be optimistic about the immediate future.
Robles was a dumb cut. Rhyme, not so much.
Optimistic only until Trout sits out.
Because it could be a great waiver claim thank you Mets
Not only pirtchers, but LaStella and Goodwin broke out after we got them. Even Simmons’ bat surged with us.
Oh no, we lost Rhameman. There goes the season. The WS now goes though LAA.
This is how the Angels have built their pen. They don’t get guys who can pitch, they get guys with good arms and high spin rates.
Since the Bullpen gets too much work, we don’t know if it works, but it has shown promise.
possibly the worst pitcher in baseball
wanna bet.
ive seen him hit Rhys Hoskins more times then the strike zone
wait for 2 months. he will be one of the most underrated relief pitcher we have!
But I’ll still take the field. :)
This is what the Angels do. And it’s one of the few areas where they have shown a degree of awareness.
Too bad he wasn’t around for Utley
The Angels claim of Hansel Robles worked out well for them. Maybe Rhame will develop into a nice set up option. Happy to see the Mets seeing what other options they have though.
Eppler’s best moves are waiver relief pickups. I just looked over the comments sections from when he took Robles off the Mets. Those comments haven’t aged well. Time will tell with this pickup but I won’t question Eppler with these moves again.
Look out! We comin’!
I’m just glad he already got his arm injury out of the way. I have never heard of him before but it is nice to see an article and even read the comments that are purely about baseball
cmon guys. you guys cant just say “Robles” and suddenly the claim is genius. Rhame has never been half the pitcher Robles is. Robles won a league ERA title as a prospect if i remember. he was probably held back by the Mets rather then made inro a star by the Halos. Rhame is just…terrible. he’s no Robles, just like how not every Braves prospect is Glavine, or every young closer the next Trevor Hoffman.
and just how every Rays pickup isnt a diamond in the rough, not every Angels BP pickup is a future ace reliever.
Darkside. Who is saying only Robles and who is saying “gems”?
I’ve already listed a few serviceable BP guys.
you mentioned most other guys, but most are just saying Robles
Darkside, That’s fair.
There are more than just Robles. And Robles is a nice MLB player. He’s not an all star or a gem.
Exactly. Robles had some good stretches with the Mets early on. Rhame, not so much.
Mickey must like something about the kid
Doesn’t this put the Angels over 40 on the 40 man? Hopefully Callaway can resurrect Rhame’s career after his nerve surgery (ala deGrom)…
As noted above by several Angels fans, Eppler has built a solid pen with other teams castoffs. When not overworked, they have performed well.
With healthy starters and a 60 game season, the pen should stay fresh and be a strength. Calloway’s tutelage, Castro’s pitch framing and an elite infield defense will only make them better.
Agreed. There is a lot to like about this team. I can see Maddon doing very well with them.
Such an Angel move. Hard thrower with high ceiling statistical potential but with terrible in field stats and injury concerns.