Angels Sign Jimmy Herget

The Angels have signed reliever Jimmy Herget to a minor league contract, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register. The righty is listed on the active roster with Triple-A Salt Lake.

Herget elected free agency earlier this week after being designated for assignment by the division-rival Rangers. Prior to his designation, the 27-year-old had put together a very nice season with their top affiliate in Round Rock. Over 37 2/3 innings with the Express, Herget posted a 2.63 ERA while striking out a lofty 30.6% of batters faced against a better than average 7.6% walk rate. That’s par for the course, as Herget has an ERA of 3.47 or lower in all four of his seasons at Triple-A, split between the Reds’ and Rangers’ organizations.

That high minors success hasn’t carried over to the big leagues, however, leading to Texas’ decision to move on this week. Herget has pitched in the majors in each of the past three years, tallying a cumulative 4.20 ERA over thirty frames. That’s decent enough run prevention, but his strikeout and walk rates (14.5% and 13%, respectively) are much worse than league average.

There’s little harm for the Angels in adding Herget as high minors depth. He would remain under team control as a pre-arbitration player for 2022 if Los Angeles selects him to the major league roster before the end of the season. If Herget doesn’t make it to the majors with the Angels, he would qualify for minor league free agency this offseason.