Angels Outright Chad Wallach, Select Elvis Peguero

The Angels announced Friday that catcher Chad Wallach went unclaimed on waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. In his place, the Halos selected righty Elvis Peguero to the roster. Meanwhile, right-hander Junior Guerra, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has been released.

Wallach, 30, never appeared in a game with the Angels after being claimed off waivers out of the Marlins organization in August. The Angels haven’t given any indication that Wallach will elect free agency, but he’d technically be able to do so if he wishes.

A former fifth-round pick and the son of former big leaguer Tim Wallach, the younger Wallach has posted a .207/.271/.303 line in 231 plate appearances between the Reds and Miami. He’s typically operated as a backup, as last year’s 66 plate appearances marked a career-high. For now, he’s been assigned to Triple-A, where he’s a .220/.317/.392 hitter in parts of four seasons.

Peguero, 24, joined the Angels in the trade that sent Andrew Heaney to the Yankees. He made a brief MLB debut late in the season as a Covid-19 replacement player but didn’t need to be formally selected to the roster for that to happen. He’s now been permanently added to the 40-man. The hard-throwing righty soared through four minor league levels this season, pitching to a collective 3.43 ERA with a 30.1% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate.