The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Shaun Anderson. Fellow righty Jack Kochanowicz has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, infielder Scott Kingery has been designated for assignment.
This is the second time this year Kochanowicz has been optioned down to the minors. The first was just before the All-Star break, reducing the number of actual games he would miss with the 15-day minimal stint. He was recalled in late July and has made three more starts since then. The most recent one was yesterday, which did not go well. He allowed seven runs, six earned, in just three innings against the Tigers.
Long reliever Carson Fulmer came in and tossed five innings to get the Angels through the rest of the game, throwing 85 pitches in the process. Presumably, Fulmer won’t be available for a few days, so they’ve made these moves to get Anderson into the mix. He’s been starting in Triple-A and should be able to absorb some innings out of the bullpen, if the Angels need such a performance while Fulmer is out of action.
Anderson has tossed 10 2/3 innings over six appearances for the Halos this year, allowing nine earned runs on 16 hits and three walks while striking out ten opponents. In his 81 Triple-A innings, he has a 6.44 earned run average, 17.9% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate.
The Halos will have to replace Kochanowicz in the rotation but not immediately. José Soriano, Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks are slated to start the next three games. The club is off on Thursday and could go with Yusei Kikuchi on Friday, followed by Soriano, Anderson and Hendricks on normal rest. That means the Angels could postpone the decision on a fifth starter/spot starter for about a week.
They are also off on the two following Thursdays, so perhaps they could survive for a while with a four-man rotation and occasional bullpen days. They also have guys like Caden Dana and Víctor Mederos on the 40-man and starting in Triple-A, so calling one of them up for a spot start or two is a possibility.
Kingery, 31, has mostly been in a depth role for the Angels this year. He has appeared in 14 big league games, producing a .160/.222/.200 line in 27 plate appearances. His minor league work has been better but still subpar. His .271/.337/.452 line at Triple-A this year looks nice but actually translates to a 91 wRC+ in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Once a notable prospect with the Phillies, Kingery signed a pre-debut extension with that club, though he never developed into the regular player the Phils were hoping for. That deal has since expired. The Halos acquired him ahead of this season and agreed to a $770K salary to avoid arbitration. Kingery has more than three years of service time but less than five. That means he has the right to reject an outright assignment but has to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to do so.
Back in March, Kingery cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. He accepted that assignment, which allowed him to get selected back to the roster in May. It’s possible the same sequence of events plays out in the coming days, which would allow the Angels to keep him as non-roster depth for the rest of the season.
Photo courtesy of Cary Edmondson, Imagn Images
Can Mark Walter help?
anderson will be gone by the end of the week. just clearing some roster space in aaa, might be the end of the line in the halos org for both
Why Shaun Anderson and not Sam Bachman? I’ve long given up on trying to figure out Perry Minasian.
Anderson allowed two more home runs tonight. That’s now 6 home runs allowed in 7 relief appearances this season. He has no business in the big leagues with a 10+ ERA.
There have been several opportunities for the Angels to fill that 5th spot with a serviceable pitcher better than Jack Koch. Civale, Stroman, etc. are far from perfect, but they can throw decent innings.
If Perry is not going to trade expiring contracts at the deadline and opt to give this team a shot as-is, then he owes the team to at least get a decent 5th starter.
Mederos changed his arm slot a bit this season and has gotten nice results the last month or two.
This is yet another lost season in the standings, might as well use the next 2 months to see if Mederos and a couple of others might be able to help next year.
Mederos deserves a shot. My only concern is his xFIP is the same as Dakota Hudson’s.
Believe it or not, Klassen’s xFIP is 3.09. The disconnect is a 55% strand rate and a .365 BABIP. Talk about bad luck.
But yeah, since falling out of the race (for real), Mederos, Ryan Johnson (is he shut down?), Aldegheri all should be considered. Dana looks like he could use a breather, so probably not him.
And, although management has sworn this off, it couldn’t hurt to give Detmers a few starts even though his pitch count would be limited.
Agreed on all fronts.
Last I heard Johnson was being temporarily shut down to limit his innings.
Angels aren’t a serious organization.
What the heck are the Angels doing? Shaun Anderson has a 6.44 era in AAA. When are we going to get serious here? Being out of the race, focus should now be on development. So it makes more sense to see Dana, Klassen and Aldegheri with the big club to get meaningful innings and experience so we can see what we have. 2025 is a lost cause. Start thinking about the roster for 2026. Do we need a new GM to figure that one out? Perry please tell us what your strategy is here.
Anderson has actually pitched 3 consecutive quality starts, which isn’t nothing in the PCL.
Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t trust him, but I understand bringing him up if he’s got the hot hand. Besides, this is just for long relief. Nothing more.
For an actual Jack K replacement, as you point out, it has to be Aldegheri or Mederos. Klassen’s underlying numbers are very good (crazy BABIP and LOB%, so ignore his ERA), therefore I wouldn’t have a problem with him, either.
Remember Scott spiezio. 2002 game 6.
Hard to believe that the angels will win the 2025=World Series.
Anything possible with talent and favored umpiring.
Remember the titans, remember the 02 Angels, remember larry sherry.
Calling up Shaun Anderson because he struck out Shohei the last time the angels played the dodgers is such an angels move.
So what, the team’s going to go for a bullpen game every five starts for the rest of the season?
Every night
Lol every game has been a bullpen game recently.
There is no reason for Moreno to sell the team or allow his GMs spend money to build a winner because his attendance is always in the top 5 in the AL. Attendance YTD in 2025 is no different. If we stop spending money for a crappy product, it will force improvements to the product. The free market works. Moreno needs to feel it in his income before he does the right thing.
we cant hurt his income; we can only help it.
pohle: “we cant hurt his income; we can only help it.”
If fewer fans bought tickets, and fewer fans paid for cable packages, I think it would put some pressure on Moreno to sell. But I’m not holding my breath for that to happen. A sub .500 team with a ten year losing seasons streak and no playoff appearances….and the home attendance is still averaging 32K. Moreno knows he can do just enough to build false hope each year and a big chunk of people will keep forking over their money. It’s his business model and it has worked out great for his bottom line.
Well, I can’t imagine Anderson will last pass tomorrow after tonight’s performance. Ugh.
Hopefully he was supposed to be a quick fill-in for an overworked bullpen.
And, yes, he did nothing to help, if that was the intent.
Let’s see what’s Perry’s next move. A young starter? Though hopefully a short stint won’t destroy his confidence as just happened to JK!
Or moving Fulmer into the spot? Detmers back as a SP?