The Angels announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Walbert Ureña. He’s now on the 40-man roster and ineligible to be selected by another club in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. His addition bumps the Angels’ 40-man roster count up to 35 players.
Ureña, 21, signed as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic back in 2021 and just split the 2025 season between Anaheim’s Double-A (135 1/3 innings) and Triple-A (5 2/3 innings) affiliates. He pitched to a combined 4.34 ERA in his 141 innings, fanning 20.7% of his opponents against a 12.1% walk rate. He sits mid-90s with a hard sinker that can climb as high as 100 mph. That power offering helped him post a superlative 57.6% ground-ball rate in the minors this year.
As things stand, this is the Angels’ lone 40-man addition of the day. Nothing is stopping them from making further moves to protect additional players, but the bulk of the top-ranked prospects in their thin farm system are either already on the 40-man roster or aren’t eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft until 2026 or 2027. Righties Joel Hurtado and Samy Natera Jr. are notable exceptions, though both are coming off so-so seasons in the minors; Hurtado posted a bleak 15.5% strikeout rate as a 24-year-old in Double-A, while Natera walked 17% of his opponents out of the bullpen between Double-A and Triple-A.
Well…that’s a name. I guess.
If they don’t protect Hurtado they’re dumb
no one is going to carry him in their ML roster all of next year. It’s a pretty safe bet to leave him unprotected
Is the Astros the only team with a full roster?
The Angels seem to like adding ground ball pitchers who don’t miss bats and then combine that with one of the worse defensively infields in baseball.
It’d be funny if I didn’t have to live 162 games a year.
Halo11Fan, this is a rarity on here. I completely agree with you
Urena should be part of a decent AAA rotation at Salt Lake.
Klassen, Dana, Aldegheri, Urena, Farris and Kochanowicz/Maderos.
Based on this guy’s minor league numbers, Moreno will likely give him the opening day start.
November 40-man Roster Purge Edition Somewhere between the waiver wire and a wish
So here we are, folks. That magical time of year when MLB front offices start jogging the roster like it’s a turkey trot cutting, designating, and Rule 5-proofing wouldn’t you know it, this is Perry Minasian’s Super Bowl. The man’s got a PhD in “Roster Gymnastics on a Moreno Budget.”
Let’s be real:
We’re not shopping at Whole Foods. We’re at the 99 Cents Only Store, looking for a filet mignon in the freezer aisle.
We’re not signing stars. We’re hoping the next guy DFA’d by the Pirates has a 3.2 ERA in the farm system
And Perry? He’s out here trying to conjure a bullpen with an Ouija board and a Costco receipt.
What can Perry do next?
Trade Jo Adell for a reliever with a pulse and a spin rate.
Sign a lefty bat who’s allergic to strikeouts and still has knees.
Find a starter who doesn’t need Tommy John or a séance to summon velocity.
And maybe—just maybe—convince Arte to spend like it’s 2014 again.
But until then, we’ll be here, watching the waiver wire like it’s the Winter Meetings. Because in Anaheim, the hot stove isn’t hot—it’s lukewarm, powered by a single AA battery.