The Angels placed rookie starter Ryan Johnson on the 15-day injured list before tonight’s game. Lefty Mitch Farris is up from Triple-A Salt Lake to take his spot on the active roster. Johnson’s placement, which is retroactive to April 3, is due to a virus.
Johnson surprisingly broke camp as the Halos’ fifth starter. That was due both to his strong Spring Training and the injuries to Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah ahead of him on the depth chart. It continued a bizarre career arc for the 2024 supplemental second-round draft choice. Johnson skipped the minors entirely to break camp last year as a reliever. He looked overmatched, was optioned all the way back to High-A in May, then dominated over 12 starts to finish the season.
The Angels jumped the 23-year-old back up as a starter without any upper minors experience. He had a shaky first MLB start, allowing six runs without getting through the fourth inning against the Cubs. Johnson was scheduled for his second appearance yesterday against the Mariners before the illness intervened.
That led to the first MLB opportunity for well-regarded prospect George Klassen. The Angels selected him as a spot starter in Johnson’s place. Klassen walked five batters and only recorded eight outs in his big league debut. The Halos used four relievers (Ryan Zeferjahn, Brent Suter, Sam Bachman and Shaun Anderson) for multiple frames in an eventual 11th-inning win.
Farris gives them a multi-inning relief option for the next couple days. José Soriano has done his part to give the bullpen a much needed breather, firing eight innings of one-run ball tonight against the Braves. Their pitching plans for the next few days are to be determined beyond knowing that it’ll be Yusei Kikuchi and Reid Detmers to start the final two games of their series with Atlanta. They’re off on Thursday before playing on 14 consecutive days. Manager Kurt Suzuki told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register) that they haven’t decided whether Klassen will make another start.
Meanwhile, Mike Trout was out of the lineup tonight after being hit on the left hand during yesterday’s ballgame. He’s listed as day to day, per the MLB.com injury tracker. Bryce Teodosio got the nod in center field tonight against Chris Sale. If Trout needs more time, the Angels could turn to lefty-hitting Josh Lowe there with Atlanta starting righties for the next two games. Teodosio would be the other possibility if they’re focused solely on defense.
If they have any sense, they’ll send Johnson to AA when he’s healthy.