Angels right-hander Robert Stephenson has undergone elbow surgery and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Manager Kurt Suzuki gave the bad news to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. It was a ligament and flexor repair surgery, per Bollinger.
The Halos took a gamble on Stephenson by signing him to a three-year, $33MM deal ahead of the 2024 season. Unfortunately, that bet has not paid off at all due to Stephenson’s injury woes. Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2024 campaign. He returned to the mound by the end of May 2025 but some biceps inflammation put him back on the shelf after just two appearances. He came off the injured list in August and made eight more appearances but finished the season back on the IL due to elbow inflammation.
As of about a month ago, he was throwing and seemed on a path to being healthy in 2026. But about three weeks ago, he suffered a setback and relayed that he had apparently suffered damage to his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor muscle. Yet another surgery means that he’s going to miss a full season for the second time in three years. He’ll have given the Angels just ten innings for their $33MM investment.
The contract does contain a conditional option for 2027. It’s valued at $2.5MM and was to be unlocked if Stephenson spent 130 consecutive days on the IL at any point due to an elbow ligament injury. That option was therefore already triggered when Stephenson missed the 2024 campaign. That means there is technically still a chance for the Halos to get some value out of Stephenson but they would have to cough up a bit more money. Given how the past three years have gone, that’s hard to see right now.
At the time of the signing, Stephenson wasn’t really proven but it felt like perhaps he was about to break out. He was once a first-round pick and a top prospect. His major league track record was mixed but it seemed as though the Rays may have unlocked something. He finished 2023 with Tampa and posted a 2.35 earned run average in 38 1/3 innings. He paired a massive 42.9% strikeout rate with a tiny 5.7% walk rate.
The Angels thought there was a potential lights-out closer in there but that didn’t come to fruition as he has been bit hard by the injury bug. He just turned 33 years old and will turn 34 in February of next year. It’s not exactly clear if he underwent full Tommy John surgery or some kind of internal brace alternative. In either case, it seems likely he’ll still be recovering by the time the 2027 season gets underway.
Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images
And his Angel’s career ends after only 12 games…
He and Rendon wear matching ski masks when they pick up their Angel paychecks. The track record for this organization is comical at best.
I’m not sure the Angels have signed a decent free agent in Mike Trout’s tenure.
Ohtani? (Although he was international.)
Ohtani is basically it.
I was gonna say Simmons, but I forgot he was a trade.
Kikuchi has been pretty awful.
The team got something good out of the one year they had Jansen.
Matt Moore was good for whatever time he was here that first year they signed him.
Oh – actually, Soriano was signed as a free agent in 2016.
Other decent signings that I can find seem to basically be short-term relief pitchers that have worked out to some degree, but really that’s it.
CJ Wilson had a few okay seasons with the Angels. Yusmeiro Petit was really good in 2017. Ovbiously there’s Shohei Ohtani. Carlos Estevez was an All-Star, so was Tyler Anderson. Kenley Jansen was good last year. But that’s about all I can think of. Extremely slim pickings if we have to mention Yusmeiro Petit as one of the best Angels’ free agent signings from the past 10-15 years.
@halo11fan. Estevez, matt moore the first time. Tyler Anderson was decent.
Gone but never forgotten
Perry is so lucky Arte only cares about affordability
This is a certified Angels™ free agent moment.
Shocker
oh jeeez
Let the lists, the I knew it’s, and I told you so’s begin. The I know more than Parry will ensue, followed by the see I told you the Angels will lose 110 games this year
Here is a box of tissues for all the whiners.
Yowch not good for the Halos.
Might as well cut bait now.
Money well spent. Right in par with the team. I am an Angels fan, but I’m also realistic. Why be positive in the Angels when you can be positive that they’re going to be bad.
Death, taxes, and RS arm falling off. Feel terrible for the guy, but at least he secured the bag first.
he should have never gotten that kind of money . angels overpaid him
There goes the chances at .500
Another great Perry Minasian signing.
Fundamental changes are coming to the way pitchers are coached and trained. Max velo? Heck no. Max spin rate? No way. Just go out and pitch. Plan on throwing at least 110 pitches a game, and get through 7+ innings a start, and get through a decade in MLB without needing multiple arm surgeries. The days of Fergie Jenkins throwing 300+ innings and 20+ complete games a season will be back before we know it, and it’ll be a good thing for the game.