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Athletics Claim Angel Perdomo, Designate Esteury Ruiz For Assignment

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The Athletics announced this afternoon that they’ve claimed left-hander Angel Perdomo off waivers from the Angels. In a corresponding move, center fielder Esteury Ruiz was designated for assignment. The Angels separately announced that left-hander Jose Quijada as cleared waivers and been assigned outright to the minor leagues.

Perdomo, 31 in May, signed with the Blue Jays out of the Dominican Republic and made his pro debut back in 2012. He didn’t end up cracking the big leagues until the shortened 2020 season, however, at which point he was a member of the Brewers. Perdomo struggled badly across parts of two seasons in Milwaukee, with an 8.24 ERA and a 6.43 FIP in 19 2/3 innings of work across 22 appearances. While his 33.7% strikeout rate was nothing short of excellent, Perdomo was held back by a massive 23.5% walk rate.

The southpaw went on to spend the 2022 season in the Rays farm system, where he pitched quite well at the Triple-A level, before signing a minor league deal with the Pirates for the 2023 season. He pitched solid for Pittsburgh that year, with a 3.72 ERA and 3.01 FIP in 29 innings of work as he struck out a sensational 37.6% of his opponents. Unfortunately, elbow issues cut Perdomo’s season short and he ultimately required Tommy John surgery during the offseason. That led the Pirates to designate the lefty for assignment, at which point he was claimed by Atlanta and signed to a split deal for the 2024 season.

Perdomo ultimately did not pitch in 2024, however, and though he stuck with the club over the offseason he was ultimately traded to the Angels earlier this month. He was DFA’d by Anaheim prior to Opening Day, and now finds himself headed north to West Sacramento where he’ll get the opportunity to join the A’s bullpen if he can prove he’s healthy and effective. The southpaw’s Spring Training was something of a mixed bag, as he impressed with a 1.80 ERA but walked (6) nearly as many batters as he struck out (8). If he pitches as well as he did for Pittsburgh, however, Perdomo could wind up being a solid complement to Mason Miller from the left hand side in the late innings.

Making room for Perdomo on the 40-man roster is Ruiz. The center fielder is most famous for being the centerpiece of the return the Athletics received in a controversial three-team trade that sent franchise catcher Sean Murphy to Atlanta and promising young backstop William Contreras to Milwaukee. While Contreras has gone on to put himself on the shortlist for the title of best catcher in baseball with the Brewers, the return the A’s received for Murphy has largely failed to produce in the majors. That includes Ruiz, who appeared in 132 games in 2023 as the club’s regular center fielder and swiped a league-leading 67 bases in 80 attempts. Impressive as his wheels were on the basepaths, however, he was a pedestrian defender in center field and failed to hit enough to justify his everyday job, slashing just .254/.309/.345 in 497 trips to the plate.

The 2024 season saw Ruiz open the season with the club but get optioned to the minor leagues in fairly short order. Overall, he hit just .200/.270/.382 with five steals in nine attempts across 29 games with the A’s during their final season in Oakland before missing the majority of the season with a wrist sprain and ultimately undergoing knee surgery in September. Ruiz came into camp with a chance at a job with the A’s this year, but hit just .121/.171/.152 in Spring Training, leaving the club to option him to the minor leagues. Evidently, the A’s feel he no longer has much of a future with the organization following the emergence of pieces like Lawrence Butler and JJ Bleday. Going forward, they’ll have one week to work out a trade involving Ruiz or else he’ll need to be placed on waivers. Should he pass through waivers unclaimed, the club will have the opportunity to outright him to Triple-A to serve as non-roster depth going forward.

Angels Select Tim Anderson

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The Angels announced that they’ve selected shortstop Tim Anderson onto the MLB roster. The Halos also confirmed a few previously reported moves: the promotion of reliever Ryan Johnson, the signing of Nicky Lopez to a one-year deal, and the DFAs of lefty relievers José Quijada and Angel Perdomo.

Anderson, a two-time All-Star, gets another rebound chance after a second straight poor season. He hit only .214/.237/.226 in 65 games for the Marlins last season. Miami had signed him to a $5MM deal in the hope that he’d become a midseason trade chip. Instead, they ended up releasing him before the All-Star Break. Anderson sat out the remainder of the season and signed an offseason minor league contract with the Halos.

The righty-hitting Anderson appeared in 21 games this spring. He hit .263 with one homer and three steals in as many attempts. It wasn’t a dominant showing, but he’ll provide speed and decent contact skills off Ron Washington’s bench. Zach Neto is opening the season on the injured list. Kevin Newman will probably get the starting shortstop job. Anderson, Lopez and Kyren Paris could all work off the bench. The Angels might be without Yoán Moncada to open the season, which could push Luis Rengifo to the hot corner. That’d leave second base open for one of the depth infielders.

Meanwhile, Michael Huntley of The Orange County Register notes that the Perdomo and Quijada designations all but officially secure Garrett McDaniels’ spot on the Opening Day roster. The Angeles took the lefty out of the Dodgers system in the Rule 5 draft. McDaniels got ground-balls at a massive 67.9% clip over nine innings this spring. He only managed four strikeouts and walks apiece, but the 25-year-old’s game is built around grounders.

Angels Sign Nicky Lopez

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The Angels have signed infielder Nicky Lopez to a major league deal, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Earlier, Sam Blum of The Athletic relayed that Lopez has a locker for tonight’s game against the Dodgers. Blum also relayed that left-hander José Quijada does not have a locker, so perhaps he has been removed from the club’s roster. Subsequently, Blum has added that left-hander Angel Perdomo is also without a locker. The 40-man roster count dropped to 39 earlier today with the release of Mickey Moniak. Adding Lopez would bump that back up to 40 but that would drop again if Quijada and/or Perdomo are removed.

Lopez, 30, was in camp with the Cubs on a minor league deal until recently. He was reassigned to minor league camp ahead of that club travelling to Japan for the Tokyo Series. It was reported at that time that he was expected to trigger an opt-out in his deal. He was officially granted his release a few days ago, freeing him up to sign this deal with the Halos.

Broadly speaking, Lopez is a glove-first infielder. He did have one especially strong season at the plate in 2021, though that was largely fuelled by a .347 batting average on balls in play. He has 2,346 big league plate appearances overall with a .248/.312/.314 line and 77 wRC+.

But the defensive profile is strong, with over 2,000 innings at the shortstop position. Defensive Runs Saved has considered him to be roughly average at that spot, before giving him a rough -9 mark last year. Outs Above Average, however, has Lopez at +33 at short in his career. He has also received strong marks for his work at second and third base, with brief showings at first and left field as well.

He was with the White Sox last year and could have been retained for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $5.1MM salary. Given his light hitting, the Sox weren’t willing to pay that. He was passed through waivers in November and elected free agency. He later signed a minor league deal with the Cubs, with that pact coming with a modest $1.5MM salary if he made the majors. Presumably, this deal with the Angels comes with a fairly modest salary.

The Angels have plenty of uncertainty throughout their infield. Shortstop Zach Neto is going to start the season on the injured list as he is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Third baseman Anthony Rendon underwent hip surgery last month and has been moved to the 60-day injured list. The Angels signed Yoán Moncada to replace Rendon at third but he’s been battling some thumb soreness in camp and hasn’t played in an official spring game since March 12. Second baseman Luis Rengifo has been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. He’s been back in the lineup for over a week but is hitting .150/.261/.150 in Cactus League action.

As of now, Kevin Newman seems likely to be the club’s shortstop. Rengifo seems to be healthy enough to play either second or third base. Lopez gives them a glove-first guy who can bounce around. Non-roster invitees like Tim Anderson or J.D. Davis could also factor into the mix if added to the roster.

Perdomo and Quijada are both out-of-options lefty relievers. That means they need to be on the active roster or else removed from the 40-man. Nothing official has been announced but their absences from the clubhouse seem to suggest they won’t be making the club.

Quijada, 29, has generally been able to rack up lots of strikeouts but also plenty of walks in his career. To this point, he has 128 innings under his belt with a 4.64 earned run average. He has punched out 30.3% of opponents but given out free passes at a 14.8% clip. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2023, meaning he didn’t pitch much in the past two years.

He qualified for arbitration for the first time after that 2023 season. But due to the surgery, he was only able to bump his salary to $840K, barely above league minimum. He and the Angels agreed to a deal in January that will see him make $1.075MM this year, with a $3.75MM club option for 2026.

Hypothetically, if he were to be passed through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency as a player with at least three years of service time. However, he has less than five years of service, meaning he would have to give up that money to head to the open market. In that scenario, he would likely stick with the Angels as non-roster depth in order to keep his 2025 salary in place.

Perdomo, 31 in May, was acquired from the Braves in a cash deal about a week ago. He has a 5.55 ERA, 35.8% strikeout rate and 15.8% walk rate in his career. He only has 48 2/3 innings pitched but has almost three years of service time thanks to many injured list stints. He has a previous career outright and would therefore have the right to elect free agency if passed through waivers.

Angels, Jose Quijada Avoid Arbitration

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The Angels announced Tuesday that they’ve signed left-handed reliever Jose Quijada to a one-year contract with a club option for the 2026 season, avoiding arbitration in the process. Quijada, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will be paid $1.075MM this coming season, per the team. (The Angels are one of just a few major league teams that publicly announce financial details of their transactions.) The 2026 option is valued at $3.75MM.

Quijada had filed for a $1.14MM salary in his second trip through the arb process. He was recovering from Tommy John surgery during his first trip through arbitration and thus landed on an $840K salary that wasn’t too far north of last year’s $740K minimum. The Halos countered with a $975K proposal.

Today’s agreement checks in north of the midpoint between those two sums. Because it includes a club option, it won’t be considered a true “one-year deal” for the Angels or other clubs leaguewide; that’s important with regard to arbitration specifically, as arb negotiations are based on comps for prior one-year deals for players in the same service class. Even if the Angels decline the club option, Quijada would remain under their control for 2026 and would simply be arbitration-eligible once again.

The 29-year-old Quijada finished up his recovery from that 2023 Tommy John procedure in late July. He returned to the Halos and appeared in 22 games in the season’s final nine weeks, logging 19 1/3 innings with a tidy 3.26 ERA. He set down a hearty 28.6% of his opponents on strikes but also issued walks at an alarming 20.2% clip. Command has been a long-running issue for Quijada but not to that extent; in 108 2/3 prior big league innings, he’d walked 13.8% of batters faced.

Even with that problematic command, Quijada comes at an affordable rate and brings some clearly tantalizing traits to the table. He logged a big 14% swinging-strike rate this past season, in part due to an uncanny knack for missing bats within the strike zone. Opponents made contact at just a 78.8% clip on in-zone pitches offered by Quijada — well shy of the 85.2% league average. The lefty’s velocity also strengthened over the course of his return; he averaged 93.5 mph on his heater through his first two weeks off the injured list but sat 94 mph on average thereafter. With a bit more time to continue building up, he may well have returned to the 94.5 mph average he posted in his last full, healthy season in 2022.

With Quijada’s case now resolved, the Angels have cleared up one of three pending cases. Infielder Luis Rengifo filed for a $5.95MM salary. The team countered at $5.8MM. Outfielder Mickey Moniak filed at $2MM to the team’s $1.5MM. You can read more about the reasons for teams and players go to battle over ostensibly trivial sums like this in this 2015 piece I wrote after chatting with several general managers and assistant GMs around the league.

Angels Designate Adam Cimber For Assignment

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The Angels announced that left-hander Jose Quijada has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz was optioned to Double-A Rocket City to make room for him on the active roster. Right-hander Adam Cimber, who was on the 15-day injured list, has been designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot.

Quijada, now 28, underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and is now back. He has generally been a high-strikeout but also high-walk guy in his major league career so far. In 108 2/3 innings, he has a 4.89 earned run average, 30.6% strikeout rate but 13.8% walk rate.

That career was put on hold by his surgery, though his results have been fairly similar since he started a rehab assignment about a month ago. In 7 2/3 innings in the minors, he has struck out 41.9% of batters faced but also walked 12.9% of them. He’s out of options so the Angels have installed him back into their bullpen. He’s making a salary of $840K this year and can be retained via arbitration for two more seasons.

Cimber, 33, was signed to a one-year deal in the offseason with a $1.65MM guarantee. He has had some good years but struggled in 2023 and was non-tendered by the Blue Jays. The Halos were undoubtedly hoping for a rebound but didn’t get it. The submariner currently has a 7.03 ERA in 24 1/3 innings this year. He landed on the 15-day IL just over a month ago due to right shoulder inflammation.

It’s possible the shoulder has been an issue for some time. He posted a 7.40 ERA with the Jays last year and then missed the second half of the season due to a right shoulder impingement, but had been quite effective prior to that.

From 2018 through 2022, Cimber posted a 3.20 ERA in 301 appearances between San Diego, Cleveland, Miami and Toronto. He only struck out 18.4% of batters faced in that time but walked just 5.8% of them and got 52% of balls in play pounded into the ground. But he’s now had ERAs above 7.00 in two straight years while going to the IL for shoulder issues in both of them.

Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, but that’s a fairly moot point. Cimber has more than five years of service time, meaning he has the right to reject an outright assignment while keeping what’s left of his salary. The DFA limbo period can technically last as long as a week but given Cimber’s injury and recent performance, he seems bound to be released in the coming days as the only other alternative would be a trade.

Assuming he is indeed released, the Halos will remain on the hook for the majority of what’s left of his salary while another club could sign him and only pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the active roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Angels pay. Whether he can find another deal will likely depend on the state of his shoulder in the weeks to come.

Angels Claim Livan Soto Off Waivers From Orioles

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The Angels have claimed infield Livan Soto off waivers from the Orioles, per an announcement from both teams. Anaheim placed left-hander Jose Quijada on the 60-day injured list to make room for Soto on the club’s 40-man roster. The Orioles had designated Soto for assignment earlier this week to make room for infielder Diego Castillo (who was coincidentally DFA’d himself earlier today) on the 40-man roster.

Soto’s sojourn to Baltimore was a brief one, as he returns to the Angels just over two weeks after the club designated him for assignment to make room for right-hander Jose Cisnero on the club’s 40-man roster. The 23-year-old infielder is considered a quality defender at not only shortstop but also second and third base, having spent time considerable time at each position during his professional career. He also boasts solid contact skills, as indicated by a strikeout rate of just 19.3% across six seasons in the minor leagues, though he sports minimal power with just 24 career home runs between the majors and minors.

Soto’s big league experience has been minimal to this point in his career. Though he appeared in majors with the Angels in each of the past two seasons, slashing a strong .375/.414/.531 along the way, that production has come in just 71 trips to the plate spread across 22 games in the majors. That incredible slash line has been bolstered by an unsustainable .469 BABIP throughout his big league career, making his career slash line of just .245/.339/.332 in the minor leagues likely closer to Soto’s true talent level.

Even if Soto can’t maintain his small-sample production in the majors, he still offers plenty of value to the Angels as a left-handed bat with quality defense all around the infield. It’s possible to imagine Soto competing for a bench role on the big league club this spring with the likes of Michael Stefanic and Kyren Paris. If Soto doesn’t secure a role on the Opening Day roster, the Angels will have the ability to option him to the minors and stash him as depth to protect against future injuries.

Angels Select César Valdez

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The Angels announced they have selected right-hander César Valdez and placed left-hander José Suarez on the 15-day injured list with a left shoulder strain. To open a spot for Valdez on the 40-man roster, lefty José Quijada was transferred to the 60-day IL. Sam Blum of The Athletic had previously reported that Valdez was on the lineup card and that Suarez was bound for the IL.

Valdez, 38, has had one of the more unique careers in baseball. A soft tosser who’s never averaged more than 89 mph on his fastball, he made his major league debut with the Diamondbacks in 2010 but posted an ERA of 7.65 in nine appearances. He then didn’t make it back to the big leagues for many years, spending time in the minors with the Pirates, Marlins, Blue Jays and Astros in addition to playing in the Mexican League and the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

He returned to the majors in 2017 with the A’s and Jays, tossing 30 2/3 innings with increased use of his changeup. He had thrown it 28.2% of the time in his debut season but ramped that up to 48.2% in 2017, though he finished the year with a 7.63 ERA. He then missed a couple more MLB seasons, pitching in the Mexican League in 2018 and 2019. He returned to the majors in 2020 with the Orioles and cranked his changeup usage all the way to 83.2%, resulting in an ERA of just 1.26 over 14 1/3 innings that year.

Improbably, he became the O’s closer to start the 2021 season, racking up eight saves by the middle of May with a 1.23 ERA. Unfortunately, things took a turn from there as he posted an 8.04 ERA the rest of the way, losing his roster spot as the season was winding down. He signed a minor league deal with the Angels last year and was selected to the roster for a one-game showing in May before getting designated for assignment promptly after. He returned to the Halos on another minor league deal this winter but has a 7.27 ERA through 26 innings for Triple-A Salt Lake.

Yesterday, Suarez departed his start due to shoulder discomfort after pitching just 2 2/3 innings. Chase Silseth came on in relief and ultimately chewed up 3 1/3, tossing 72 pitches in the process. He likely won’t be available for a few days so Valdez has likely been brought up to be on-call if the Halos have some more mop-up innings on the menu.

As for Suarez, it’s still unclear how much time the club is expecting him to miss with this shoulder injury. He’s having a terrible year so far with a 9.62 ERA through six starts, an unfortunate development after he seemed to break out last year. In 109 innings for the Angels in 2022, he registered a 3.96 ERA and seemed to establish himself as a viable starter going forward. He hasn’t carried that into 2023 but it’s difficult to tell right now if the shoulder injury is the culprit. His 92.6 mph average fastball velocity is just a hair down from last year’s 92.7 mph. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently explored how the poor start to the season from Suarez was putting the club in an awkward spot since the lefty is out of options, though he’ll now head to the injured list for a while.

The Angels have often had a six-man rotation in recent years as a way of reducing the strain on Shohei Ohtani and the heavy workload that comes from him also hitting on the days when he doesn’t pitch. That has been the case this year, with Ohtani and Suarez joined by Reid Detmers, Patrick Sandoval, Tyler Anderson and Griffin Canning. If they want to continue with the six-man operation going forward, they’ll need someone to replace Suarez. Silseth could potentially move from the bullpen to the rotation, as could Tucker Davidson, as both worked as starters last year. Non-roster options include Jake Kalish, Kenny Rosenberg and Jake Lee.

As for Quijada, it was reported last week that he would require Tommy John surgery, ruling him out for the remainder of the season and part of next year as well. That made this transfer to the 60-day IL an inevitable formality.

José Quijada To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Angels left-hander José Quijada will undergo Tommy John surgery, manager Phil Nevin tells reporters, including Sam Blum of The Athletic.

The news doesn’t come as a total shock, since it was reported yesterday that the lefty had some ligament damage in his elbow and was headed for a second opinion before deciding on next steps. It seems that the second opinion didn’t provide any way for Quijada to avoid his fate and he will now go under the knife. He will miss the remainder of the 2023 season and likely at least half of 2024 as well, given the typical recovery period of 14 to 18 months.

The 27-year-old began his career with the Marlins but has been an Angel since being claimed off waivers prior to the 2020 season. Overall, he has a 4.89 ERA in his career, spanning 118 major league appearances. He’s struck out 30.6% of batters faced, walked 13.8% of them and got grounders at a 35.3% clip. He’s earned some high-leverage work in that time, racking up eight saves and 26 holds.

The Halos will now have to navigate the rest of the season without Quijada and part of next year as well. They won’t be hurting for left-handers in the short term, as they have four in their starting rotation and then have Matt Moore, Aaron Loup and Tucker Davidson in the bullpen.

Quijada is already on the 15-day injured list and will be moved to the 60-day whenever the Angels need his roster spot. He’ll spend the remainder of the season there and will cross three years of service time in the process, which will allow him to qualify for arbitration for the first time this winter.

Angels’ Jose Quijada, Austin Warren To Miss Extended Stretches

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A pair of Angels relievers are in for long-term absences. Left-hander José Quijada has been on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation. Halos skipper Phil Nevin told reporters this evening that an MRI revealed ligament damage (relayed by Sam Blum of the Athletic). Things are slightly better for right-hander Austin Warren. He’s being shut down from throwing for four-to-six weeks due to elbow discomfort of his own, tweets Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.

It’s particularly unfortunate news for Quijada. The 27-year-old is sure to be shut down for some time. Elbow ligament damage raises the possibility of surgery. That’s still to be determined, with Nevin noting that Quijada is headed for a second opinion.

Initially claimed off waivers from the Marlins over the 2019-20 offseason, Quijada has been a situational relief option for the Halos for the past three-plus years. He owns a 4.56 ERA in 79 frames as an Angel. He’d allowed seven runs (six earned) with eight strikeouts and three walks in nine innings of relief this season.

Quijada entered the season with over two years of major league service. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter. If he’s forced to undergo surgery that costs him the bulk of the 2023 campaign, he’d be a non-tender candidate.

Warren, also 27, has made 32 appearances over the past three seasons. The former sixth round selection had a 1.77 ERA in 20 1/3 innings as a rookie but allowed nearly six earned runs per nine over 16 frames last year. The Halos ran him through waivers and outrighted him off the 40-man roster over the offseason. They reselected his contract in mid-April before losing him to injury two appearances in.

While it doesn’t seem there’s any consideration of surgery in Warren’s case, the lengthy shutdown means he’s likely out for multiple months. He’d need to rebuild strength through a throwing program and minor league rehab work before he’s in consideration for MLB action. Even barring any setbacks, he could be out until around the All-Star Break. Both Quijada and Warren could find themselves on the 60-day injured list as the Halos manage their 40-man roster over the coming weeks.

Angels Select Chris Devenski, Place Jose Quijada On 15-Day IL

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The Angels announced they’ve selected the contract of right hander Chris Devenski, and placed left hander Jose Quijada on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. To make room on the 40-man roster, catcher Logan O’Hoppe was transferred to the 60-day IL.

The 32-year-old Devenski was once a top reliever with the Astros, but has struggled in recent years. His last stint in the big leagues resulted in an 8.59 ERA across 14 2/3 innings between the Diamondbacks and Phillies last year.

That’s a far cry from his days with the Astros. Devenski burst onto the scene with Houston, putting up a 2.16 ERA over 108 1/3 innings in his rookie year and finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He followed that up with another quality season, posting a 2.68 ERA in 80 2/3 relief innings in 2017 and earning a trip to the All Star game. The wheels began to fall off in 2018 though, and Devenski would work to a 4.88 ERA over the next three seasons before being released by the Astros after the 2020 season.

He latched on with the Diamondbacks in 2021 but in sporadic big league stints hasn’t come close to replicating his early career form. He’ll now get a chance to do just that with the Angels.

Quijada had struggled to a 6.00 ERA in nine innings for the Angels this season. The left hander has been a mainstay in the Halos’ pen over the past few seasons, working to a 4.21 ERA over 66 1/3 innings between 2021-22 with a 12.21 K/9 and a  4.88 BB/9.

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