- Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani threw a bullpen session Saturday and then told reporters (including Maria Guardado of MLB.com) that he’s confident he’ll pitch again this year. A Grade 2 UCL sprain in Ohtani’s right elbow has kept him off a major league mound since June 6, though he’ll take another step toward a return when he throws a 45- to 50-pitch simulated game on Monday, Guardado reports. Ohtani’s injury has prevented him from making a significant impact as a pitcher this year, but the rookie has still held his own at the plate, having slashed .274/.354/.540 with 14 home runs in 255 PAs.
Angels Rumors
Shoemaker Eyeing Return To Angels In September
Angels righty Matt Shoemaker underwent forearm surgery earlier this summer — an operation that repaired the pronator teres tendon and also decompressed a nerve in his right arm. While that sounded ominous and called the remainder of his season into question, Shoemaker has thrown a pair of simulated games recently and tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that he’s aiming to return to the Angels in September. Shoemaker has been battling injuries for much of his career and has only pitched once in the Majors since last June. As he explains it, the tendon damage in his arm was not initially revealed on an MRI and was not detected during a 2017 operation because that surgery was performed a few inches away from the tendon damage. It took exploratory surgery for doctors to discover a “split tendon,” which Shoemaker believes to have been the root of his troubles.
Angels Place Justin Upton On Disabled LIst
The Angels announced Tuesday that they’ve placed outfielder Justin Upton on the 10-day disabled list due to a laceration on his index finger. Jack Magruder of MLB.com writes that Upton required stitches after he sustained a severe cut at his home on a wine glass that had broken. Upton expressed frustration and regret over incurring an off-field injury in this manner, though it sounds as if he’ll only require a short-term absence from the team. The Angels aren’t contending for the postseason anyhow, but Upton would surely like to be on the field competing and pursuing a third consecutive 30-homer season. The slugger is in the first season of a five-year, $106MM extension with the Angels and has batted .267/.352/.474 with 26 big flies on the year.
Angels Outright Akeel Morris
- The Angels announced that righty Akeel Morris has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. The 25-year-old Morris, whom the Angels designated for assignment on Wednesday, has struggled at both the Triple-A and major league levels in 2018. He owns an ERA near 6.00 in a combined 53 2/3 innings between Salt Lake and Anaheim, with the majority of his work (39 2/3 frames) coming with the former.
Angels Designate Akeel Morris For Assignment
The Angels announced that they’ve reinstated catcher Rene Rivera from the 60-day DL and opened a 40-man roster spot by designating right-hander Akeel Morris for assignment. The Halos optioned catcher Jose Briceno to Triple-A to open room on the 25-man roster.
It’s been a tough season for the 25-year-old Morris both in the Majors and in Triple-A. The former Mets and Braves prospect has been tagged for nine runs on 18 hits and eight walks with seven strikeouts in 14 big league innings this season. His 5.79 ERA in the Majors is actually better than the 5.90 mark he’s posted with Triple-A Salt Lake this season, though Morris has punched out 40 hitters in 39 2/3 innings in Triple-A. He’s still been too prone to walks in the minors, however, which has been a persistent issue for him throughout his professional career.
The Halos will have a week to trade Morris or try to pass him through outright waivers, which would allow them to keep him in the organization without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to the righty. Morris will be out of minor league options in 2019, though, which might make other clubs with interest in the right-hander more reluctant to take a chance on him.
Angels Acquire Odrisamer Despaigne, Designate Dayan Diaz
The Angels have acquired righty Odrisamer Despaigne from the Marlins, Maria Guardado of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Cash considerations are headed to Miami in return.
To open a roster spot, the Halos designated fellow right-hander Dayan Diaz for assignment. With the move, the Marlins now have an open 40-man slot to work with.
Needless to say, this isn’t the sort of mid-summer trade acquisition the Angels envisioned making at the start of the season. Despaigne has mostly functioned as a gap-filling swingman since he reached the majors, so he isn’t the sort of pitcher who’d be targeted by a contender. Sitting 11.5 games out of postseason position, the Angels simply aren’t one. The move seems designed merely to relax the burden on the club’s injury-riddled pitching staff.
Despaigne has spent a bit of time working as a MLB long reliever this year, but has thrown more at Triple-A. Over 43 1/3 innings at the highest level of the minors, he hasn’t allowed a single home run but carries a 4.36 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. In his 331 major-league frames over the past five years, Despaigne has a 4.76 ERA, though estimators suggest he has been a bit better than that (4.30 FIP; 4.61 xFIP; 4.19 SIERA).
As for Diaz, who was claimed off waivers last fall from the Astros, he opened the year on the restricted list owing to visa troubles and really never got going. Though the 29-year-old reliever briefly reached the majors in 2016 and 2017, he has only made seven appearances at the High-A level this year.
Angels Select Taylor Ward
6:06pm: The Angels announced that outfielder Chris Young was transferred from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Ward. Young, who underwent hip surgery earlier this summer, was already known to be out for the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, infielder Jose Miguel Fernandez was optioned to Salt Lake to open a spot on the active roster.
5:31pm: The Angels announced that they’ve selected the contract of third baseman Taylor Ward from Triple-A Salt Lake. He’ll make his Major League debut tonight, playing third base and batting seventh. A corresponding move has yet to be announced.
Word of Blake’s call to the Majors first came yesterday from appropriately named Halos reporter Taylor Blake Ward (Twitter link). The 24-year-old Ward (the player, not the reporter) has torn through both Double-A and Triple-A pitching this season, raking at a ridiculous .349/.446/.531 between the two levels.
A first-round pick by the Angels back in 2015, Ward ranked eighth among Angels farmhands on the midseason update from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. A converted catcher, Ward is said to have a plus arm and excellent plate discipline, even if he’s lacking a bit in the power department. Ward has walked in 14.6 percent of his minor league plate appearances this season against a 21.1 percent strikeout clip. He’s also gone 18-for-21 in stolen base attempts — a somewhat remarkable development for a player who entered the season with all of six minor league steals (none since 2015).
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/14/18
There are quite a few minor moves to cover, with Baseball America’s Matt Eddy releasing several weeks’ worth of transactions. We’ll use this post to cover the most notable ones that haven’t yet featured on MLBTR:
- The Angels released outfielder Ben Revere, who could perhaps be an interesting player to target for contending clubs that like the idea of adding a good defender and baserunning threat to their system. Revere, 30, hasn’t seen the majors this year after seven-straight seasons of action at the game’s highest level. He’s slashing .277/.319/.406 with a pair of steals through 166 plate appearances at Triple-A.
- Ending a relationship that never seemed to work out, the Dodgers have cut loose infielder Erisbel Arruebarrena. Now 28, the former international signee hadn’t played much in the club’s system since he was suspended in May of 2016.
- The Phillies have released a pair of former big leaguers: infielder Danny Espinosa and outfielder Adron Chambers. Espinosa’s always fickle bat has not yet recovered from a 2017 nosedive. In 240 Triple-A plate appearances with three organizations this year, he owns a .295/.239/.312 slash. Chambers, meanwhile, hasn’t seen the majors since 2013 and last played affiliated ball in 2015, but came back from an indy stint to produce a .278/.328/.437 batting line in 138 Triple-A plate appearances.
- A host of players received their walking papers from the Diamondbacks. Righty Brian Ellington is among them; the flamethrower struggled badly with his command in limited minor-league action. Southpaw Anthony Vasquez was also released after after 85 2/3 innings of 5.04 ERA ball in the upper minors. The club also dropped several outfielders. Cesar Puello (.317/.426/.454) and Dan Robertson (.263/.361/.407) are both former big leaguers who were getting on base at Reno, but will now seek other opportunities.
- The Giants released two notable players in righty Chris Heston and backstop Ryan Hanigan. Heston, 30, only made nine appearances in the minors this year owing to injury. Hanigan, who’s closing in on his 38th birthday, is still looking to crack the majors for the 12th-straight season but did not help his cause with a .175/.254/.193 batting line in 63 plate appearances at Triple-A.
- The Cubs parted with Ryan Webb after he made just 11 appearances at the Rookie ball level. It is not immediately clear why the 32-year-old did not get a shot in the upper minors, or what’s next for him In eight seasons of MLB pitching, from 2009 through 2016, Webb owns a 3.43 ERA through 393 1/3 innings.
- A variety of other former major-league relief pitchers were also on the move. Among them: The White Sox signed once-promising Braves reliever Mauricio Cabrera. Righty Dallas Beeler was released by the Royals. A trio of former MLB lefties are back in free agency after being cut free: Elvis Araujo (Orioles); Paco Rodriguez (Twins); and Dario Alvarez (Mariners).
- Meanwhile, the Mariners parted with outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis and the Nationals did the same with Alejandro De Aza. One-time Rule 5 pick Taylor Featherston landed with the Reds.
Angels Select Contract Of Osmer Morales
The Angels have selected the contract of right-hander Osmer Morales, per a club announcement. Fellow righty Eduardo Paredes was optioned to create active roster space.
Morales, 25, receives his first shot at the majors despite the fact that he’s carrying only a 6.22 ERA in 92 2/3 Triple-A frames on the season. He has long carried appealing K/BB rates in the minors, but is generating just 8.1 K/9 against 5.1 BB/9 thus far this year.
As the Halos get a look at Morales, they’ll send the 23-year-old Paredes back to Triple-A. He has generally performed well in the minors, but carries only a 5.53 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 40 2/3 MLB innings over the past two seasons.
Angels Place Tyler Skaggs On 10-Day DL
- The Angels announced that left-hander Tyler Skaggs has been placed on the 10-day DL due to a left adductor strain, with righty Eduardo Paredes called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move. Skaggs was only just activated yesterday from a DL stint with the same injury, and he also missed time in July due to a problem with his right adductor. No stranger to injuries throughout his career, Skaggs has already tossed a career-high 116 2/3 innings this season, posting a 3.78 ERA, 3.51 K/BB rate, and 9.5 K/9.
