Shohei Ohtani was originally scheduled to start today’s game against the Yankees, but the two-way star won’t be pitching due to some soreness in his right hand/wrist area. Ohtani was hit by a Ryan Weathers pitch on Saturday and didn’t sustain any structural damage, though the Angels are being cautious with the right-hander. “He’s fine, he’s just sore,” Angels manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters. “Pitching is problematic, so we’ll just have him hit until he’s ready to pitch.”
Angels Rumors
Maddon: Shutting Down Mike Trout “A Possibility”
Mike Trout continues to feel soreness in his right calf, and after almost three and half months on the injured list, it remains to be seen when or if the Angels superstar might return to action in 2021. Angels manager Joe Maddon told The Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris and other reporters that “it’s a possibility” that Trout might be shut down for the remainder of the season.
“We’re probably getting closer to having to say something like that,” Maddon said. “But he still wants to continue to fight, and we’re going to honor his wishes. However Mike sees this, we’re going to go with it that way.”
As one might expect, neither Trout or the Angels want to move forward with a minor league rehab assignment while the outfielder continues to deal with lingering discomfort in his calf. Trout hasn’t been able to get to that next step of being entirely pain-free, as his calf soreness has persisted after Trout has taken part in baseball activities for several weeks now.
The Angels are all but officially out of the playoff hunt, with a 65-67 record and 9.5 games back of a wild card berth. It isn’t as if Trout is trying to rush back for a pennant race, though Maddon implied that Trout simply wanted to clear the hurdle of his return now rather than wait until Opening Day 2022 to appear in his next big league game. “The biggest thing about it right now is his mental well-being, how he feels about now and going into the offseason. That’s the most important thing, and then how it plays into next year,” Maddon said.
As much as Trout might want to return, however, Maddon noted “there’s got to be that moment where we have to start being realistic about it, where we may just have to say, ’That’s it.’ ” Considering all the time Trout has missed, it would certainly seem like he’d need at least a week of minor league rehab games to ramp up, and the Angels might require a few days of soreness-free workouts prior to such a rehab assignment just to ensure that Trout has fully put his calf injury behind him.
That would leave late September as the most optimistic timeline for when Trout might be able to return, giving Trout perhaps a week or two of games to put a coda on what was shaping up as another huge season. Trout was hitting .333/.466/.624 over his first 146 plate appearances, with a 192 wRC+ that stood as the highest of his incredible career. If Trout indeed doesn’t play again this year, 2021 will go down as the shortest season of his career, with only 36 games played.
Giants Claim Jose Quintana
The Giants have claimed veteran left-hander Jose Quintana off waivers from the Angels, per a team announcement from the Halos. The Giants themselves yet to announce the claim or a corresponding move, although they have an open 40-man roster spot after designating Tyler Chatwood for assignment this weekend.
Quintana, 32, signed a one-year, $8MM contract with the Angels over the winter in hopes of bouncing back from 2020’s injury-ruined season. However, the left-hander labored through just 10 starts before being ousted from the rotation and dropped to the bullpen. Fourteen of his past 15 games have come in relief, and the one spot start he made since that initial demotion went quite poorly. He’s still owed about $1.5MM between now and season’s end, and by claiming him on waivers, the Giants are assuming the remainder of that commitment.
In a total of 53 1/3 innings this season, Quintana has pitched to a 6.75 ERA with a career-worst 11.4 percent walk rate, but his secondary numbers paint a brighter picture. He’s sporting a 3.90 SIERA and career-best marks in strikeout percentage (28.7), swinging-strike rate (11.9 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (32.6 percent). His 45.6 percent ground-ball mark, meanwhile, is his best since back in 2015 with the White Sox.
Quintana has been rocked in the majority of his starts this season, but he holds a 3.93 ERA, a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 3.9 percent walk rate in 18 1/3 frames as a reliever. It’s obviously a very small sample, but the vastly improved control he’s shown when working in relief perhaps encouraged the Giants to take a flier on a veteran arm who was at one point one of the most consistently solid starters in Major League Baseball.
From 2013-18, Quintana pitched at least 174 innings and made at least 32 starts per season. His ERA along the way was a rock-solid 3.58 — a number that was largely supported by metrics such as FIP (3.56) and SIERA (3.85). Quintana was a consummate source of reliable, above-average innings throughout that span and an often-overlooked name in All-Star and awards voting. Despite his consistency, he made just one All-Star appearance and only garnered Cy Young votes on one occasion: a 10th-place finish in 2016.
A return to his peak form probably shouldn’t be expected, but Quintana will give the Giants another lefty who is stretched out enough to at least throw a couple of innings per relief stint. And if he can maintain the output that he’s posted as a reliever to this point in the season — or perhaps improve upon it — he’ll be a fine addition to the team’s relief corps down the stretch. By claiming Quintana prior to Sept. 1, the Giants have ensured that he’ll be eligible for their postseason roster. He’s not a lock to be included, of course, but we’ve seen the Giants help turn around the careers of many pitchers to date and Quintana could surface as yet another data point on that growing list.
West Injury Notes: Paddack, Gray, Ibanez, Ohtani, Astros
Padres starter Chris Paddack appears to be ready to come off the IL to start Monday’s game in Arizona, according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Acee says that Padres manager Jayce Tingler didn’t confirm the plan, but then later listed Paddack as Monday’s starter on Twitter.
For Paddack, his third big league season has been a disappointing one, logging an ERA of 5.13 over 93 innings. That’s a spike from last year’s 4.73 and his 3.33 mark from 2019. His strikeout rate has also gone in the wrong direction. After a solid 26.9% rate in his debut season, it dropped to 23.7% last year and sits at 22.5% so far this year. However, his walk rate has stuck around 5% in every season, which is excellent. (MLB average is 8.7% this year.)
Despite those struggles, the team has certainly missed Paddack. Since the righty went on the shelf July 31st with an oblique issue, the team has been on a disastrous slide. They’ve gone 9-15 so far in the month of August, surrendering the final National League playoff spot to Cincinnati. During that time, the rotation was missing not only Paddack, but also Yu Darvish. They tried to patch over those absences with the addition of Jake Arrieta, only to see him land on the IL himself after just one start of 3 1/3 innings. With Darvish having already returned and Paddack on the way, that could allow the team to steady the ship and finish strong, as they try to retake the Reds over the season’s final weeks.
Other notes from the west…
- Rockies starter Jon Gray left last night’s start after 48 pitches. Manager Bud Black told reporters, including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, that the move was precautionary and related to some forearm tightness. Nick Groke of The Athletic gets a bit more granular, explaining that the injured area appears to be away from the ulnar collateral ligament, hopefully negating the worst fears of Rockies fans. Though the extent of the injury remains to be seen, it makes sense for the club to be cautious, as they are 11 games out of a playoff spot. Gray is a free agent at year’s end, but the Rockies are reportedly hoping to sign him to an extension. They will also have to decide on whether or not to issue him a qualifying offer at the end of the season. Gray would surely warrant the offer if he’s healthy. Over 806 2/3 career innings, Gray has an ERA of 4.52 while pitching primarily in the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the league, producing 15.7 fWAR.
- Rangers infielder Andy Ibanez left last night’s game with left hamstring tightness, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. She quotes Rangers manager Chris Woodward as being “not optimistic” about the injury. Regardless of the eventual severity of the injury, the club has every reason to be cautious, as they have one of the worst records in the league and no shot at contending. If this is the end of the season for Ibanez, it will go down as a solid rookie campaign for the 28-year-old. He’s hit .260/.304/.415, wRC+ of 96, while splitting time between first, second and third base, as well as one game in left field.
- Shohei Ohtani was hit on the hand by a pitch in last night’s game, while serving as the designated hitter. However, he stuck around for the remainder of the contest and x-rays on the hand came back negative. Angels manager Jeff Madden told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that Ohtani should be fine to make his scheduled start on Tuesday. That is good news for the club and baseball fans in general, as Ohtani is having the most unique and fascinating season that baseball has seen in quite some time, if not ever. He’s currently the MLB home run leader with 41, and has an overall slash line of .264/.363/.623, producing a wRC+ of 160 which is currently bested by only two other qualified hitters. (Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper) All of that is combined with Ohtani’s 105 innings in the Angels’ starting rotation with an ERA of 3.00.
- The Astros could be getting a couple of players back this week. Jose Urquidy is pitching in a rehab game tonight, which could be his last before returning, according to Jake Kaplan of The Athletic. Urquidy has only been able to make 14 starts this season because of injuries but has been excellent when healthy, putting up an ERA of 3.38. It’s unclear who would be bumped from the rotation in his absence, but some have speculated that Luis Garcia could be an option. Garcia has already set a career high in innings pitched this year and has seen his results slip a bit recently. Since July 26th, he has an ERA of 4.22. The club has already moved another young starter, Cristian Javier, to the bullpen as a way to manage his workload. The Astros could also be welcoming Chas McCormick back later this week. General manager James Click told various reporters, including Mark Berman of Fox 26, that the outfielder could be back as soon as Friday. The club hasn’t suffered much in McCormick’s absence, given that Jake Meyers has been manning center field and has been on a tear. Since having his contract selected last month, in the first 20 games of his career, Meyers is slashing .323/.348/.523.
Angels Outright Aaron Slegers, Select Kyle Tyler
Aug. 29: Slegers has elected free agency, per a team announcement. He was eligible to do so because he had been previously outrighted in his career.
Aug. 28: The Angels announced that right-hander Aaron Slegers has been outrighted to Triple-A, and that righty Kyle Tyler’s contract has been selected from Triple-A. Roster space was created last night, when right-hander Cooper Criswell was optioned back to Triple-A following his big league debut.
Tyler is now in line for his first MLB game, after three seasons in the Angels’ farm system since being a 20th-round pick in the 2018 draft. The 2021 season saw the righty pitch beyond the high-A level for the first time, as he delivered a 3.38 ERA over 72 innings of Double-A ball and then a 5.14 ERA over 14 innings at Triple-A. That latter statistic is perhaps a bit misleading, as Tyler was crushed for seven runs over two innings in his very first Triple-A outing, but he has allowed just one run in 12 subsequent frames of work.
Baseball America ranked Tyler 28th on their midseason list of the Angels’ top prospects, praising the “tremendous natural cut and ride” on his fastball. This is his only plus offering, however, so Tyler’s chances at becoming a starter at the MLB level could hinge on the development of his secondary pitches. Tyler has started 14 of his 20 games in the minors this year, so the Halos could give him a look as a regular starter, a reliever, or perhaps a combination of both roles (i.e. swingman or bulk pitcher). Since Patrick Sandoval will miss the rest of the season, Anaheim will have some room in the rotation to audition Tyler and other younger arms in the organization.
The Angels acquired Slegers in a trade with the Rays last February, and the righty’s first season in L.A. has been a tough one. Slegers has a 6.97 ERA over 31 relief innings, with only a 16.8% strikeout rate. While he has a career-best 57.9% grounder rate, Slegers has also been hurt badly by the long ball, with six home runs allowed for a 23.1% home rate. The 31 innings represents a new career high for Slegers, who tossed 58 total innings while appearing in each of the last four seasons (2017-18 with the Twins and 2019-20 with the Rays).
Angels Select Cooper Criswell, Recall Packy Naughton
The Angels made a number of roster moves before Friday night’s ballgame, including the selection of Cooper Criswell, who started the game for his Major League debut. Kean Wong was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the roster, per the team.
In addition, Packy Naughton was recalled from Triple-A, and James Hoyt was optioned to Triple-A. Naughton made his Major League debut earlier this season, tossing one inning against the Dodgers back on May 8th. He allowed one run on a hit and a walk. Naughton’s long-term future may still be in the rotation, even if the Angels use him out of the bullpen again.
The well-traveled Hoyt has made it into nine games the Halos, serving up 11 hits, seven walks, and 11 runs (10 earned) over just eight innings. Wong, 26, slashed .171/.190/.268 in 45 plate appearances.
Patrick Sandoval Out For The Season
Angels southpaw Patrick Sandoval is out for the year with a stress fracture in his back, per Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). Sandoval was placed the injured list on August 15th, but the severity of the injury was not clear at that time.
For Sandoval, this is an unfortunate setback right at a time when he appeared to be establishing himself in manager Joe Maddon’s rotation. For the Angels, then, this is particularly disheartening considering how much they’ve struggled to find and develop arms.
Still, the 25-year-old can count 2021 as a success. He has a 3.62 ERA/4.03 FIP in 87 innings with a 25.9 percent strikeout rate, 9.9 percent walk rate, and solid 50.7 percent groundball rate. Sandoval’s walk rate remains a little high, but paired with an above-average strikeout rate, he’s been able to limit hard contact and post the best home run rate of his young career.
In the long run, the Angels will slot Sandoval into a rotation slot for 2022. Their success next year may very well depend on who else joins Sandoval and Shohei Ohtani in that rotation. Griffin Canning — also out for the season — will join them, and they’re sure to look for outside additions. Promising young arms like Reid Detmers, Chris Rodriguez, and Packy Naughton will also get a look.
For now, however, the Angels will continue to make due. Alex Cobb is working to return soon from injury after a better-than-usual start to the season. Cooper Criswell gets the start tonight, making his Major League debut.
Angels Select Jake Petricka, Elvis Peguero
The Angels announced they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Jake Petricka and Elvis Peguero. Infielder Kean Wong has also been recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. In corresponding moves, right-hander Dylan Bundy is headed to the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain, while hurlers Reid Detmers and Austin Warren have been placed on the COVID-19 IL.
Petricka’s back in the majors for the first time since 2019. A productive set-up man early in his career with the White Sox, Petricka bounced around the league in journeyman fashion after falling on harder times starting in 2016. He pitched for the Blue Jays in 2018 and had a brief stint with the Brewers the following season. Petricka re-signed with the Jays last season and spent the year at their alternate training site, but he never got a big league call. After beginning the 2021 campaign in the independent Atlantic League, Petricka hooked on with the Angels in early June.
Assigned to Salt Lake after signing, Petricka performed well in a hitter-friendly setting to earn his way back to the majors. He’s worked 31 2/3 innings across 19 games as a multi-inning relief option, posting a 3.69 ERA. Petricka’s 23.4% strikeout rate in the minors is around average, but he’s induced ground-balls at a huge 53.8% clip and thrown plenty of strikes (7.3% walk percentage).
While Petricka’s soon to appear in his eighth big league season, this is Peguero’s first call. The 24-year-old was one of two players Los Angeles picked up from the Yankees for left-hander Andrew Heaney at the trade deadline. Peguero, who has worked exclusively in relief this season, has rather remarkably traversed four levels. He began the year with New York’s High-A affiliate, where he tossed 32 1/3 innings of 2.51 ERA ball to earn a promotion to Double-A. Peguero logged 17 2/3 frames at that level, then made a one-game cameo in Salt Lake before being bumped up to the big leagues. Between all three levels, he has a 2.79 ERA with a big 31.8% strikeout rate and a solid 8.5% walk rate.
Petricka and Peguero are coming up as COVID replacements. Under MLB’s 2021 health and safety protocols, they can be removed from the 40-man roster and returned to the minors without exposure to waivers whenever players come off the COVID IL. There’s no indication whether Detmers and/or Warren have tested positive at this point.
Bundy’s IL placement is the continuation of a disastrous season for the 28-year-old. He entered the season with high expectations after posting a 3.29 ERA in last year’s truncated campaign. His strikeout rate has dropped from a strong 27% to a below-average 21.2%, and his walk rate is up a couple percentage points. He’s also been killed by the home run ball, serving up 20 longballs in 90 2/3 innings en route to a 6.06 ERA.
The extent of Bundy’s underperformance briefly got him relegated to the bullpen, although he’d returned to the starting staff in late July. He was pulled from his start against the Orioles last night in the second inning with the injury that today landed him on the shelf. Bundy’s fastball was averaging just 87.6 MPH, per Brooks Baseball, his worst velocity of the season and the continuation of a worrying trend in that regard over the past few weeks. The Angels didn’t provide a timetable for Bundy’s return. With just over five weeks left in the season, though, it wouldn’t be a surprise if this ends his 2021 campaign.
The career-worst performance couldn’t have come at a worse time for Bundy, who will reach free agency for the first time this winter. Had he come anywhere close to replicating his 2020 production, he’d have been one of the most appealing arms on the market — especially given his youth. Instead, it seems as if he might have to settle for a one-year deal in hopes of rebuilding his value and targeting a return to form in advance of the 2022-23 offseason.
The Angels Need More Than Just New Pitchers To Improve Their Pitching Staff
With a 62-64 record, the Angels are facing the possibility of a sixth consecutive losing season, which would match the 1971-77 Angels for the longest stretch of sub-.500 seasons in franchise history. Naturally, not having Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon healthy for almost the entire year is the biggest reason for the Angels’ woes in 2021, though the club has once again failed to receive consistent results from its pitching staff. Entering Monday’s play, Anaheim pitchers have combined for a 4.70 ERA, tied for the seventh-highest mark of any team in baseball.
Both the rotation and bullpen are pretty equally culpable for these struggles, yet in looking at the list of names on the roster, there are actually quite a few hurlers enjoying solid-to-great seasons. Shohei Ohtani and Raisel Iglesias have been excellent, while the likes of Patrick Sandoval, Alex Cobb, Mike Mayers, Jose Suarez, and Steve Cishek have all delivered quality numbers. Several pitchers have certainly delivered subpar performances to balance out the better arms, and yet it isn’t as if the Angels are bereft of pitching talent — shouldn’t they be better than this?
The real problem goes beyond just the bottom-line number of that 4.70 ERA. While it’s hard to argue against Los Angeles adding a significant pitching upgrade or two this winter, the team’s issue isn’t just with pitching, but with run prevention. The Angels’ pitching may not be very good, yet there’s no argument that the defense has been anything but bad in 2021.
The Halos rank 29th of 30 teams in UZR/150 (-7.3), and 27th in both Defensive Runs Saved (-29) and Outs Above Average (-6). The result is that Angels pitchers have a collective .302 BABIP, the fifth-highest mark of any team in baseball. Going beyond the team ERA category, Angels pitchers actually crack the top half of the league in SIERA, with a 4.14 mark that ranks 15th of 30 teams. Anaheim has one of the bigger gaps of any team between their pitching staff’s wOBA (.320) and xwOBA (.309), and the pitching corps is also doing a solid job of limiting hard contact.
Since finding good defense is generally cheaper than finding good pitching on the open market, perhaps the easiest way for the Angels to keep runs off the board in 2022 is to tighten up the glovework. There are some challenges on this front considering that the Halos seemingly have much of their 2022 position player mix already in place, and Ohtani has the designated hitter spot on lockdown. Looking at the settled positions in the infield, it’s safe to assume that the Angels will line up with Max Stassi getting at least half of the playing time at catcher, Jared Walsh at first base, David Fletcher at second base, and Rendon back and hopefully healthy at third base.
Of this group, only Stassi has been a clear defensive standout in 2021, and he has quietly been one of the game’s better-fielding catchers for a few years now, both in terms of his work behind the plate and pitch-framing. Since Kurt Suzuki’s defensive numbers have never been particularly impressive, the Halos could let Suzuki walk in free agency and add more of a defense-first backup behind Stassi, whose offensive breakout has likely earned him the majority of the catching duties next year.
Walsh is nothing special as a first baseman, but he is a better fit at first base than as an outfielder, and Walsh’s bat has definitely earned a spot in the lineup. Depending on which defensive metric you prefer, Fletcher has either been quite good (+4 DRS), average (0 Outs Above Average) or subpar (-5.3 UZR/150) over his 910 2/3 innings at the keystone this season. Considering Rendon has been a strong defender for much of his career, it is quite possible that his below-average numbers this year were due to his injuries, and he’ll return to normal in 2022.
This leaves shortstop as the glaring hole, which is ironic since the acquisition of Jose Iglesias last offseason was supposed to be the move that shored up the defense. Instead, Iglesias’ usually strong glovework dropped off considerably, as he has -17 DRS and a -8.9 UZR/150 over 935 2/3 innings at shortstop. OAA rates Iglesias as exactly average, yet even that represents a decline, and certainly less what the Angels expected when they obtained Iglesias from the Orioles.
Since the 2021-22 free agent class is loaded with star shortstops, the obvious move for the Angels would be to make another big-ticket position player signing and bring one of those headline names (i.e. Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Chris Taylor, Javier Baez) to Anaheim. However, with Trout and Rendon locked up to long-term deals, Justin Upton owed $28MM in 2022, and future funds required for a potential Ohtani extension, the Angels might not have the budget to add yet another big contract to the lineup.
Of the major names, Baez is perhaps the most intriguing as a potential fit. Baez struggled at the plate in 2020 and has been roughly a league-average hitter this year, providing a less-than-stellar platform as he enters free agency. It isn’t out the question that Baez accepts a one-year pillow contract in order to rebuild his value in 2022, so he can then re-enter a free agent market that isn’t so heavy in prominent shortstops. Baez and Angels manager Joe Maddon know each other well from their days with the Cubs, so Baez could see Anaheim as a nice spot to rediscover his hitting stroke. It is worth noting that both OAA and UZR/150 indicate a defensive decline for Baez from 2020 to 2021, though at the right price on a one-year contract, Baez could be a risk the Angels are willing to take.
If not a bigger name, L.A. could attempt to acquire another lower-cost, glove-first option as they did with Iglesias last winter. (Even a reunion with Iglesias himself might not be out of the question, though likely as a part-time option at most.) Signing a player like Jonathan Villar could add to the Angels’ overall bench versatility, as the team could then mix and match Fletcher and Villar at either middle infield position.
While Anaheim fans may balk at the idea of passing on all these major shortstops, the Angels could still benefit from the 2021-22 shortstop class in a more indirect manner. For instance, if a team that already has a quality shortstop decides to make a big splash by adding a new signing, the Angels could step in as a trade partner to acquire the former incumbent.
Turning to the outfield, the Angels will have Trout, Upton, and highly-touted youngsters Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh all in line for regular time, with Taylor Ward providing some additional depth. From a pure glovework perspective, the ideal everyday alignment would have Marsh up the middle in center field, with Trout moving to a corner outfield slot and only getting occasional action in center field (or maybe a bigger role in his normal center field job if Marsh isn’t quite ready for prime time).
According to both DRS and UZR/150, Trout has been a below-average fielder in four of the last five seasons. A shift to a corner role could theoretically help preserve Trout’s legs in the wake of the calf injury that has cost him much of the 2021 season, and since Marsh already looks like he can handle center field, a position change might be the wisest move to both upgrade the Angels’ defense and help keep Trout on the field. The easiest timeshare would be to sit the left-handed hitting Marsh against opposing southpaws, giving the Angels an Upton/Trout/Adell outfield alignment whenever the Angels face a lefty starter.
After some very shaky outings as a rookie in 2020, Adell has at least looked passable in the small sample size of his outfield work this year. Upton has been roughly a replacement-level player for the last three seasons and it has been years since he has been even a decent left fielder. Since his big salary will be hard to move in a deal (and Upton has no-trade protection), he still has a role to play if either Adell or Marsh can’t get on track at the plate against big league pitching.
A defense-first backup would make a lot of sense for the Angels, so the team could look to bring back a familiar face in Juan Lagares. Los Angeles looked to Dexter Fowler as another veteran regular for the outfield before a torn ACL ended his season in early April, and if Fowler’s recovery is coming along, the Angels could also give him another look on an inexpensive contract.
(To address the inevitable Ohtani question, Maddon is on record as saying that Ohtani could easily handle regular outfield work if he devoted himself to the position. As much as we’ve learned to not count Ohtani out for anything, it doesn’t seem likely that the Angels would increase Ohtani’s workload and injury risk by making him anything more than a late-game fill-in outfielder.)
How do you improve a defense with mostly the same players? Installing a new shortstop, a new part-time/backup catcher, getting Rendon and Trout back, and then changing the alignment of the outfield might be all it takes to turn the Angels’ defense from lousy into at least average. With even decent team defense, there is a very strong chance that the Halos would likely not only have a winning record, but possibly still a chance at a playoff spot.
Between a lack of consistent pitching and the injury concerns that seem to befall the Halos rotation almost every season, the club should be taking a much broader approach to the problem of how to keep opposing lineups in check. In fairness to GM Perry Minasian, it seems like he tried to do just this by landing Iglesias, but more is needed in the wake of what is looking like another non-playoff year. The Angels haven’t signed a free agent starter to a multi-year contract in almost nine years (since Joe Blanton in December 2012), so if the team plans to continue shopping for only second- or third-tier starters, Anaheim will need a much better defensive effort to compensate.
Angels Place Jose Marte On Injured List, Recall James Hoyt
The Angels have placed righty Jose Marte on the injured list, per a team announcement. Fellow righty James Hoyt has been recalled to take his spot on the roster.
Acquired just a few weeks ago in the Tony Watson trade, the Angels added Marte to their roster on Friday. The 25-year-old made his major-league debut that very night, which could hardly have gone much better. In two innings out of the bullpen, Marte allowed just one hit, a single, and struck out four. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to immediately build off the momentum of that sizzling debut, heading to the IL for unspecified reasons.
As for Hoyt, this is yet another move in the unfortunate life of the optionable reliever. He’s already been recalled and optioned five times previously this season. Acquired from the Marlins for cash considerations at the end of spring training, Hoyt has a monstrous ERA of 10.41 through 27 2/3 Triple-A innings this year. His ERA in the majors this season is almost half as high, coming in at 5.40, though that is over a small sample size of just 6 2/3 innings.
