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Angels Place Kevin Pillar, Jo Adell On Injured List

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The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve place outfielders Kevin Pillar and Jo Adell on the 10-day Injured List. Pillar is out due to a left thumb sprain, while Adell is being shelved due to a left oblique strain. Outfielder Jordyn Adams was recalled to the big league roster and outfielder Bryce Teodosio had his contract selected to replace the pair on the big league roster. To make room for Teodosio on the 40-man roster, the Angels transferred right-hander Jose Soriano to the 60-day IL.

It’s not yet clear how long either Pillar or Adell is expected to be out, but absences of any significance are likely to spell the end of the season for the hitters with just three weeks left in the 2024 campaign and the Angels set to miss the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season. If Pillar doesn’t return this season, it’s possible that means he’s already played his final MLB game given that he acknowledged back in July that he’s likely to retire following this season.

The 35-year-old veteran has enjoyed his best offensive season in a 162-game campaign since 2015 by measure of wRC+ as he’s hit a decent .242/.298/.392 in 93 games between the White Sox and Angels this year, including a fantastic 145 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. In addition to Pillar’s excellent numbers against southpaws, he’s played solid defense at all three outfield spots and chipped in ten steals in 13 attempts on the basepaths. Should Pillar not return to the field this season and decide to retire, he’ll finish his 12-year career with a .256/.294/.408 slash line with 1042 hits, 113 homers, and 106 steals.

As for Adell, the 25-year-old was a big league regular for the first time since he made his debut back in 2020 this year, acting as the Halos’ everyday right fielder. Unfortunately, the tenth overall pick of the 2017 draft and former top prospect left much to be desired with his performance in that first taste of regular playing time. The youngster got off to a hot start early in the season with a .234/.301/.516 slash line in his first 43 games year, but in 87 games since then he’s hit a paltry .195/.270/.350 with as many home runs (10) in his final 307 trips to the plate as he had in his first 144 plate appearances this year. While his overall wRC+ of 89 is an improvement over his career 70 wRC+ entering the year, it’s still both a major disappointment for a player who was once a consensus top-5 prospect in the game and a far cry from the production expected from an everyday corner outfielder.

Replacing Adell and Pillar on Anaheim’s big league roster are Adams and Teodosio. The Angels’ first-round pick in the 2018 draft, Adams made his big league debut last year with a 17-game cup of coffee where he hit just .128/.125/.128 with a 40% strikeout rate in 40 trips to the plate. Following that lackluster debut, Adams has struggled at the Triple-A level this year with a .261/.333/.386 line in 549 trips to the plate, good for a wRC+ of just 81 in the Pacific Coast League this year. Despite that lackluster production in the minors this year, the 24-year-old will now get another taste of big league action down the stretch in hopes of establishing himself as a potential big league option for the Halos in 2025.

As for Teodosio, the 25-year-old Clemson product signed with the club as a undrafted free agent back in 2021 and worked his way up the minor league ladder to reach the Triple-A level this year. In 114 games at the level this season, Teodosio has slashed .276/.339/.418 with an 89 wRC+ with similar overall numbers to those of Adams, though he’s managed to separate himself a bit with an excellent 40-for-44 record on the basepaths. With Teodosio now poised to make his big league debut when he first makes it into a game, he’ll join Adams in the club’s outfield down the stretch alongside Taylor Ward and Mickey Moniak in hopes of making enough of an impression to be looked at as an option in the outfield headed into next year.

Making room for Teodosio on the 40-man roster is Soriano, whose season is now over after being transferred to the 60-day IL. As noted by Sam Blum of The Athletic, Angels brass indicated that Soriano has not suffered a setback and is dealing with the same arm fatigue issue that initially sent him to the IL in mid-August. The 25-year-old hurler moved to the rotation in 2024 after pitching in relief during his rookie season last year. With a 3.42 ERA and 3.82 FIP in 113 innings of work, Soriano generally impressed with his work out of the rotation this year and appears likely to head into Spring Training next year with the inside track toward a 2025 rotation job.

Angels Reinstate Jo Adell, Place Kyren Paris On 60-Day IL

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The Angels have reinstated outfielder Jo Adell from the 60-day injured list, the team announced. Utility player Kyren Paris has been placed on the 60-day IL himself, freeing up space on both the active and 40-man rosters. In other news, the Angels have optioned Jordyn Adams and recalled Michael Stefanic from Triple-A.

Adell had been on the IL with an oblique strain since the All-Star break. After a particularly disappointing 2022 season, the former top prospect spent the first half of the 2023 campaign at Triple-A, where he posted a .956 OPS and a 121 wRC+. He earned the call back to the big leagues in early July following Mike Trout’s hamate fracture, but he only managed to play four games before landing on the IL himself. With 12 games left on the schedule, he will have a brief opportunity to impress the Angels brass before the offseason.

Paris felt soreness in his left thumb ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Tigers, and it has since been diagnosed as a torn ligament. With so little time remaining in the season, his placement on the 60-day IL is hardly more than a formality; the Angels will have to add him back to the 40-man roster during the offseason.

However, the season-ending injury comes as particularly disappointing news for Paris, who was enjoying his first taste of big league action at just 21 years old. Selected out of high school in the second round of the 2019 draft, he has quickly risen through the ranks in the Angels system. After a strong 2023 campaign at Double-A with the Rocket City Trash Pandas, he bypassed Triple-A and earned a major league call-up when rosters expanded on September 1. While the youngster struggled to adjust to big league pitching (he slashed .100/.200/.100 in 15 games), he showed off his versatility across the diamond, taking reps at shortstop, second base, and center field. Paris currently ranks as the no. 5 prospect in the organization, per MLB Pipeline. He will retain his prospect status next season. 

Adams, the Angels no. 15 prospect according MLB Pipeline, has appeared in 17 games at the MLB level, slashing .128/.125/.128 in 40 trips to the plate. He will be replaced on the active roster by Stefanic, who has been on fire this season at Triple-A, posting a .930 OPS and a 139 wRC+. With Adell returning and Paris headed to the IL, it’s no surprise the Angels have swapped out Adams, an outfielder, for Stefanic, an infielder.

Angels Select David Fletcher, Jared Walsh

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The Angels announced a series of roster moves today, selecting infielders David Fletcher and Jared Walsh. To open active roster spots for those two, the club optioned outfielder Jordyn Adams and infielder Kyren Paris. To open spots on the 40-man roster, they transferred infielder/outfielder Luis Rengifo to the 60-day injured list and designated right-hander Gerardo Reyes for assignment.

Both Walsh and Fletcher looked like potential building blocks for the club not too long ago, but both of fallen off considerably in recent years. Walsh hit 38 home runs in 176 games over 2020 and 2021, slashing .280/.338/.531 for a wRC+ of 130. Unfortunately, significant health issues have prevented a significant obstacle to him since then. He underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last year and has been dealing with headaches and insomnia this year, hitting just .202/.265/.353 over the past two seasons. He was outrighted in August and has a batting line of .217/.360/.375 in Triple-A this year.

Despite those struggles, he’ll get a chance to play out the string over the final weeks of the season with the Halos out of contention. He’s making a salary of $2.65MM this year and would be eligible for arbitration again this winter, though the Angels may not tender him a contract unless they have reason to expect he can get back to the form he showed in 2020-2021.

Fletcher hit .319/.376/.425 in the shortened 2020 season, wRC+ of 121, which was enough for the Angels to give him a contract extension going into the following year. In April of 2021, he and the club agreed to a five-year deal with a $26MM guarantee, though his production fell off immediately. He’s hit just .258/.292/.325 since the start of 2021 for a wRC+ of 69.

Twice this year, the club has passed Fletcher through waivers and outrighted him to Triple-A Salt Lake. Since he has over three years of major league service time, he could have rejected either of those assignments and elected free agency. However, since he’s still shy of five years of service, doing so would mean forfeiting what’s left of his contract, which runs through 2025. Naturally, he decided to accept in both instances.

He will still be shy of that five-year mark at season’s end, meaning the Halos could outright him again this winter and keep him around as depth without him taking up a roster spot. In the minors this year, he has a batting line of .330/.382/.428 that looks good at first glance but is par in the Pacific Coast League, translating to a wRC+ of 100. He’s generally considered a strong defender, so he could be valuable even with average offense at the big league level, though he’s been well beneath that in recent years.

Reyes signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and had his contract selected in June. He has an earned run average of 7.45 in his eight major league appearances and 6.25 in his 33 Triple-A appearances. He’ll be out of options next year, giving him less roster flexibility going forward.

As for Rengifo, it was reported last week that he won’t be able to return this year due to a bicep tendon rupture, making today’s transfer an inevitable formality.

It’s possible there are luxury tax implications to these moves, as it was reported earlier this month that the club remained narrowly above the lowest threshold of the competitive balance tax. Since then, they have tried to further cut their CBT number by putting catcher Max Stassi on the restricted list and putting outfielder Randal Grichuk on waivers a second time. Fletcher and Walsh each already had their salaries for this year locked in, so bringing them back up doesn’t add any payroll. But Adams and Paris will no longer be receiving major league pay after being optioned, which will trim a small amount of spending from the club’s ledger.

Getting under the CBT line could have implications for the club since the compensatory draft pick they would receive in the event Shohei Ohtani signs elsewhere after rejecting a qualifying offer would be significantly better. There are also compounding penalties for paying the tax in consecutive years, meaning that ducking under now would lessen their penalties if they were to go over again next year.

Whether the club pays the tax or not won’t be officially known until later in the year. Roster Resource estimates the Angels’ tax number at $229MM whereas Cot’s Baseball Contracts pegs it at $237MM. The lowest threshold of the CBT is $233MM this year.

Angels Activate Mike Trout From Injured List

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The Angels are activating outfielder Mike Trout from the injured list, reports Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Trout tells Sam Blum of The Athletic that he’s still sore but felt time was running out as the end of the season draws closer. The Angels have now officially announced the move, with outfielder Jordyn Adams optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move.

Trout, 32, had his season interrupted in early July by a left hamate fracture that required surgery to correct. At that time, the estimated timeline for his absence was given as four to eight weeks. He now returns in the midst of that window but, as mentioned, he’s not yet at 100% health.

Despite losing Trout, the Angels ended up treading water in July, going 12-11 and staying in the playoff race. That was enough to convince the club to not only take Shohei Ohtani off the trade market but also make aggressive upgrades, acquiring players like Lucas Giolito, C.J. Cron, Randal Grichuk and others, as well as promoting Nolan Schanuel just a few weeks after drafting him. Unfortunately, August has been a nightmare for the club, as they have gone 5-13 and are now nine games out of a playoff spot.

As Trout himself acknowledged, time is running short for the Angels to take advantage of the Trout-Ohtani combo, with the latter set to reach free agency in a couple of months. The playoff odds at FanGraphs give them just a 0.5% chance of making the postseason and that narrowing window seems to have spurred Trout to return quicker than he might have otherwise done. Despite having two of the best players in the world on the same team, the Angels haven’t finished above .500 since 2015 and haven’t made it to the playoffs since 2014.

The club will be hoping that the return of Trout to the lineup can spur a miraculous late-season charge in the final few weeks. Prior to the surgery, he was hitting .263/.369/.493 for a wRC+ of 136. That indicates he was 36% above the league average hitter but that’s actually a significant drop-off relative to his own standards. He hasn’t had a wRC+ lower than 160 since his 40-game debut as a teenager in 2011. Though even if he can get back to that lesser level of production, he will provide a massive boost to the club for the stretch run.

Minor 40-Man Moves: Adams, Ortega, Capra

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With the trade deadline behind us, a few smaller 40-man transactions from throughout the day that weren’t previously covered:

  • The Angels selected outfielder Jordyn Adams onto the big league roster while transferring Jo Adell and Sam Bachman to the 60-day injured list. The 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Adams is set for his major league debut. The 23-year-old outfielder is hitting .264/.351/.466 through 389 plate appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake. Strikeout issues have knocked down his former top prospect stock, but he’s capable of playing center field and has stolen 37 bases in 42 attempts this year.
  • The Pirates selected infielder Vinny Capra. Pittsburgh acquired the 27-year-old for catcher Tyler Heineman in a minor swap with the Blue Jays at the end of April. His big league experience consists of eight games with Toronto last season. The right-handed hitter owns a massive .350/.457/.485 showing with more walks than strikeouts over 34 games at Triple-A Indianapolis for the Bucs.
  • The Mets selected Rafael Ortega. Signed to a minor league deal in mid-June, the lefty-hitting outfielder returns to the big leagues for a seventh season. Ortega hit .265/.344/.408 for the Cubs between 2021-22. He owns a .228/.352/.388 line between two Triple-A affiliates this season. The 32-year-old will be eligible for arbitration after the season if he finished the year on the MLB roster.

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