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Angels Notes: Anderson, Mederos, Campero, Stephenson

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Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson has had a shaky season, and the 35-year-old southpaw tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that he’s been playing through a back injury throughout the year. Anderson’s most recent start was pushed from Tuesday back to Saturday in order to afford him some extra rest. Anderson described the discomfort as “on and off” but generally something he’s been able to pitch through. However, he acknowledged that it “flared up probably the worst it had been” this season after his most recent outing.

Anderson was tagged for four runs in four innings against the Rays in said start. That marked his sixth time in the veteran southpaw’s past ten trips to the mound that he yielded at least four runs. His ERA over that span is an unsightly 5.50 and has ballooned his season-long mark from 3.99 to its current 4.63.

This is the final season of Anderson’s three-year, $40MM deal with the Halos. At the time, it was the first multi-year deal for a free agent starting pitcher that owner Arte Moreno had authorized in a decade (though the Angels have since signed Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year deal as well). It’s not a promising note on which to end his season, though Anderson will hope that the extra rest can help him get back on track for a strong finish.

Anderson is far from the only struggling member of the Angels’ rotation. Righty Jack Kochanowicz has been optioned twice within the past month, understandably so after turning in a grisly 6.19 ERA with a 14.5% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate in 107 2/3 innings spread across 22 starts.

The struggles from the 24-year-old Kochanowicz have prompted a rotation change with some permanence. Another 24-year-old righty, Victor Mederos, appears set to serve as the Halos’ fifth starter for the time being, per Fletcher. The right-hander changed his arm slot and pitch mix this year, most notably swapping out his four-seamer for a sinker, and he’s found strong results in the upper minors thus far.

While Mederos has allowed five runs in eight big league innings, he’s sporting a 3.41 ERA in the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He’s not missing tons of bats (19% strikeout rate) but is sporting roughly average walk and ground-ball rates. Opponents have struggled to make hard contact against the righty, and he’ll get some opportunities to show he can stick on the big league staff down the stretch.

On the injury front, the Angels will be without outfielder Gustavo Campero for a significant period — perhaps the rest of the season. The 27-year-old was carted off the field with a lower-half injury earlier this week. He’s avoided a catastrophic injury, thankfully, but has still been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reports. The team hasn’t formally ruled Campero out for the rest of the year, but there’s a chance he won’t be able to make it back to the field.

In brighter Angels injury news, right-hander Robert Stephenson is setting out on a minor league rehab assignment today. Stephenson tells Erica Weston of FanDuel Sports West that he’ll make appearances with the Angels’ Triple-A club today and again on Sunday.

Stephenson, 32, signed a three-year, $33MM deal with the Angels in the 2023-24 offseason but missed the entire ’24 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. He briefly returned earlier this summer but pitched only one inning before heading back to the injured list — this time due to inflammation in his right biceps. He’s since been moved back to the 60-day IL but now finally appears to be nearing a return.

Stephenson’s rise from journeyman DFA candidate to high-leverage standout in 2023 was rapid. He was designated for assignment by the Rockies late in 2022, claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh and, in 2023, was flipped from the Pirates to the Rays in a minor June swap for minor league infielder Alika Williams.

While Stephenson had long proven capable of missing bats at a high level, he never put it all together until that trade to Tampa Bay. In 38 1/3 innings with the Rays, he posted a 2.35 ERA while punching out a colossal 42.9% of his opponents against just a 5.7% walk rate. Stephenson was averaging 96.8 mph on his four-seamer, and his gargantuan 24.8% swinging-strike rate (28.9% with the Rays) was the highest single-season mark by any pitcher (min. 40 innings) since Brad Lidge’s 25.1% mark back in 2004.

The first two years of that sizable free agent contract will go down as a wash, by and large, but if Stephenson can finish the year on a high note, it’d give the Angels a bit more optimism regarding their bullpen heading into the 2026 campaign.

Angels Select José Quijada

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The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander José Quijada. Fellow lefty Jake Eder has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake as the corresponding active roster move. Righty Robert Stephenson has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.

The Halos did a bullpen game yesterday, with Eder mopping up six innings, throwing 98 pitches in the process. They optioned Jack Kochanowicz prior to the All-Star break and haven’t found a permanent solution for that rotation hole yet. Eder wasn’t going to be available for a few days, so the club will bring in a fresh arm. They have Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano, Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks to start the next four games but will need to figure out something for Monday’s game. Perhaps some pre-deadline moves will shake up the roster or they will simply recall Kochanowicz. An optional assignment for a pitcher comes with a 15-day minimum. He was optioned on July 11th, so he’ll be eligible to be recalled in a few days.

Quijada, 29, designated for assignment just prior to Opening Day and outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. He didn’t pitch anywhere through the middle of May. He was added to the roster of the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas on May 10th. Per Chris Harris of MiLB.com, he had been on the development list prior to that. He told members of the media today, including Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, that he changed his diet at the club’s Arizona complex and has lost 30 pounds since spring training.

He has been putting up good numbers in Double-A since joining the Trash Pandas. He has logged 26 1/3 innings, allowing 2.73 earned runs per nine. He struck out a huge 37.1% of batters faced, while his 8.6% walk rate and 42.6% ground ball rate were around average.

Those numbers and the improved conditioning are perhaps encouraging, though getting major league hitters out is obviously different than Double-A opponents. He had a decent run with the Angels in 2021 and 2022, tossing 66 1/3 innings over those two seasons with a 4.21 ERA. His 12.9% walk rate was high but he struck out 32.3% of batters faced. The two subsequent years were mostly wiped out by Tommy John surgery.

He will give the Halos a fresh arm for now but is out of options, so he can’t be easily sent back to the farm. That was part of the reason why he was designated for assignment earlier this year. His service clock is between three and five years, which means he has the right to reject outright assignments but has to forfeit his remaining salary commitments when exercising that right. Since he’s making $1.075MM this year, he naturally accepted. If he were bumped off the roster again, it’s possible the same sequence of events would play out.

As for Stephenson, this shouldn’t impact his timeline. The 60-day count is retroactive to his initial placement on the 15-day IL, which was on May 31st due to right biceps inflammation, though he later said it’s due to a stretched nerve. It’s been almost 60 days already, so he’ll eligible for reinstatement once he’s healthy.

Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images

Angels Notes: Soler, Trout, Stephenson

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Slugger Jorge Soler exited today’s Angels game in the second inning, and the Angels later announced that it was due to groin tightness. Soler was already known to be day-to-day due to the groin issue in recent days, but evidently it flared up during this evening’s game against the Mariners. An update on Soler’s status will likely be available after the game, but the issue is made a bit more complicated than it would be otherwise due to the status of Mike Trout.

Soler has typically served as Anaheim’s DH this season, although he’s hit a lackluster .217/.291/.377 (88 wRC+) to this point in the year. In more recent weeks, however, Soler has become the club’s everyday right fielder while Trout returns to the lineup as the everyday DH. As noted by Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register earlier today, Trout is working his way back towards a return to the outfield by doing some drills on the grass. Manager Ron Washington relayed that Trout was feeling good after those drills, but they’ve still been “minimal” and haven’t “really challenged” the veteran star. That would seem to indicate Trout is still at least a few days away from returning to right field on a regular basis in games.

A return to DH’ing on a regular basis would surely be less strenuous on Soler’s ailing groin, but that won’t be possible until Trout returns to the outfield. The three-time MVP is 10-for-25 with three walks, a double, and a homer since returning from the injured list and clearly won’t be sitting in deference to Soler. If Soler isn’t healthy enough to play the field, that could leave the Angels with little choice but to place him on the injured list. Should that come to pass, some combination of Matthew Lugo, Chris Taylor, and perhaps Scott Kingery could see time in the outfield, assuming the Angels don’t call up another outfield option like Kyren Paris.

In other news around the club, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger writes that right-hander Robert Stephenson has undergone two MRI exams since being placed on the injured list due to inflammation in his right biceps. Bollinger notes that those exams revealed no structural damage, and relays that Stephenson told reporters that he’s dealing with a stretched nerve, which he described as a “freak injury.” The unusual nature of Stephenson’s injury means that he has no clear timetable for return, and the right-hander added that there’s no treatment for the issue other than rest.

That suggests he could be unable to throw for quite a while, which would be an incredibly frustrating turn of events for a pitcher who missed the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery and made it back to pitch just one inning before he once again hit the shelf. The 32-year-old turned in 38 1/3 dominant innings for the Rays during his most recent healthy campaign in 2023, pitching to a 2.35 ERA and striking out a whopping 42.9% of opponents faced. That showing was impressive enough that the Angels awarded him a three-year, $33MM deal that offseason, though they’ve yet to get much of anything out of it due to Stephenson’s injury woes.

Angels Place Yoán Moncada, Robert Stephenson On Injured List

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The Angels announced today that infielder Yoán Moncada has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to right knee inflammation. Right-hander Robert Stephenson landed on the 15-day IL due to right biceps inflammation, retroactive to May 31st. The Halos didn’t provide any information about how long either player is expected to be out of action. Outfielder Matthew Lugo and righty Sam Aldegheri were recalled to take the two vacated active roster spots.

Moncada, 30, signed with the Halos this offseason on a one-year deal which pays him $5MM. He has been excellent when he’s been on the field. He has stepped to the plate 113 times over 30 games. His 28.3% strikeout rate is high but he has six home runs and has drawn walks at a strong 11.5% clip. His .237/.336/.505 batting line translates to a 135 wRC+, indicating he’s been 35% better than league average at the plate overall.

But as has often been the case with Moncada, injuries have gotten in the way. He hasn’t played more than 104 games in a season since 2021 due to various ailments. He only got into 12 contests last year due to an adductor strain. He already missed almost a month this year due to a thumb sprain and now this knee issue has him on the shelf again.

It’s a bit of a double blow for the Halos, who are struggling to hang in the American League playoff race. They are 26-32, ahead of just three American League clubs and five games back of the final Wild Card spot. Losing Moncada will hurt their ability to stay in the race. Shortstop Zach Neto is the only position player on the team with a higher wins above replacement tally this year, in the eyes of FanGraphs. If they fall back in the race, Moncada would be one of their more interesting trade chips, though each injury compounds his injury-prone reputation and hurts his trade value.

With Moncada ailing in recent days, the Halos have had Luis Rengifo move from second to third with Scott Kingery taking over the keystone. That could perhaps be their regular alignment while Moncada is out, with Kevin Newman and Chris Taylor also on hand.

For Stephenson, it’s a frustrating setback. He signed a three-year, $33MM deal going into 2024 but required Tommy John surgery in April of last year, before he even got a chance to throw a pitch for the Angels. He recovered from that surgery and was reinstated from the IL a few days ago. But in his second appearance, which was on Friday, he departed after just three pitches with an apparent injury.

The Angels’ bullpen has a collective 6.04 earned run average, worse than every club in the majors except for the Athletics. Ideally, Stephenson’s return would have strengthened the group. In the second half of 2023, he was one of the best relievers on the planet. With the Rays, he threw 38 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA, 42.9% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. That prompted the Angels to give him a hefty deal but he hasn’t been able to give them a return on that investment yet and that won’t change for a few more weeks at least.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Angels Designate Tim Anderson For Assignment

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The Angels announced a series of roster moves today. They have selected the contract of infielder Scott Kingery and reinstated right-hander Robert Stephenson from the 60-day injured list. To make room for those two on the active roster, left-hander Jake Eder has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake and infielder Tim Anderson has been designated for assignment. To open another 40-man spot, catcher Chuckie Robinson has been designated for assignment.

Anderson, 32 next month, signed a minor league deal with the Angels in the offseason. A former All-Star and batting champion, Anderson’s production tailed off in 2023 and 2024, which is why he had to settle for a minor league pact. Injuries to infielders like Zach Neto, Anthony Rendon and Yoán Moncada opened a path for him to crack the roster but he hasn’t done much with the opportunity.

Across 31 games, Anderson stepped to the plate 90 times for the Halos. His 3.3% walk rate was very low but that’s always been his style. Unfortunately, his 32.2% strikeout rate was way above both his personal track record and the league average. He had only three extra-base hits, which were all doubles. It all added up to a .205/.258/.241 line and 42 wRC+.

As mentioned, Anderson was once an All-Star and batting champion. He slashed .318/.347/.473 for a 123 wRC+ from 2019 through 2022. But from the start of 2023 to the present, he has 855 plate appearances with a .232/.269/.270 line and 49 wRC+. With other players getting healthy and/or performing better than Anderson, he’s been squeezed off the roster. He will likely be placed on waivers in the coming days but probably won’t find much interest, given his ongoing struggles. If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he’ll have the right to elect free agency.

His playing time will seemingly be going to Kingery, who was acquired from the Phillies in the offseason but then outrighted off the 40-man. He has been excelling at Triple-A Salt Lake this year, with a .373/.418/.578 line, though those numbers need to be taken with some grains from that lake. The Bees play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and Kingery also has a massive .433 batting average on balls in play that he won’t be able to sustain.

Still, it’s understandable to consider him a better bet than Anderson. Kingery’s major league track record isn’t strong but he had a solid .268/.316/.488 slash and 103 wRC+ for the Phillies’ Triple-A club last year. He also stole 25 bases while playing second base, shortstop and center field. Given how bad Anderson has been struggling, Kingery doesn’t need to be a star to be an upgrade.

The return of Stephenson is a notable moment for the Angels. They signed him to a three-year, $33MM deal going into 2024 but he still hasn’t made his team debut. Some elbow issues plagued him at the start of last year and he ultimately required Tommy John surgery at the end of April. He has been rehabbing from that procedure for just over a year now.

His track record is mixed, with a 4.64 earned run average in his career, but the Angels made a bet that he had broken out just prior to the signing. A former first-round pick and top prospect, he couldn’t stick in a rotation and eventually moved to a relief role. He occasionally showed flashes of promise there before putting together an elite run in 2023.

He started that year with the Pirates and had an uninspiring 5.14 ERA when he was traded to the Rays. With Tampa, he reeled off 38 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA, 42.9% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. In short, he was one of the best relievers on the planet for a few months.

The Angels haven’t yet received any return on their investment but Stephenson’s return could be a massive boost, as their bullpen is one of the worst in the league. Their relievers have a collective 6.31 ERA, dead last in the majors, slightly behind Washington’s 6.22 mark. Even if Stephenson doesn’t fully return to his dominant form from the second half of 2023, he should be a nice upgrade to the group. Kenley Jansen will perhaps continue in the closer’s role but Stephenson should be in line for meaningful innings one way or another.

Robinson, 30, was acquired from the White Sox in the offseason. He has been serving as Triple-A depth so far this season, hitting .272/.315/.388 for the Bees. He’ll head into DFA limbo alongside Anderson. He still has options and could perhaps appeal to a club in need of catching depth. He generally hasn’t hit much but has a decent defensive reputation. The Angels are now down to just two catchers on their 40-man roster in Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images

Angels Sign Kenley Jansen

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TODAY: Jansen’s deal with the Angels is now official, as is the club’s deal with Yoan Moncada. Anthony Rendon and Robert Stephenson were transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.

FEBRUARY 11: The Angels are reportedly in agreement with Kenley Jansen on a one-year, $10MM contract. The Wasserman client will step into the closer’s role and give manager Ron Washington an established option in the ninth inning.

The 37-year-old Jansen is coming off yet another fine season of closing, having finished 38 games and tallied 27 saves for the 2024 Red Sox. He notched a 3.29 earned run average, fanned 28.4% of his opponents and posted a 9.2% walk rate in 54 2/3 frames during the second of his two years in Boston.

Those 27 saves pushed him up to 447 in his career, placing him fourth all-time behind Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith. Jansen isn’t going to run down Rivera (652) and Hoffman (601), but he’s 31 saves behind Smith’s 478 — a number that seems plenty attainable, perhaps even this year. Craig Kimbrel and his 440 saves aren’t far behind, but after last season’s struggles, it’s an open question whether Kimbrel will find his way back to regular closing work this year. Jansen, meanwhile, seems like a lock to serve as the Angels’ primary closer. He reportedly drew interest from other clubs with set ninth-inning options, including the Mets, but preferred to sign in a spot that afforded him more save opportunities.

Jansen isn’t the near-automatic ninth-inning powerhouse he was earlier in his career with the Dodgers, but he’s still sporting a 3.42 ERA over the past three seasons and has never turned in a single-season ERA worse than the 3.71 he logged during 2019’s juiced-ball campaign.

The 92.2 mph Jansen averaged on his cutter last year is right in line with his average mark from 2018-23, when he posted a combined 3.45 ERA and fanned just over 30% of his opponents. He allowed a career-high level of contact within the strike zone, but his 82.6% rate in that regard was still nearly three percentage points better than average — and Jansen still induced whiffs on pitches off the plate at a strong rate.

Even though Jansen isn’t an elite reliever anymore, he’s a very good one who should help to deepen a Halos bullpen that lacked experience. Lefties Brock Burke, Jose Quijada and Jose Suarez all have four-plus years of MLB service. No other Angels reliever had even two years of service, prior to today’s agreement with Jansen.

Flamethrowing righty Ben Joyce, MLB’s hardest-throwing pitcher, had been slated for closing duties with the Angels. He’ll now drop down to a setup role that allows him to gain some more experience while giving Washington the flexibility to use his most dynamic arm in the highest-leverage situations a game presents (without feeling tempted to “save” him for the ninth inning). Joyce, a 2022 third-rounder, averaged a comical 102.1 mph on his four-seamer last year and has run the pitch up to 105 mph at times.

As a rookie in 2023, Joyce walked nearly 19% of his opponents in a small sample of 10 innings. He made significant gains in 2024, pitching 34 2/3 big league innings with a 2.08 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate. Joyce piled up grounders at a massive 58.9% clip and tallied four saves and eight holds. His 13.7% swinging-strike rate and unmatched velocity suggest there are more strikeouts in the tank as he continues to develop.

Jansen, Joyce and that previously mentioned trio of lefties will now anchor the Angel bullpen. Ryan Zeferjahn put himself in good position to win a spot this spring with a terrific 17-inning debut in 2024, but he’ll need to solidify that job during camp.

There’s a good chance the Angels will continue shopping in the relief market. They’ve reportedly been on the hunt for multiple bullpen arms, so they still feel there’s at least one spot that could yet be filled. It’s unlikely that any subsequent additions will be on the same eight-figure scale as Jansen, unless the Angels opt to double down on high-end, late-30s relievers and make a push for David Robertson. Regardless, general manager Perry Minasian should have the budget available to pursue just about any bullpen help he likes.

As things stand, the Angels project for a payroll just north of $202MM with roughly $220MM of luxury obligations, per RosterResource. That leaves them more than $10MM shy of the franchise record for Opening Day cash payroll and about $21MM shy of the $241MM luxury tax threshold.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Angels were signing Jansen. The Post’s Joel Sherman had the one-year, $10MM guarantee.

Angels Sign Yoan Moncada

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TODAY: Moncada’s deal with the Angels is now official, as is the club’s deal with Kenley Jansen. Anthony Rendon and Robert Stephenson were transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.

FEBRUARY 11: The Angels are reportedly in agreement with third baseman Yoán Moncada on a one-year, $5MM deal. The signing is pending a physical for the Quality Control Sports client. The Angels will need to create a 40-man roster spot once it is finalized.

Moncada, 30 in May, is looking for a rebound after a disappointing end to his eight seasons with the White Sox. The former top prospect had an up-and-down tenure in Chicago. He earned down-ballot MVP support during his best year, a 2019 season in which he hit .315/.367/.548 with a career-high 25 home runs. The Sox signed Moncada to a $70MM extension the following spring, believing he’d cemented himself as a core piece coming out of their rebuild.

That is not how things have played out. Moncada slumped to a .225/.320/.385 showing in 2020. That looked like a short-season aberration the following year, as he posted a strong .263/.375/.412 slash across 144 games. Moncada’s bat hit another sharp decline thereafter. He combined for a .234/.288/.386 line in nearly 800 plate appearances over the next two seasons. His final year in Chicago was tanked by injury. Moncada suffered a significant left adductor (groin) strain two weeks into the year. He was immediately ruled out for 3-6 months. Moncada didn’t return to the active roster until the middle of September.

By that point, the White Sox were playing out the string on the worst season in modern history. It was a foregone conclusion that they’d buy Moncada out for $5MM instead of a $25MM club option. The Sox had little reason to put him back in the lineup. He only made one appearance as a pinch-runner in the final two weeks. His season ended with 12 games and 45 plate appearances.

Moncada is now three years removed from his last strong season. At his best, he has shown above-average power and speed with a patient offensive approach. Moncada took walks at an excellent 13.6% clip back in 2021. He takes a lot of called strikes as well, so he has punched out in 29.2% of his career plate appearances. He’s a .254/.331/.424 hitter in more than 3100 major league plate appearances.

After playing second base during his first two seasons, Moncada kicked to third base in 2019. He hasn’t played anywhere other than the hot corner over the past six years. That’ll very likely be his home with the Halos. General manager Perry Minasian said at the beginning of the offseason that the Angels were not committed to giving that job back to Anthony Rendon. He’s likely headed to the bench as he enters the sixth season of his seven-year free agent deal. Luis Rengifo can take the majority of the playing time at second base, while the Halos acquired Jorge Soler to serve as their primary designated hitter.

This is the Angels’ first move of consequence in months. They were the league’s most active team in the offseason’s first few weeks. They pulled off the Soler trade while signing Kyle Hendricks, Travis d’Arnaud and Yusei Kikuchi before Thanksgiving. They had not made a major league free agent pickup since finalizing the Kikuchi deal. They’ve added a few veteran infielders on minor league contracts, including Moncada’s longtime Sox teammate Tim Anderson. With Zach Neto questionable for Opening Day following postseason shoulder surgery, Anderson could compete with free agent signee Kevin Newman for the season-opening shortstop job. The Angels may have Moncada and Anderson on the left side of their infield for at least a few weeks.

Moncada was also tied to the Blue Jays, Mariners and Cubs at points this offseason. Francys Romero reports that the Cubs made a one-year offer worth around $3MM. Moncada declined and came out $2MM ahead with the Angels. (Chicago has signed Jon Berti to serve as a multi-positional infielder and is likely to turn third base over to top prospect Matt Shaw.) This pushes the Angels payroll to approximately $193MM, as calculated by RosterResource. They’re at $210MM in luxury tax commitments, a little more than $30MM below the lowest threshold.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the $5MM agreement. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Players Who Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins

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Most of the clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, which means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move these days. Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, however. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series but comes back when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, most clubs have a report date of February 12th or 13th. The Cubs and Dodgers are a bit earlier than most, on the 9th and 11th, respectively. That’s due to the fact that those clubs are heading to Tokyo, with exhibition games in mid-March, followed by regular season games against each other on March 18th and 19th. All the other teams have Opening Day scheduled for March 27th.

It’s worth pointing out that the 60 days don’t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later. A team also must have a full 40-man roster in order to move a player to the 60-day IL.

There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso, as well as Nick Pivetta, Andrew Heaney, David Robertson, Randal Grichuk, Kenley Jansen, Harrison Bader, Lance Lynn, Jose Quintana and many more. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together in the next week or so. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment.

Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon.

Angels: Robert Stephenson

Stephenson underwent a hybrid Tommy John surgery with internal brace in late April. Given the 14-plus months required to recovery from such a procedure, he’s not likely to be ready in the early parts of the 2025 season.

Astros: Cristian Javier, J.P. France, Bennett Sousa

Javier underwent Tommy John surgery in June and is targeting a return in the second half of 2025. France is recovering from shoulder surgery and hoping to return in July. Sousa’s timeline is less clear but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in April. Other possibilities include Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr., who are expected to start the season on the IL but returning in April or May still seems possible.

Athletics: Luis Medina, Ken Waldichuk

Medina underwent Tommy John surgery in August and Waldichuk in May. Medina might miss the entire season while Waldichuk is likely to miss a few months at least.

Blue Jays: Angel Bastardo, Alek Manoah

The Jays grabbed Bastardo from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December, even though he had Tommy John surgery in June. Manoah also had Tommy John around that time and is hoping to be back by August.

Braves: Joe Jiménez

Jimenez had knee surgery in November with a timeline of eight to twelve months, so he might miss the entire season. Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. are also possibilities, though those will be more borderline. Strider had internal brace surgery in April, so returning in May is somewhat possible. Acuña is recovering from a torn ACL last year and it’s possible he’ll miss the first month or so of the season. Given how important both of those players are, Atlanta probably won’t put them on the 60-day IL unless it’s 100% certain that they can’t come back in the first 60 days of the season.

Brewers: Robert Gasser

Gasser had Tommy John surgery in June and will be looking at a late 2025 return even in a best-case scenario.

Diamondbacks: Kyle Nelson

Nelson’s timeline is unclear, but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in May and missed the remainder of the 2024 season.

Dodgers: Gavin Stone, Brusdar Graterol, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan

Stone underwent shoulder surgery in October that will cause him to miss the entire year. Graterol also underwent shoulder surgery and isn’t expected back until the second half of 2025. Each of Ryan, Hurt and Sheehan required Tommy John surgery in 2024: Ryan in August, Hurt in July and Sheehan in May.

Guardians: Sam Hentges, David Fry, Shane Bieber, Trevor Stephan

Hentges required shoulder surgery in September, with an expected recovery timeline of 12 to 14 months. Fry underwent UCL surgery in November with a more fluid timeline. He won’t be able to throw at all in 2025 but could be cleared for designated hitter action six to eight months from that surgery. Bieber is perhaps a borderline case, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in April. Given his importance, the Guards may not transfer him to the 60-day IL until it’s assured that he won’t be back in the first 60 days of the season. Stephan underwent Tommy John surgery in March and perhaps has a chance to avoid the 60-day IL, depending on his progression.

Mariners: Matt Brash, Jackson Kowar

Brash underwent Tommy John surgery in May. Given the typical 14-month recovery timeline from that procedure, he would be looking at a midsummer return. However, it was reported in November that he’s ahead of schedule and could be back by the end of April. That’s an optimistic timeline but the Mariners will probably hold off moving him to the 60-day IL until the door is closed to an early return. Kowar underwent Tommy John in March, so an early return in 2025 is possible for him, depending on how his recovery is going.

Marlins: Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez

Garrett just underwent UCL surgery last month and is going to miss the entire 2025 season. Pérez underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year and will miss at least part of the beginning of the 2025 campaign.

Mets: Christian Scott

Scott required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in September and will likely miss the entire 2025 season.

Nationals: Josiah Gray, Mason Thompson

Gray required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in July, meaning he’ll miss most or perhaps all of the 2025 season. Thompson required Tommy John surgery in March, so he has a better chance to make an early-season return if his recovery is going well.

Orioles: Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells

Bradish and Wells each required UCL surgery in June, so they’re both slated to miss the first half of the upcoming campaign.

Padres: Joe Musgrove

Musgrove had Tommy John surgery in October and will therefore miss the entire 2025 season. However, the Padres only have 36 guys on their 40-man roster at the moment, so they’ll need to fill those spots before moving Musgrove to the 60-day IL.

Pirates: Dauri Moreta

Moreta required UCL surgery in March, so an early-season return is possible if his rehab is going well, though he could end up on the 60-day if the club goes easy with his ramp-up or he suffers any kind of setback.

Rangers: Josh Sborz

Sborz underwent shoulder surgery in November and is expected to miss the first two to three months of the upcoming season.

Rays: Nate Lavender, Ha-Seong Kim

The Rays took Lavender from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft, even though he had Tommy John in May and will miss the start of the season. Kim’s status is more up in the air after he had shoulder surgery in October. Various reports have suggested he could return anywhere from April to July. The Rays made a sizable investment in Kim, their largest ever for a position player, so they probably won’t shelve him until they get more clarity on his status.

Red Sox: Patrick Sandoval, Garrett Whitlock, Chris Murphy

Sandoval had internal brace surgery in June of last year and should miss the first half of the season. Whitlock had the same surgery in May, so he could have a bit of a better chance to return in the first 60 days of the season. Murphy underwent a fully Tommy John surgery in April and will certainly miss the beginning of the upcoming season. Another possibility is Lucas Giolito, who had internal brace surgery in March, though he expects to be ready by Opening Day.

Reds: Julian Aguiar, Brandon Williamson

Aguiar underwent Tommy John surgery in October and Williamson in September, so both are likely slated to miss the entire 2025 season.

Tigers: Sawyer Gipson-Long

Gipson-Long underwent internal brace surgery in April. On top of that, he underwent left hip labral repair surgery in July, with the club hoping to address both issues at the same time. It seems likely that he’ll miss some of the early 2025 schedule, but his IL placement will depend on how he’s been progressing.

White Sox: Jesse Scholtens

Scholtens underwent Tommy John surgery in early March. Whether he goes on the 60-day IL or not will depend on how he’s progressed since then and when the White Sox expect him back.

Yankees: Jonathan Loáisiga

Loáisiga underwent internal brace surgery in April, so he could potentially be back on the mound early in the 2025 season. It was reported in December that the Yankees are expecting him to be in the bullpen by late April or early May, so he’ll only end up on the 60-day IL if he suffers a bit of a setback.

Robert Stephenson To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Angels reliever Robert Stephenson announced that he’ll undergo Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure next week (X link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). That’ll likely sideline him a few months into the 2025 season.

The Halos revealed last week that an elbow injury would cause Stephenson to miss all of 2024. While the team didn’t indicate at the time whether he’d need surgery, it’s not a surprising development. The righty said he’s hopeful of returning early next year, although the timeline for a Tommy John recovery is usually in the 14-16 month range.

Stephenson didn’t get to pitch during his first season with the Angels. He was delayed in camp by a sore shoulder. He reported the more significant elbow pain during his first (and only) rehab outing for Triple-A Salt Lake. That evidently revealed UCL damage, which has contractual ramifications. Stephenson’s deal contained a conditional option for the 2027 season that would go into effect if he suffered a serious elbow injury. While he’ll make $11MM annually over the next three years, the Angels now have a very modest $2.5MM club option for ’27.

Of course, the team would have preferred to have Stephenson on the Angel Stadium mound this year instead. They envisioned him as an anchor of their setup corps after his breakout with the Rays. The hard-throwing righty pitched to a 2.35 ERA with a 42.9% strikeout rate in 38 1/3 innings after Tampa Bay acquired him last June. He’ll miss all of this season, his age-31 campaign. The option year covers his age-34 season.

Angels Select Ehire Adrianza

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The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Ehire Adrianza. Adrianza will take the place of third baseman Anthony Rendon on the active roster, as Rendon is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Meanwhile, right-hander Robert Stephenson was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Adrianza on the club’s 40-man roster. MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger first reported that Adrianza was likely to replace Rendon on the club’s roster last night.

Adrianza, 34, will now participate in the 12th big league season of his career. The veteran made his big league debut with the Giants back in 2013 and made intermittent appearances with the club as a utility infielder off the bench, remaining the the club for four seasons despite a meager .220/.292/.313 slash line at the big league level. Despite that lackluster offense, Adrianza earned his role in San Francisco with his versatility, which allowed him to cover all four infield positions, as well as his switch-hitting, high-contact bat that allowed him to strike out just 18.1% of the time despite a 72 wRC+.

Prior to the 2017 season, Adrianza found himself designated for assignment by the Giants and eventually made his way to the Twins on waivers. He’d spend the next four seasons in Minnesota receiving far more regular playing time, and earned his expanded role by taking a small step forward with the bat. In 312 games with the Twins from 2017 to 2020, Adrianza slashed a decent .253/.317/.377 (86 wRC+) while posting a 19.1% strikeout rate against an 8% walk rate. The switch-hitter also expanded his defensive resume while in Minnesota, spending time at both outfield corners and even making a mop-up appearance on the mound in addition to his work around the infield.

After hitting free agency for the first time following the 2020 season, Adrianza signed with the Braves on a minor league deal ahead of what would become a career year of the infielder. The then-31-year-old made appeared in 109 games with Atlanta that year, slashing a respectable .247/.327/.401 with an excellent 10% walk rate against a 20.1% strikeout rate in 209 plate appearances while splitting time between shortstop, all three outfield spots, second base, and third base. Adrianza went on to appear on the club’s postseason roster that fall and earned a ring with the club when they won the 2021 World Series.

Things have taken a turn for the worse for the veteran in recent years, however. He’s appeared in just 42 big league games since the end of the 2021 campaign, slashing a putrid .159/.248/.187 in 121 combined plate appearances for the Nationals and Braves amid elbow and shoulder injuries. He caught on with the Angels this past winter on a minor league deal in spite of those injury and ineffectiveness issues in recent years, reuniting with former Braves third base coach and current Halos manager Ron Washington in the process. With Anaheim, Adrianza figures to provide the club with depth off the bench all around the infield, where the club is currently utilizing a combination of Nolan Schanuel, Brandon Drury, Miguel Sano, Zach Neto, and Luis Rengifo.

In doing so, Adrianza will take the roster spot of Rendon, who was pulled from yesterday’s game in the top of the first inning due to a hamstring strain. Now the soon to be 34-year-old veteran will head to the injured list once again after making frequent trips to the shelf in recent years that have limited him to just 219 total games since he signed a seven-year deal with the Halos during the 2019-20 offseason. Rendon had begun to heat up in recent weeks with a solid .357/.413/.411 slash line in his last 63 trips to the plate but now will be forced out of the lineup for the time being, though no timetable has been specified for his return to action.

Making room for Adrianza on the 40-man roster is Stephenson, whose placement on the 60-day IL is hardly a surprise after the club announced earlier this week that the right-hander would miss the entire 2024 season due to an elbow injury. It’s Stephenson’s first year with the Angels, and he remains under contract for two more seasons after this one with a club option on his services for the 2027 campaign.

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