Tucker Davidson was acquired by the Los Angeles Angels at last week’s trade deadline from the Atlanta Braves. It was part of the deal that sent Raisel Iglesias — and the four years, $51 million owed to him — to Atlanta, and also brought Jesse Chavez back to Anaheim.
On Sunday, Davidson made his Angels debut in the series finale against the Seattle Mariners. Expectedly, many of the issues that plagued him in Atlanta were present for the Angels. In 4.0 innings of work, Davidson allowed six earned runs on six hits and five walks, only striking out one batter.
This included a grand slam from Jesse Winker, the fourth consecutive batter Davidson let reach base safely in the third inning. It was a disappointing debut for Davidson, who had shown some improvement with his walks at the Minor League level.
He spoke about what needs to change for him to find success in the Majors, including throwing strikes earlier in the count, according to Jeff Fletcher of The O.C. Register:
“I just have to translate and do it here,” Davidson said. “I might not be so fine. That’s just more giving the opportunity to put my stuff in play. Here it is, hit it. And good things will happen on that end. I think the biggest thing for me is just getting ahead. Getting strike one. And just putting the throttle down when I can.”
Angels interim manager Phil Nevin was not at all ready to give up on Davidson, saying that he still showed some good things on certain pitches.
“He showed some flashes of some stuff that we heard about,” Nevin said. “The fastball, I thought, was good. He had some good rise to it. He threw a lot of sliders. We know he’s got a good one.”
The Angels are likely going to give Davidson several chances in the rotation as they make their plans for next season. If Davidson can show improvement in the base-on-balls department, he may earn himself a spot on the 2023 roster.
But like many MLB players, translating Triple-A success to the Majors is proving to be a difficult task for the former Brave.
Mickey Moniak out indefinitely
It’s unclear exactly when Mickey Moniak will be able to return to the lineup after he suffered a fractured finger on Saturday night. The Angels believe he’ll be able to return this season, but with only eight weeks left in the season, that is far from a guarantee.
Moniak had finally found a groove with the Angels, slashing .286/.333/.714 in five games.
