Jose Soriano spent Spring Training getting built up as a starting pitcher. But with the Los Angeles Angels already having a full five-man rotation, they had to make a decision with regard to Soriano’s role to begin the 2024. They opted to make him a multi-inning reliever, but it took only 12 games for him to make his first start of the season with an injury to Chase Silseth. Matt Thaiss, the backup to Logan O’Hoppe behind the plate, caught his first start.
A pure look at the numbers would say Soriano struggled in his first start of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays. In four innings, he gave up four earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Three of those runs came in the first inning, two scoring on a wild pitch and one on a sacrifice fly. Two of the three hits Soriano allowed in the first frame had an expected batting average of under .270.
So as Thaiss reflected on Soriano’s first big league start of 2024, he focused on the positive and remained confident in what the young starter can do, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“I thought he looked really good,” catcher Matt Thaiss said. “Just some really bad luck. One ball did leave the infield but three didn’t and they scored three runs. Other than that, I thought it was excellent and pounded the zone. I think he’ll build on it and become an excellent starter for us.
Soriano was simply grateful for the opportunity to take the mound for the Angels and hopes to be an asset for the team moving forward.
“It feels great,” Soriano said through interpreter Manny Del Campo of his opportunity to start, “I started as a reliever here last year and it feels great to be in a rotation. I want to throw a lot of innings and try to help the team win.”
Silseth is only expected to miss a few weeks, meaning Soriano is likely to return to his long relief role. However, as general manager Perry Minasian often says, there is no such thing as too much starting pitching. And if the Halps have six players they can rely on to start a game at any given time, it provides a cushion for their ideal five-man unit.
Silseth looking into mechanics after elbow inflammation diagnosis from Angels
Two different doctors diagnosed Silseth with non-severe elbow inflammation and the hope is he could can within the next few weeks.
This is massive news for both the Angels and Silseth, as he was expected to be a consistent member of the team’s five-man rotation this season. He still has a chance to return quickly and make up for lost time. He’ll take a look at his mechanics to see if there’s a way he can avoid the elbow inflammation returning in the future.
