The Los Angeles Angels are going through what a lot of teams around Major League Baseball are, with a heavy string of injuries, mainly within their pitching staff.
Losing José Quijada, Austin Warren and Matt Moore for varying injured list durations has put their bullpen at a stressed point. That led general manager Perry Minasian to make the aggressive move to call up a few top prospects to aid the bullpen.
However, a few options have been improving and could soon become available for the Angels if they avoid any significant setbacks, according to Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register:
Left-hander José Suarez (shoulder) has been working out in Arizona. Suarez is still not throwing yet, Minasian said.
Suarez had his fair share of down outings during the early part of the regular season, pitching to the tune of a 9.62 ERA across six starts. The 25-year-old exited his May 7 start after just 2.2 innings against the Texas Rangers, and although his performance hasn’t been a plus, purely having guys healthy provides them with more pieces to work with.
If the root of his issues was because of his shoulder strain, then his time on the IL could serve as a reset as he works his way back to game action.
In addition to Suarez, Chris Rodriguez has resumed throwing as well:
Right-hander Chris Rodriguez (shoulder) is throwing in Arizona, but still not off the mound. Rodriguez “has had some setbacks,” Minasian said. The Angels have “done what we need to do medically” to make sure he doesn’t need further treatment, Minasian said, so they are just waiting for him to be ready for more activity.
Rodriguez last pitched in MLB in 2021 because of surgery to repair a torn right shoulder capsule. The once-promising young arm is dealing with a tricky injury, because the projection on how a shoulder responds is on a case-by-case basis.
Rodriguez faced hitters in Spring Training, and the constant setback and ramp up process has put his recovery on a slow crawl that doesn’t have a complete timeline.
Angels prospect Ky Bush pitching in extended Spring Training
The Angels have high hopes for former second round pick Ky Bush, their No. 3 ranked prospect.
The southpaw then got his first extended look in 2022, making 21 starts for the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas. He went 7-4 with a 3.67 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 103 innings pitched.
Bush was expected to continue making strides this season but he missed most of Spring Training with an oblique injury and then injured his groin in April.
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