The Los Angeles Angels have seen a fair amount of new faces within their big league pitching staff this season, and as a result, their performance since the midway point has taken a hefty dip.
Since the All-Star break, the Angels pitching staff has allowed a collective 5.15 ERA, 4.84 FIP, with 4.26 walks per nine. Manager Phil Nevin has done the best job with whom he’s had available on hand, but their execution hasn’t lived up to a winning group.
With the Angels nearly out of playoff contention, the team handed out injury updates on Sam Bachman, Chris Devenski, Ben Joyce, José Marte & Chris Rodriguez. The return of a few of them should help their depth, but might not have enough time to stabilize the group.
Angels injuries
Sam Bachman & Ben Joyce
The Angels have been without Bachman since the beginning of July, after the club shut him down with a nagging shoulder issue that gave them a fair amount of pause. In 17 innings pitched in relief, he had been productive, notching a 3.18 ERA in 11 games.
Another rookie, Joyce, has been out for even longer, having a scaring injury that jeopardized the status of his entire season. The power right-hander was shut down after saying he felt tingling and numbness in his fingers on his throwing hand.
He’s been void of any hard timeline, but has been making progress, per Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register:
Right-handers Sam Bachman (right shoulder inflammation) and Ben Joyce (ulnar neuritis) are both pitching off a mound in Arizona, but neither has faced hitters lately. Nevin said the best-case scenario for both of them would be a return in mid-September.
Chris Devenski
The veteran reliever has been out of big league action since the middle of July, but a rehab stint in the Arizona Complex League has yielded some decent results. He’s allowed just one earned run over seven innings, while striking out 15, and could be ready for Major League time very soon.
Right-hander Chris Devenski (hamstring) has been pitching in the minors. He has “a couple more” workouts planned,” Nevin said. “Very healthy. Arm is good. When we feel he’s ready, if that time comes, we’ll bring him,” Nevin said.
José Marte
The 27-year-old has been out for the entirety of the year, but after the Angels cleared him to return to throwing, he’s had promising results across multiple levels in his road back to a Major League mound.
The Angels activated right-hander José Marte from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Salt Lake. Marte had missed the whole season right elbow stress reaction. Marte pitched 8⅓ innings in eight games in minor league rehab assignments, allowing two runs and 14 strikeouts and four walks.
Chris Rodriguez
The 25-year-old hasn’t appeared in MLB since the 2021 season, and after a very lengthy battle with arm trouble, he has begun some signs of ramping up baseball activity.
Right-hander Chris Rodriguez (shoulder inflammation) is not expected to be back this season, but he’s progressed to facing hitters in Arizona, which is encouraging for his long-term prognosis.
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