José Quijada was placed on the injured list this past week after the Los Angeles Angels reliever noticed something wasn’t feeling correct in his left elbow. This news coincides with that of right-hander Austin Warren, who also experienced elbow discomfort of his own.
The Angels banked on Quijada for the majority of last season when the lefty posted a 3.98 ERA in 40.2 innings with 12 holds. His power fastball and ability to work at the top of the strike zone helped him hold opponents to a .172 batting average.
According to Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register, Quijada is set to receive a second opinion on his elbow:
Manager Phil Nevin said the first evaluation showed “some damage to the ligament,” and that Quijada will get a second opinion to determine if he needs surgery.
“The news wasn’t great from the MRI but sometimes those can be misleading,” Nevin said. “Then you can go into further evaluations and hopefully we get better news.”
The team has been fortunate to receive some solid production from fellow lefty Matt Moore through this point of the season, but Quijada’s energy is difficult to replicate. Warren’s injury, however, isn’t as much of a worry as that of his fellow bullpen running mate, but he will still miss extended time:
The Angels are also now planning to be without right-hander Austin Warren for an extended period. Nevin said they don’t yet have an official diagnosis on Warren, but he is not going to throw for four to six weeks.
“Hopefully we get better news on both of them,” Nevin said.
Entering play on May 3, the Angels bullpen holds a sixth-best 3.02 ERA in 110.1 innings with a .211 batting average allowed. A blemish to the backend is their seven blown saves, which is up there with one of the worst marks in the league.
Without Quijada and Warren, Minasian has some shuffling to do in order to find the arms to fill their void.
The Angels will use Chase Silseth based on what the game needs
Through the first four weeks of the regular season, the Angels are dealing with a familiar issue with how to perfectly execute a pitching staff but most importantly, having players pitch to their potential.
Spotty performances from the starting rotation will figure themselves out, the Angels called up top pitching prospect Chase Silseth and his fastball-heavy arsenal to supplement the staff, but his usage is dependent on what the situation calls for.
Make sure to follow Angels Nation on Twitter for all the latest news and updates surrounding the Halos!
