In mid-April, the Los Angeles Angels designated reliever Justin Garza for assignment after spending a full offseason with the club.
Garza was signed in December to a Minor League contract and the Angels believed he had a shot to make their bullpen, so they extended him an invitation to Spring Training. The veteran right-hander appeared in four games in the spring, posting a 4.50 ERA over four innings with five punchouts.
But he was unable to crack the Opening Day roster and Garza was optioned to Triple-A with the Salt Lake Bees. Through six outings, he was given a shot at the backend of the bullpen and carried a 4.32 ERA in 8.1 innings, logging two saves.
Garza allowed a subtle .207 batting average with the Bees and could be used as a possible building block toward future positive outcomes.
Unfortunately for Garza, the Angels needed to open up a spot on their roster when they selected the contracts of both Chad Wallach and Austin Warren on April 21. The Boston Red Sox picked up the reliever a week later and assigned him to the Worcester Red Sox in their farm system.
Garza has not pitched in the majors since 2021 while with Cleveland and could soon receive an opportunity with the Red Sox in his latest stop.
Angels activate Ryan Tepera and option Andrew Wantz
The Angels activated Ryan Tepera from the 15-day injured list prior to their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. To make room on the active roster, Andrew Wantz was optioned to Triple-A.
Tepera was dealing with shoulder tightness but expressed optimism that he caught it early enough that it wouldn’t cause him to miss extended time. He returns to an 11.25 ERA with a 3.00 WHIP and two strikeouts in four innings.
Wantz has been the Angels’ most effective reliever, but was, unfortunately, the victim of a roster crunch. He is one of two pitchers in the bullpen with options left, along with Chase Silseth, that would allow the club to avoid the risk of losing a pitcher to another team.
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