The Angels are heading into spring camp with a bullpen built on bounce-back bets and high-upside arms returning from injury. After a quiet offseason on the free-agent front - particularly following the departure of Kenley Jansen - the club is leaning heavily on reclamation projects and internal options to piece together its relief corps.
The front office handed out a series of low-cost, one-year deals to veterans Kirby Yates, Drew Pomeranz, Jordan Romano, and Brent Suter, none of whom cost more than $5 million. It’s a patchwork group, but there’s potential in the mix - especially if the high-ceiling arms can stay healthy.
At the top of that list is Ben Joyce, the flamethrower with one of the most electric fastballs in the game. Joyce can light up the radar gun at 104 mph, and it’s not hard to imagine him locking down the ninth inning if he’s healthy.
The problem? He wasn’t last year.
Joyce made just five appearances before a shoulder injury ended his season in May. But there’s some optimism now - he threw a bullpen session on the first day of camp, his first time back on a mound since surgery.
Whether he’s ready for Opening Day is still up in the air. Both Joyce and GM Perry Minasian have acknowledged that his timeline remains uncertain.
But the tone is cautiously optimistic. “I’d rather him miss two weeks than six months,” Minasian said.
That’s the approach the Angels are taking - slow and steady with the guys who need it, especially when the long-term upside is this high.
If Joyce isn’t ready to go by Opening Day, Robert Stephenson becomes the next man up in the closer conversation - but that comes with its own set of question marks. Stephenson has had a brutal run of injuries over the past two seasons.
He missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery during Spring Training, then returned in May only to suffer a nerve issue in his biceps. That setback sidelined him for another three months.
He made a brief return late in the season, but was shut down again in the final week due to elbow inflammation.
Now, there’s a new wrinkle in his recovery. Stephenson revealed this week that he experienced symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome during the offseason - a condition that’s derailed more than a few pitching careers.
He didn’t undergo surgery, instead opting for an injection-based treatment plan. He admitted he’s “a little bit behind everybody” as camp opens, but still believes he’ll be ready for Opening Day.
With both Joyce and Stephenson dealing with health concerns, it’s no surprise that new manager Kurt Suzuki is keeping things fluid at the back end of the bullpen. He’s not naming a closer just yet, and that’s probably the right call.
“We have options and we can be flexible,” Suzuki said. “But in that ninth inning, I wouldn’t put a name out there to be our closer right now.”
That flexibility includes veterans like Romano and Yates, both of whom have multiple 30-save seasons under their belts. But they’re not exactly coming off dominant campaigns - both showed diminished stuff and struggled with results in 2025. The experience is there, but the effectiveness remains a question mark.
One more name to keep an eye on: Nick Sandlin. The right-hander is in camp as a non-roster invitee after undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery last October - a procedure that hadn’t previously been reported.
He finished last season on the IL with the Blue Jays and was non-tendered after being limited to just 19 appearances. Still, Sandlin owns a career 3.19 ERA over 211 2/3 innings, and if he’s healthy, he could absolutely pitch his way into a bullpen role.
He’s scheduled to throw his first bullpen session this weekend, and if all goes well, he could be in line to appear in Cactus League games soon.
So while the Angels didn’t go big in free agency, they’ve built a bullpen full of intrigue - a mix of velocity, experience, and health gambles. It’s not the most stable group on paper, but if even a few of these bets hit, the Angels might have something brewing in the late innings.