The Angels may be on the verge of another rotation shuffle, and it could come with Grayson Rodriguez stepping back in while Sam Aldegheri gets pushed out.
Rodriguez gave the club a reason to take notice with a solid rehab outing for Triple-A Salt Lake, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. In his second rehab start, the right-hander worked 5-1/3 innings, allowed one run on four hits, and finished with five strikeouts and no walks.
That kind of performance puts pressure on Aldegheri, who had a rough night against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. The left-hander lasted three innings, walked four and gave up three earned runs.
“That's a tough one,” said manager Kurt Suzuki after the loss. “Free passes are definitely tough, especially against a team with good hitters.
Something to work on, something to learn from. Every start he's learning something and he's working to improve.”
Aldegheri said his own issues started early, pointing to his first-inning struggles and shaky command.
“I've noticed that every time I'm struggling in the first, so maybe I just need to make some adjustments in the routine,” Aldegheri said. “My control wasn't really there.
I was trying to pitch on the border too much, and tried to be perfect and not attack the zone. The second inning was a long one, too, but in third and the fourth I was just trying to attack the zone and trust my stuff, and it was better.”
Rodriguez’s return would come with its own baggage. Before going down with lower back tightness, he carried an 8.06 ERA, so there’s no reason to treat this as a clean fix. Still, the Angels are in a spot where any possible upgrade gets attention.
If Rodriguez is activated, Aldegheri could slide into a long-relief role or head back to Salt Lake. That’s the reality for an Angels rotation that has been trying to sort out who can actually hold a job in a group that has been marginal at best.
At the same time, the organization’s bigger picture has been dominated by the search for a new general manager. John Mozeliak is leading that process after Perry Minasian was finally fired.
There is at least one bright spot coming, with Mike Trout set to return in one of the season’s feel-good stories. But the Rodriguez trade has been mostly a disappointment so far, and even if he’s nearing a comeback, the Angels have every reason to keep expectations modest.
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