The Angels keep running into the same wall in the ninth inning, and the problem is starting to look less like bad luck and more like a pattern.
Los Angeles has taken multiple swings at finding a closer this season, and every one of them has come up empty. Jordan Romano got a shot and is now with the Colorado Rockies. Kirby Yates was asked to handle the job while sitting in the low 90s, and that didn’t work either.
Ben Joyce looked like the latest answer. He brings real heat, regularly topping 100 mph, and the Angels gave him a long enough leash to account for his time away with injury. But so far, Joyce has not shown he can handle the pressure that comes with closing games, and the results have been rough.
There’s a case for giving him more time, but that only goes so far. With new ownership on the way and the chance to spend more freely, the Angels have little reason to keep forcing a role that keeps producing the same painful outcomes. Joyce could still have value in a lower-leverage spot, but right now he does not look like a closer.
Trading him this offseason is at least on the table, though it would mean selling low. Keeping him around as a bullpen arm makes more sense than pretending he’s the answer in the ninth.
The frustrating part for the Angels is that they already had a proven option. Kenley Jansen was willing to stay at something close to market value, around $15 million, and keep piling up saves.
Instead, Moreno passed, and Jansen has gone on to post 21 saves for the Detroit Tigers for $11 million as a secondary option. That total would still lead the Angels by a wide margin.
No one is saying the Angels should bring Jansen back at 38. But they do need a younger veteran who has recently shown he can get the job done. For a team already dealing with a Triple-A-looking lineup, closer may not be the biggest hole on the roster, but it’s a real one, and it needs to be filled with something better than retreads, has-beens, or hope.
In Other News...
Angels May Have Found A Bullpen Answer Nobody Saw Coming
Ryan Watson arrived in Anaheim in early August as a waiver claim from the Red Sox, the kind of low-profile move that usually only matters if a club is trying to patch together the back end of a bullpen. For the Angels, though, the pickup has turned into something more than a depth add. In 16 appearances since joining the team, Watson has given them steady late-inning work and quickly become one of the more effective arms in a relief mix that has struggled for much of the season.
The appeal is obvious for a club searching for reliable outs after the starters hand over the lead. Watson has trimmed his numbers sharply since the move, posting a 1.88 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, and he has earned a bigger role in the process. The larger question for the Angels is whether this is the start of a real bullpen answer or just a late-season burst from a pitcher who was barely on the radar a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Still Have One Roster Problem New Ownership Could Finally Address
Catching has quietly been one of the Angels nagging roster issues for years, and it has become even more pronounced with the recent trade of Logan OHoppe. For a club trying to stabilize its lineup and give its pitching staff a steadier target behind the plate, that makes the position one of the more obvious places to look if new ownership wants to make an immediate imprint.
One possible fit is Brandon Valenzuela, whose strong defensive season for the Blue Jays has put him on the radar as a trade candidate. Toronto already has Alejandro Kirk locked in on a long-term extension, which could make Valenzuela available if the Angels decide catching needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. The question is whether this front office sees him as the kind of upgrade worth pursuing, or whether the search for a long-term answer at the position continues into another offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Face A Tough Reid Detmers And Walbert Urena Decision
Reid Detmers and Walbert Urena have given the Angels something they havent had often enough this season: two young arms worth building around. Both pitchers have already established new career highs in innings, and each has helped steady a staff on a last-place team that has spent too much time trying to piece things together. Detmers has been especially sharp since the break, working to a 1.65 ERA with strong strikeout-to-walk numbers, while Urena has emerged as one of the clubs most encouraging breakout stories.
The challenge now is less about what they have done and more about how much the Angels should ask them to do from here. Urenas rise has put him in the mix for AL Rookie of the Year consideration, and Detmers has looked like a pitcher the organization can lean on for years to come, but both are also carrying more innings than they have before. For a team not playing for a postseason chase, the balancing act is clear: keep the development momentum going without pushing either arm too far. [Read more 🡒]