The Angels finally have Ben Joyce back, and the stuff is every bit as loud as advertised.
After a rehab assignment in May got cut short by a setback, Joyce’s return was pushed all the way to August 5. Since then, he has wasted no time making noise: six appearances, six innings, no earned runs allowed, eight strikeouts, one walk. Opponents are hitting just .056 against him, and his WHIP sits at a cartoonish 0.33.
That kind of dominance is exactly why Joyce keeps drawing attention. The 26-year-old isn’t just a radar-gun curiosity, either.
He has one of the most electric arms in the sport, with a heater averaging 101.6 mph this season and 101.8 mph for his career. Last season, he already had the third-fastest pitch ever recorded in MLB history at 105.5 mph.
And there’s more to the arsenal than pure velocity. Joyce’s splinker has produced a 66.7% whiff rate in a tiny sample, and he also mixes in a slider to change the look for hitters.
That’s the reason the Angels’ long wait for him feels so strange right now: the best path may be to move him.
Relievers are a weird market. They do not carry the same value as starters, but the elite ones with power stuff and real production can become premium trade chips. If Joyce keeps piling up dominant outings, he could become exactly the kind of late-inning weapon contenders chase.
The comparison that hangs over all of this is Mason Miller. Joyce does not have Miller’s exact resume, but he has been effective when healthy, carrying a 2.78 career ERA.
Miller, meanwhile, had a 3.16 career ERA when the Padres traded for him last year, before later becoming the sub-1.00 ERA force seen today. What San Diego wanted was the upside and the control, and that’s what made the deal so expensive.
The Athletics came away with a major haul. Leo De Vries was the centerpiece and is now the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, while Braden Nett and Henry Baez also went back to the A’s.
The Angels might not land that exact kind of return for Joyce, but the upside is still obvious. He has the arm talent, the team control, and the kind of current production that can make a reliever-needy club get aggressive.
The risk, though, is impossible to ignore. Joyce’s injury history is heavy, especially on the arm side of things.
Tommy John surgery and an elbow stress fracture limited him to just 32⅓ innings at the University of Tennessee, and he has also dealt with shoulder issues since then. In all, he has thrown only 55 major league innings across parts of four seasons.
That is why another injury would be a disaster. It would crush his value and raise the worst possible question: damaged goods.
So the Angels are staring at a clear decision. Let Joyce keep dealing through the rest of the season, then try to turn him into a massive offseason return. Anything else would mean gambling with a prime asset that already comes with too much risk.
In Other News...
Angels Suddenly Face A Nolan Schanuel Problem During Stretch Run
The Angels stretch run took a hit when Nolan Schanuel landed on the 10-day injured list with a right intercostal strain, removing one of their more stable pieces at first base just as the schedule starts tightening up. Schanuel had been hurt in a recent game, and the club also lost outfielder Wade Meckler to the 7-day concussion injured list after another recent setback, forcing the roster to absorb two more absences at once.
To fill the openings, Los Angeles recalled outfielder Gustavo Campero and infielder Christian Moore, a reminder of how quickly the margin for error disappears in September. For an Angels team already trying to piece together production and health at the same time, Schanuels absence leaves a real question about how long they can hold things together at first base while waiting for bodies to come back. [Read more 🡒]
Christian Moore Gets Another Angels Shot At A Crucial Time
Christian Moore is back in the Angels lineup at a moment when the roster is getting stretched thinner by the day. Recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake, Moore started at second base and got his first Major League action since June 26, while Gustavo Campero also returned and drew the start in left field as the club shuffled pieces to cover new openings.
Nolan Schanuels move to the 10-day injured list with a right intercostal muscle strain created one of those openings, and Wade Mecklers placement on the seven-day concussion injured list added another. For Moore, this is another chance to make an impression in a situation where the Angels need answers quickly, and the way he handles this latest look could matter beyond just one game. [Read more 🡒]
Angels GM Search Will Show If Arte Moreno Has Really Changed
The Angels are back in familiar territory, sorting through a front-office opening with the season still unfolding and an interim hand on the wheel. John Mozeliak has stepped in after Perry Minasians dismissal, and for now his deal lasts only through the end of the year, which leaves the club facing a question that goes beyond one hire: whether this search is really about finding a long-term baseball chief or simply bridging the gap until the next decision point.
That question sits at the heart of how this process plays out under Arte Moreno, whose management style has long shaped the organizations reputation around the league. There is also the matter of where team president Molly Jolly fits into the power structure, because any meaningful change in the Angels front office will depend on more than just the rsum of the next general manager. The search should reveal whether the club is ready for a cleaner, more stable setup, or whether old habits still have the upper hand. [Read more 🡒]