Angels pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training on Tuesday. As we count down the days until camp begins, we are going through the various position groups to give a breakdown of where the roster stands. Today we take a look at the bullpen, the final installment of the series. Previously, the catchers, outfielders, infielders and starting pitchers.
2024 RECAP
There were a couple of pleasant surprises in the bullpen, starting with righty closer Carlos Estévez. After Estévez finished poorly in 2023, he started out 2024 in a similar slump. However, Estévez turned things around, at one point retiring 26 straight hitters over a month. Estévez had a 2.38 ERA when the Angels traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies at the deadline. The Angels also traded right-hander Luis Garcia, who had a 3.71 at the time of the deal. That left righty Ben Joyce as the Angels’ closer, even though he had barely pitched in the major leagues. Joyce, whose fastball has reached 105 mph, had a 2.08 ERA over 34⅔ innings. Veteran righty Hunter Strickland was another pleasant story in the bullpen, posting a 3.31 ERA. Righties Hans Crouse (2.84) and Ryan Zeferjahn (2.12) and lefty Brock Burke (3.54) also pitched well after the Estévez and Garcia trades, giving the Angels a surprisingly strong bullpen down the stretch.
HOW IT LOOKS RIGHT NOW
The biggest addition to the Angels’ bullpen could be a player they signed prior to last season. Right-hander Robert Stephenson signed a three-year, $33 million deal just before last spring, but he underwent Tommy John surgery and didn’t throw an inning for the Angels in 2024, not even in spring training. Stephenson could be back by summer, or perhaps earlier. Beyond that, though, the Angels didn’t add anyone of significance to the bullpen. As it stands now, Joyce would be the closer, with Burke, Crouse and Zeferjahn getting the high-leverage setup innings. Although all of those pitchers did well for the Angels in 2024, it might be a leap to count on them to replicate that over a full season in 2025. Joyce, Crouse and Zeferjahn still haven’t even been through a full major-league season yet. And Burke has been inconsistent enough that he was released by the Texas Rangers last year. Lefty José Quijada, who came back from Tommy John surgery last season, could also factor into the late-inning work.
THE NEXT LAYER
The bullpen depth is thin. Pitchers like lefty Jack Dashwood and righty Kelvin Cacares have been recently added to the 40-man roster. They also picked up left-hander Garrett McDaniels in the Rule 5 draft. Otherwise, the Angels’ best bet to find some impact relievers might be the leftovers from their rotation. Right-handers Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman have had some brief success pitching in the major-league bullpen, but going into the spring both are on the rotation depth chart.
MOVE THEY COULD MAKE
Right-hander Kenley Jansen is coming off a season in which he recorded 27 saves and a 3.29 ERA with the Boston Red Sox. Jansen, 37, has 447 major-league saves, so he knows his way around the ninth inning. The Angels could sign him to be their closer, giving Joyce a little more time to get acclimated in the majors before counting on him in that role.