Notes: Waiver claim, sidelined players, Ohtani
Rhett Bollinger
@RhettBollingerANAHEIM -- The Angels made a slew of roster moves Wednesday, including claiming right-handed reliever Jacob Rhame off waivers from the Mets. Rhame, who has a career 6.23 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings with New York over the last three seasons, gives the Angels some relief depth.
The Angels also placed several players on the 10-day injured list, including right-hander Julio Teheran; left-handers Dillon Peters, Jose Suarez and José Quijada; outfielder Brandon Marsh; and second baseman Luis Rengifo.
Of that group, only Peters has an injury that has been made public. He has been dealing with an oblique strain.
Angels manager Joe Maddon said MLB protocols are keeping him from saying why players aren¡¯t in camp. Left-hander Patrick Sandoval and first basemen Matt Thaiss and Jared Walsh are also among those who haven¡¯t arrived.
Teheran, though, is hopeful to rejoin the Angels by this weekend if he tests negative for COVID-19 this week, according to a report from ESPN Deportes. Maddon said that even if Teheran is back in the next few days, he still might not have time to be ready for the start of the season.
¡°We¡¯d have to see him, get eyeballs on him,¡± Maddon said. ¡°It would probably be a rush. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s been doing or why he¡¯s not been here. Honestly, we¡¯d have to see that. In my mind¡¯s eye, you wouldn¡¯t want to push it, you would not want to jeopardize. That would be like once he¡¯s in the house you make that call conversationally and then watching it.¡±
With Teheran, Sandoval, Peters and Suarez not in camp, the Angels¡¯ starting pitching depth already is being tested beyond Andrew Heaney, Dylan Bundy, Griffin Canning and Shohei Ohtani, who will pitch once a week. The Angels are expected to open with a six-man rotation, which would leave two spots up for grabs, with Matt Andriese and Félix Peña the top two candidates. Jaime Barria is also in that mix.
¡°I think there¡¯s a tremendous amount of depth right now,¡± Maddon said. ¡°Getting Canning back right now, along with Shohei, and you combine that with Heaney. We need Julio here and Suarez and Sandoval. We saw Andriese, man. Just keep adding up those names. ¡ This is not hyperbole: These guys have really good arms and good makeup.¡±
Ohtani outlook
Ohtani came out of his intrasquad outing Tuesday without any issues. He had what the Angels described an ¡°active recovery day,¡± on Wednesday, as he did cardio work and worked with the trainers but didn¡¯t participate in baseball activities.
The Angels are still discussing what day of the week Ohtani will pitch this season, but it¡¯s likely to be Sunday because of three Monday off-days. If he pitches exactly once a week, Ohtani would make 10 starts this season.
¡°We¡¯re looking for a preponderance of off-days after a certain day where it would make the most sense,¡± Maddon said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be too specific yet because we¡¯re still putting it all together but you¡¯re always going to look with him as the day off after the day he would pitch as the optimal day.¡±
Angels tidbits
? Utilityman David Fletcher, who singled and doubled on Tuesday, stayed hot Wednesday in an intrasquad game. He launched a leadoff homer off Bundy in the first inning and later added a triple. Catcher Max Stassi also smacked an opposite-field, two-run shot off Bundy in the fourth. Canning pitched well over four strong innings, including two strikeouts of Mike Trout.
? The Angels experimented with using piped-in crowd noise Wednesday after playing without it on Tuesday. Maddon said he¡¯s not sure what the Angels will do once the regular season begins but they are trying out different things and will consult with the players on what they like best.