The Angels’ need to add pitchers in the summer is reinforced by their most recent injury.
With the news that Chase Silseth had season-ending elbow surgery, the Los Angeles Angels lost another pitcher for the year. The Angels have said that Silseth did not have Tommy John surgery and is anticipated to return for spring training of the following season, despite the fact that the details are still unknown.
Although Silseth was on the Angels roster on Opening Day, he has only made two starts in the Halos’ current campaign. Before the right-hander was sent on the injured list in early April due to a feared elbow irritation, he was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and 12 strikeouts in eight innings thrown.
Around the middle of June, Silseth started a rehab assignment. He was eventually activated off the 60-day injured list, but he was optioned back to Triple-A as soon as possible. However, before being placed on the seven-day injured list at the end of last month, Silseth was only able to make seven appearances in lower league games with the Salt Lake Bees.
The Angels’ latest rotational injury highlights the necessity of adding pitching throughout the summer.
The latest pitcher from the Angels to miss a substantial amount of time this season is Silseth. Robert Stephenson, the first big league free agent signed by LA, was injured during spring training and never even got to play. Additionally, due to their 60-day injured lists, Andrew Wantz, Patrick Sandoval, Jose Cisnero, and Kelvin Caceres are not available for the Angels.
The majority of the 2024 season was spent by Reid Detmers in the minor leagues, therefore the Angels are now depending on Johnny Cueto, a former pitcher, to round out the rotation. That should tell you all you need to know about the Angels organization as it is right now. There is very little guidance for this franchise.
Though the top team needs to alter, there’s no denying that the Angels’ largest (and maybe only) need going into the winter is shown by Silseth’s injury and the lack of depth in the lower league pitching corps. Regretfully, the Angels organization has been dealing with this issue for what seems like a long time.
This winter, pitching needs to be the Angels’ top, second, and third priorities. Going forward, depending on veterans like Carson Fulmer and Hunter Strickland to get you through a season is a risky but unproven tactic.
