The Los Angeles Angels Have No Left Turn.

With the Los Angeles Angels left-handed relievers performing as bad as they are, will there be a change in the bullpen relatively soon?

The Los Angeles Angels and general manager Billy Eppler know when balancing out a bullpen, it is very important that you have both, good left hand and right hand pitching. It’s important because it keeps the batters guessing and it also challenges batters who may not perform well versus a certain pitching hand.

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One reason why the Angels bullpen has not been very successful this year is because of the current state of their left-handed relievers. Both Jose Alvarez and Greg Mahle have not performed very well this season. Alvarez is sporting a 4.33 ERA while Mahle had a 5.40 ERA before being sent down to Triple-A Salt Lake which is not acceptable. Especially for a reliever.

Last season Jose Alvarez was a solid reliever for the Angels, which is why they decided to keep him around this year and let their other left-handed reliever Cesar Ramos explore free agency. However, that move is looking to backfire on the Angels. Currently, Alvarez has pitched in 35 innings this year and he has allowed 42 hits. He also has a WHIP of 1.50 which is higher than last year’s 1.21 and batters are hitting .300 against Alvarez which is also higher than last year’s .228 avg.

Now, if you thought Alvarez was performing bad, wait until you hear about the Angels other left hander, Greg Mahle. The Angels were hoping that Mahle would step up this year and be a solid contributor out of the bullpen which hasn’t happened. Mahle is sporting a 1.80 WHIP which is atrocious, teams are averaging almost two base runners per inning against him. This is what led Manager Mike Scioscia to demote Mahle back to the minor leagues and has opened a gap in the bullpen pitching staff

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What can the Angels do to help the bullpen problems?

Since the Angels are not getting the consistency and production out of their left-handed relievers, there is a possible solution that the Angels might as well try, which is sending Hector Santiago to the bullpen.

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The reason why the Angels should consider moving Santiago to the bullpen is because he is another left-handed pitcher that the Angels could desperately use late in games. This season has been filled with ups and downs for Santiago, as he is currently sporting a 5.27 ERA after giving up six runs against the A’s Sunday.

Santiago just frankly can’t last long in games. This year, Santiago has started 15 games and he has only pitched 79 innings. If my math is correct, that’s an avg of 5.2 innings per game which you would like to see more out of a starting pitcher.

Santiago also has some relief experience. In 2012, Santiago pitched in 42 games with the White Sox and he allowed only a 3.33 ERA and also had a 1.34 WHIP avg which is better than both of the left-handed relievers that the Angels have used this season. Allowing him to make a move to the bullpen could possibly provide more consistency which the Angels have been lacking in.

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Not to mention, the Angels starting rotation is looking crowded with Tyler Skaggs possibly returning in the next few weeks and the Angels recently welcoming back Nick Tropeano from the DL by sending him to Triple-A just to make room for all of the other five current starting pitchers to stay in the rotation. Personally, I believe Tropeano should be in the starting rotation and think he will be back soon which will result in a need to create a spot in the starting rotation for him.

Another possible option is when/if Skaggs is ready to come off the DL could he begin in the bullpen as he is also left-handed. This might be a good way to ease him back into major league action.

The final option for the Los Angeles Angels would be to attempt to acquire someone in a trade. This may not be an option the team is willing to take at this point, but we will see in the next month.

The Angels this season are in a tough spot. They sit in the cellar of the AL West division and seem unlikely to make a playoff berth. Since this season is out of reach, the Angels might as well make a move to help their bullpen to see if it’ll work for the future.

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