LA Angels call up Pounders demote Alvarez

The LA Angels demoted lefty specialist Jose Alvarez on Friday and recalled Brooks Pounders from Salt Lake. The Angels also acquired  IF/OF Nick Franklin for cash from Milwaukee.

As it has been common this season the LA Angels use the Salt Lake City express swapping relievers Brooks Pounders and Jose Alvarez. Alvarez has been the lefty-specialist for the Angels most of the last two seasons but has struggled as of late and has seen his ERA balloon to 5.23 after going 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA in the month of June.

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The Angels will go without a left-handed arm in the bullpen again just like they did for almost a month last season. The team doesn’t even have a left-handed pitcher on the roster at the moment.

In Salt Lake City the Angels have two players with bullpen experience who are left-handed relievers, Greg Mahle and Cody Ege who both saw action in the Angels bullpen in 2016.

Will the Angels eventually call one of those two pitchers up to Anaheim is anyone’s guess? For now the Angels will go without a lefty and Pounders will add depth to a depleted Angels pen that has been used for 13 innings since Monday.

The Angels also acquired Nick Franklin who can play both the infield and outfield from the Brewers  to add some depth in the minor leagues. However with the struggles some of the Angel hitters are having Franklin could be In the majors quickly.

This year Franklin has played in 53 games with the Brewers hitting .195 with two homers and 10 RBI’s.  For his career Franklin has 24 homers and 94 RBI’s with a .217 career average.  His best season was his rookie year in 2013 in Seattle when he hit 12 homers with 45 RBI’s and a .221 batting average.

Next: Breaking down the 2017 Freeway Series

The Angels continue trying to tweak their line-up to find the best combination to help them continue to stay in the wild-card race. Let’s hope they find the right one soon.