Angels News: Halos add Jacob Rhame via waiver claim

The Los Angeles Angels have added a new arm to their pitching staff, claiming Jacob Rhame off of waivers.

Beset by injuries and other absences on their pitching staff after just seven days in camp, the Los Angeles Angels needed to make a move to add to their pitching depth. They did so on Wednesday, adding a much-needed arm to their 60-man player pool.

According to the Angels’ communications department, the team claimed right-handed reliever Jacob Rhame off of waivers from the New York Mets.

At 27-years-old, Rhame doesn’t profile as a game-changer for the Halos. However, at a time when the team has added four pitchers to the injured list (links here and here) over the last few days, the team needed to add some depth to the 60-man player pool and assess options.

Drafted in the 6th round of the MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013, Rhame was is most famous for being the player to be named later in the trade that brought Curtis Granderson across town in 2017.

In seven minor league seasons, Rhame owns a 3.50 ERA and an 11.0 K/9 over 314 innings of work, all in relief. Unfortunately, that hasn’t translated to production at the game’s highest level. Since making his MLB debut with the Mets in 2017, Rhame has accumulated a 6.23 ERA and a 7.1 K/9 in 47.2 big league innings. That includes a disastrous 6.1 inning cup of coffee last season, where the right-hander surrendered nine walks.

Rhame also served a two-game suspension in 2019 after Major League Baseball claimed he intentionally threw two pitched at Rhys Hoskins of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets led the game 9-0 at the time, but the league felt they were retaliatory for two Mets players that were struck the night prior.

With that all said, it’s hard to see much upside in the move for the Angels. Rhame throws in the upper 90s, but control issues have plagued his development. A 27-year-old returning from an ulnar nerve surgery and a lack of a solid track record doesn’t light up the bounceback player profile. This move would likely make more sense if there were a minor league season, where the Angels could stash him as needed. However, with the lack of said minor league options, he’ll eat up space on the team’s 60-man player pool instead.

"LA Angels: 5 Questions the team must answer when play resumes"

With the addition of Rhame, the Angels now stand at 57 players on their 60-man player pool.