Angels’ Hansel Robles appears to play trumpet, sort of

Los Angeles Angels closer Hansel Robles had a bit of fun with his teammates on Wednesday night, busting out a trumpet while sitting in the team dugout.

After years of questions over what his role in the major leagues was going to be, Hansel Robles has found a home as the closer of the Los Angeles Angels. Now that he’s finishing games, that job includes playing your opponents off the field.

Apparently Robles is taking that seriously.

During Wednesday’s intrasquad game at Angel Stadium, Robles could be seen in the dugout with a trumpet in hand. When the stadium sound guys opted to pump in some “Careless Whisper”, Robles felt that was the right time to flout his new skills, as seen in the video at the bottom.

While Robles wasn’t obviously playing the track, which is actually recorded with a saxophone, he’s nonetheless been playing “Taps” for his opponents to close out Angels victories.

After a solid first season in Anaheim, where he put up a 2.97 ERA and 8.9 K/9 after a mid-season waiver claim from the Mets, Robles made a bigger jump the following season. In 71 appearances, the right-hander went 5-1 with a 2.48 ERA, a 2.88 FIP, and a 9.3 K/9. Additionally, he converted 23 of 27 save opportunities after taking over the role from Cody Allen.

Now as the 2020 season is a week away from finally beginning, Robles enters the year as the unequivocal closer for the Angels. With that security, it appears that the righty is finding a way to let his personality show a little in the dugout. Who knows? Maybe Robles can find a way to blow the horn to celebrate a save, similar to how Fernando Rodney fires the arrow when he shuts down an opponent.

The Angels retain contractual control over Robles through the 2021 season and are once again looking to get elite production out of their closer.