LA Angels: The case for bringing back Mike Mayers and Steve Cishek

Ask any LA Angels fan what they thought of the bullpen in 2021 and they’ll probably tell you that outside of Raisel Iglesias and some of the rookies, it was generally atrocious.

While that sentiment mostly rings true, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

In this case, it leaves out the fact that the Halos actually had two more reliable relievers who the team would be foolish not to bring back: Mike Mayers and Steve Cishek.

While not perfect, Mike Mayers and Steve Cishek proved that they deserve to be a part of the LA Angels in 2022.

Now don’t get me wrong, by no means am I saying either Mike Mayers or Steve Cishek are elite, high leverage guys who the LA Angels should trust in the eighth inning for example. Nor am I saying that this means the Angels don’t need to sign a couple of top-level relievers to further bolster the bullpen (they absolutely should).

What I am saying is that both Mayers and Cishek were quietly above average last year despite being drastically overused and placed into high-leverage situations they had no right being in.

If brought back and used properly with reduced workloads, both of them can undoubtedly be a major help to this team.

The case for the LA Angels bringing back Mike Mayers

Right off the bat, Mike Mayers had a 3.84 ERA in 2021, which is probably a lot better than you’d expect. Removing his two starts this number improves to 3.53. And before you say that he just got lucky or doesn’t really deserve that mark, his FIP and RA9 (basically ERA minus the E) are remarkably 3.84 as well.

The fact that he maintained this over a massive workload of 75 innings is even more impressive. In fact, he actually got better as the season went on, posting a 2.78 ERA in the second half versus 4.64 in the first half.

Going a little deeper, the advanced metrics show that Mayers actually could have been better last year if the Angels had a better defense (where have we heard that before). His .217 xBA represents a huge improvement over his normal .248 BA, as does his 3.39 SIERA.

Add on his solid strikeout numbers (10.8 K/9) and a decent whip (1.293), and suddenly the case for bringing back Mayers looks pretty sound.

Also, let’s not forget his excellent 2020 campaign where he put up a 2.10 ERA, 2.19 FIP and 12.9 K/9.

The only place where things get a bit iffy with Mayers is with his inherited runner numbers. On one hand, his 83.8% LOB rate ranks him seventh in the American League in 2021.

On the other hand, by virtue of his massive workload, he did ultimately allow 14/34 inherited runners to score. While stranding 58% is decent, it doesn’t exactly scream clutch. The disparity between his stats in low leverage situations versus high ones further accentuates this point.

In 37 low-leverage innings, Mayers held opposing batters to 10 earned runs and a .246/.291/.415 slash line. In 13.1 high-leverage innings, these numbers jump to 15 earned runs and a .300/.397/.560 line. If you want to distill this down even further, when pitching with men in scoring position, Mayers allowed an atrocious .872 OPS.

Thankfully, none of this should really matter as long as the Angels use Mayers properly. He’s not someone you bring in during important moments, but rather someone reliable who’s there when you need them for pretty much any other situation.

If his current arbitration projections of a $2.2 million salary are accurate, he could be an absolute steal at that price.