Angels News: Another high-priced player out for year, reliever could make late return

In what feels like a blink of an eye, the Angels went from a team with incredible injury luck to a team with a multitude of players on the injured list. The Angels had a starting rotation that used five starters for almost a record amount of time this year, Mike Trout missed all but two games in May but has posted the most in a season since 2019, plus veterans like Kenley Jansen and Travis d'Arnaud have held up despite playing demanding positions. However, with eight games to go, players are dropping like flies. Several of them are high-priced, and others are integral members of the present and future. The latest casualty was high-priced and supposed to be a big part of the present.

Angels News: Another high-priced player out for year, reliever could make late return

Robert Stephenson's career is going completely off the rails. Stephenson has the exact same injury that Reid Detmers came down with recently -- inflammation in his throwing arm. Yep, that's both of the team's should-be set up men going down for the year a week apart from one another with the same injury. Stephenson has appeared in 12 games during his Angels tenure, while he appeared in 167 games in the three years prior to Perry Minasian signing him.

Stephenson will be entering the final year of his three-year, $33 million deal next season. Other Angels players who will be entering the final year of their deal next year who are currently on the injured list are Anthony Rendon, Jorge Soler and Travis d'Arnaud (who should come back before the season ends). Integral members of the Angels young core who are out for the season are Zach Neto, José Soriano, Detmers and Ben Joyce. Tyler Anderson, who is in the final year of his three-year, $39 million deal is also out for the season. While we're here, Andrew Chafin, Víctor Mederos, Carson Fulmer and Gustavo Campero are also down for the count. At least Mike Trout is currently healthy *knocks on every piece of wood imaginable* enough to play his most games in a season since 2019 and just hit his 400th home run!

On a lighter note, Ryan Zeferjahn might return before the season mercifully ends. Per Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register, the reliever is eligible to return today after suffering from right knee tendinitis and landing on the 15-day injured list after last pitching on September 5th. Zeferjahn, who joined the Angels organization last season alongside Matthew Lugo, Niko Kavadas and Yeferson Vargas, has been in the majors much longer than the others this year.

There is no word as to whether or not Zeferjahn will come back to the active roster, but the 27-year-old might want to do everything he can to do so. He has some pretty substandard numbers -- a 4.77 ERA, 5.36 FIP and 1.45 WHIP. If he wants to help his case to make the 2026 Opening Day roster, he should aim to return today and bolster his case with some productive pitching.

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