The Los Angeles Angels played just some atrocious baseball over the weekend -- they were swept in a four-game series by their division rival Seattle Mariners and were officially eliminated from the playoffs for the 11th season in a row. The Angels were trying to play spoiler, but absolutely rocketed the Mariners up the standings. Seattle has surpassed the Houston Astros as the leaders in the American League West, but thankfully for the Astros they play the Angels in a series to close out the regular season.
Amidst all that misery for Angels fans, was more misery in the form of a former first rounder going down with an injury that will end his promising season.
Angels News: Detmers out for season, recently waived position player stays with org
Yes, Reid Detmers' injury actually was way more severe than the Angels and he let on. On Wednesday September 10th, Detmers was removed from a game with an elbow injury. He described it as dead arm, which is to be expected with any pitcher given that it's the final month of a marathon regular season. However, it turned out to be left elbow inflammation and he was sent to the 15-day IL. The nail was not fully in the coffin of missing the rest of the season, but the Angels just placed Detmers on the 60-day IL which means he will remain out the rest of the way.
Detmers punched out 80 batters in his 63.2 innings pitched as a full-time reliever this season, which encapsulates just how effective the southpaw was this season. The Angels are currently 12 games below .500, but Detmers has a 5-3 record. Typically, relievers' win-loss records reflect the team's overall record, but the fact that Detmers is over .500 also shows that he was a crucial part of the team's success this year. If the Angels do not re-sign Kenley Jansen this offseason, Detmers will undoubtedly be the leader in the clubhouse to fill in as closer over guys like Robert Stephenson and Ben Joyce.
In other news, Niko Kavadas cleared waivers and will return to the Angels. The first baseman was designated for assignment to make room for Chad Wallach recently, which showed that the Angels did not quite prioritize keeping Kavadas around long-term. However, he is back with the team and is being sent back to Triple-A Salt Lake.
