Angels News: Nicky Lopez re-signs with the Cubs, LAA shakes up the bullpen and lineup

The Angels roster is fluid right now, as several players were cast off and a couple more were brought on. Three players who left recently, Nicky Lopez, Ian Anderson, and Michael Darrell-Hicks, are all in different places right now; meanwhile, Carl Edwards Jr. and Víctor Mederos are up in the big leagues for the time being.

Jon Heyman broke the news that Nicky Lopez signed a major league deal with the Cubs. It's a reunion between the two sides, as Lopez spent spring training with them before opting out of his deal when he did not make their Opening Day roster. Lopez was showing out with his torpedo bat during his spring training in Mesa, but that did not carry over to his Angels tenure whatsoever.

Ron Washington found the minimal amount of playing time for the 30-year-old utility man, as he only appeared in five games...despite Yoán Moncada going down with an injury, Luis Rengifo working his way back from a spring training hamstring tweak, and Kevin Newman and Tim Anderson not hitting well at all. Lopez will likely stay in a similar bench role with sparse playing time for the Cubs, just filling in for them when necessary.

Angels shake up the bullpen and lineup during their current skid

The Angels are in a swoon right now, and the team is taking measures to try and right the ship. They are below .500 at the moment, and doing whatever they can to stay afloat while in the middle of a 2-7 record in their last nine games.

Edwards is a cutter-curveball guy, who made his Angels debut against the Pirates. The veteran, alongside Kyle Hendricks, was a part of the Cubs 2016 World Series team and has been journeying around the league in recent years. Edwards and Mederos (who the Angels love) are just fresh arms for the Angels to use as they have been burning through their bullpen of late. Do not expect either to stick around for too long.

Ian Anderson was the Angels' worst reliever, and is now in roster limbo after his DFA (he was out of minor league options). It seems likely that a team will claim him off waivers, given that he is 26-years-old and is a fresh, stretched out arm that they could plug into their bullpen right away. Any team will undoubtedly need to weigh the risk/reward of bringing in a pitcher with an 11.57 ERA, 2.57 WHIP, and terrible K:BB, but Anderson might be a pitcher who teams see as a tweak away from really clicking. Darrell-Hicks was a temporary measure to eat innings out of the bullpen, and was sent back to Triple-A after posting a negative K:BB.

More notably, Washington finally formed their lineup the way we here at Halo Hangout have been clamoring for -- he flipped Jorge Soler and Taylor Ward in the lineup against the Pirates. Zach Neto has spent back-to-back games in the 2-hole, where he is probably best suited given how he hit last season. Washington adheres to a philosophy that the second hitter in the lineup should be able to bunt and move a runner over, which does not mesh at all with the current iteration of the team. Whether it's Ward or Soler hitting leadoff, they are power hitters who are trying to hit a ball into a gap or over the fence every at-bat. Furthermore, Neto is a much better hitter than Luis Rengifo or Nolan Schanuel despite their ability to ground out to second and move a runner over 90ft.

Additionally, the 7-9 spots in the order went Rengifo, Kyren Paris, and Jo Adell against Pittsburgh. Well, the strategy did not exactly pan out as the team accrued two hits and got shutout by Andrew Heaney and three relievers. However, in the long-term this formulation should boost the best results.

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