Angels News: Relief pitcher's revelatory season put on pause, familiar face recalled

The relievers' remarkable turnaround as a unit has been one of the Angels' best stories of the 2025 season. From Opening Day until May 19th (a 46 game sample size), the Angels' relievers posted a 6.92 ERA, a 5.45 FIP, a 1.73 WHIP and allowed 30 home runs. The team's record was 21-25 in that span. From May 20th on (43 games), the Halos' bullpen posted a 3.19 ERA, a 4.18 FIP, a 1.30 WHIP and have allowed 19 long balls. The Angels are 22-21 since May 20th. The biggest catalyst of the bullpen's turnaround was Hunter Strickland, who just so happened to make his first appearance of the season on May 20th.

Angels News: Relief pitcher's revelatory season put on pause

Just when the bullpen felt like it was going to have some prolonged continuity, the baseball gods reared their ugly head. Strickland is being placed on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. The eight-man unit of Strickland, Kenley Jansen, Reid Detmers, Ryan Zeferjahn, Brock Burke, Sam Bachman, Connor Brogdon and Héctor Neris have the most appearances as a reliever from May 20th on, and it felt like that band played well together. Neris was rightfully designated for assignment and subsequently released to make room for a superior pitcher in José Fermin. However, this injury to Strickland is a major bummer, as his presence was the linchpin of the entire group. The other six relievers are still kicking.

Three of Strickland's last five outing have severely skewed his season-long numbers. In 19 appearances for the year, the veteran has a 3.27 ERA, a 4.44 FIP and 1.23 WHIP. He has allowed eight earned runs all year, and all eight came in his last five outings. The 36-year-old, who is in his third go-round with the Angels franchise, went 14 straight appearances without allowing an earned run.

A player being placed on the 15-day injured list rather than the 10-day always gives fans pause. Additionally, the Angels' bugaboo this season has been inflammation. Both Mike Trout and Yoán Moncada have experienced inflammation in their knees this year, and both needed more time to rehab than expected. However, the team does have the All-Star break coming up in a week so Strickland should not necessarily miss too many games to deal with this ailment.

Angels News: Familiar face recalled to replace Strickland

The corresponding move for the Angels is recalling Víctor Mederos, who already has made a three inning appearance on April 25th. The 24-year-old is no longer viewed as a prospect, but still remains one of the more intriguing pitchers in the organization. Mederos flashed a 97 MPH heater in his lone MLB outing against Minnesota, and all of his two-seams possess above average arm-side run. He adds in a cutter, slider and changeup with his 2S to round out his arsenal.

Much like Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri and Jake Eder, Mederos was starting every game in the minor leagues but is being brought up to be a reliever. This strategy is much-maligned in the Angels' community, as some say it points to the org's lack of depth and it puts the players' development in danger. Mederos' growth is certainly important for the Angels, so fans will likely groan if he gets touched up while he's up in the big leagues.

Mederos has made a total of eight appearances (11.1 innings pitched) from 2023-2025 with the Angels. He has a 9.53 ERA, 6.02 FIP and 2.29 WHIP against major league hitters. He has a 10:12 K:BB. His stuff is too good to have those numbers, so expect some positive regression at some point in the near-future.

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