Angels News: Reliever provides injury timetable, high-profile pitcher returns

Gone are the days of the Angels' bullpen continuity. After a successful eight-man crew completely turned the unit around, a couple members are gone. Héctor Neris was a part of the unit, but was defensibly sent away in favor of the superior José Fermin. Another spot has been rotating due to a stalwart's significant injury. Let's dive into all of it.

Angels News: Reliever provides injury timetable

At one point during the season, Hunter Strickland was one of four MLB pitchers with 11+ innings pitched to have a 0.00 ERA. Strickland was an absolute shutdown reliever for the bullpen, and the relievers all completely transformed from zero-to-hero from the moment he entered the big league bullpen. His addition was a catalyst for the team and he will be dearly missed...but he's not gone for good.

According to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger's report, Strickland said himself he will be back by September as he works his way back a "significant" shoulder strain. It's refreshing to actually be provided with a timeline for an injured player, as the organization is so hush-hush on doling out details on their guys' rehab processes.

Will he be able to re-capture some of his magic? Likely not, even though one could make the case that he started to unravel because of this shoulder malady. The 36-year-old was able to get the job done over-and-over despite some murky peripherals. When Strickland had a 0.00 ERA after his first 14 appearances, he did have an unsteady 5.01 xFIP, 13.6% K% and 10.2% BB%. In his last five outings, the reliever posted an 11.37 ERA, 7.27 FIP, 5.77 xFIP and opposing hitters were slashing .370/.438/.704/1.141.

Angels News: High-profile pitcher returns

Much like with Strickland, the Angels brought in Carson Fulmer on a MiLB deal about a month ago due to the familiarity between both sides. The former first round pick out of Vanderbilt University was signed to a MiLB deal by the Halos in 2023 before working his way back to the big leagues in '23 and '24. Well, the veteran is back in the big leagues with the Angels for the third straight year.

When Strickland went down, the Angels rolled with Víctor Mederos to eat innings. After Mederos made an appearance, they optioned him down to Triple-A and brought Sam Aldegheri back up. After the Italian's poor outing against Texas, they optioned him down to Double-A and selected Fulmer's contract. In order to add Fulmer to the 40-man roster, Strickland was moved to the 60-day injured list.

How long will Fulmer last with the Angels? Who's to say. They might simply keep rotating their long relievers for the foreseeable future. Perhaps they make a trade to acquire a more durable and superior reliever to Mederos, Aldegheri and Fulmer? Seems like a smart plan, especially since Fulmer is out of MiLB options and to rotate him out they would need to DFA him.

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