Angels News: Reliever reinstated from injured list, 1B who cleared waivers wins award

The Angels need all the wins they can get these days, even the most minor. Mike Trout belting a 485 ft. home run for the 400th of his career was the highlight of the season, and Kyle Hendricks reportedly announcing his retirement to his loved ones behind closed doors brought some bitter sweet feelings amongst the fans. Denzer Guzman and Christian Moore are inspiring some hope, as Taylor Ward and Jo Adell are closing out their strong seasons well. The Angels did receive some slightly positive news of late fans can devour of late, too.

Angels News: Reliever reinstated from injured list, 1B who cleared waivers wins award

Ryan Zeferjahn is returning from the injured list for the team's final six games. He will be taking left-handed pitcher Sammy Peralta's spot on the active roster. The Angels reliever, who was acquired last year from the Boston Red Sox in the Luis García trade with Matthew Lugo, Niko Kavadas and Yeferson Vargas, suffered a knee injury

Zeferjahn needs to finish the season strong to help his case to crack the 2026 Opening Day roster. Not too long ago, Zeferjahn was viewed as a member of the team's young core moving forward alongside relievers like Brock Burke, Reid Detmers and Ben Joyce. However, his season has been below average and could use a major face lift during the team's final six games. In 59 games, the right-handed reliever has a 4.77 ERA, 5.36 FIP, 1.45 WHIP, with two saves, 17 holds and six blown saves.

At the very least, getting back into game action now can set up Zeferjahn for a normal offseason. The 27-year-old has some nasty stuff betwen his high-octane heater, gnarly cutter and gigantic sweeper. If he can hone some things in, he might be able to supplant himself as a bona fide major league middle reliever moving forward.

Meanwhile, another former Red Sox prospect in Niko Kavadas just took home some hardware. The first baseman posted a .318 batting average, hit five long balls, and drove in nine runs for the Triple-A Angels affiliate in the Salt Lake Bees.

The Angels basically gave up on Kavadas recently when they designated him for assignment in order to add Chad Wallach onto their active roster (for what amounted to one defensive replacement). Kavadas cleared waivers, meaning every team in baseball passed on adding him to their 40-man roster, and so he was subsequently returned to the Bees. He was passed on the depth chart by Logan Davidson, who had a cup of coffee with the Angels, and did not come close to making headway in catching up to Nolan Schanuel or even Oswald Peraza's spots on the Angels priority list.

Kavadas was dynamite during his time in the Arizona Fall League last year, but he will not return to the AFL and his plans for winter ball remain unclear. He does have a lot of upside given his immense raw power, but he has a long, long way to go to build his value back to a point where it was last year when he was with Boston.

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