Angels News: Veteran reliever is out, intriguing prospect is in, Jansen blows a save

The Angels' bullpen has sneakily become the most fun part of the team -- given where they started, how they are faring recently and the cast of characters involved. Interim manager Ray Montgomery has immense faith in the reliever corps, as evidenced by him lifting Jack Kochanowicz and Tyler Anderson early in their last starts because of how lights out they have been the past two months. One would think that they would keep that eight-man group together indefinitely...well, think again!

Angels News: Veteran reliever is out, intriguing prospect is in

Héctor Neris was the weakest member of the Angels' bullpen. That being said, Neris, who was signed to a minor league contract 2.5 months ago, was used in higher leverage spots and had been able to get out of tough jams with great consistency. The 36-year-old would constantly be inserted into games with men on, and it felt like he was able to come out clean more often than not (Brogdon is good at stranding runners too).

Given that Neris began the season with Atlanta, Perry Minasian knew he wanted him and was aware of how good of a veteran presence he is in the clubhouse. Intangibles, makeup and being a former member of the Atlanta Braves mean everything to Minasian.

Neris is not the perfect reliever, but he was not atrocious despite the alarming traditional stats. Suffice to say, the eye-test was greater than the stats with Neris. He had a 5.14 ERA, sure. He also had a 4.02 FIP, which was good for the sixth best mark on the team from May 1st on (excluding Robert Stephenson and Touki Toussaint). His 1.29 WHIP was one of the team's best marks in that time span. His strikeout numbers were well above average as well.

“Héctor was great for the time he was here, in terms of what he brought to bullpen, settle down some of the young kids, gave a veteran presence,” Montgomery said to Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register. “But when Fermin is here, obviously, he’s part of what’s going on going forward. And unfortunately, that’s just part of the game. Somebody has to be replaced.”

José Fermin, in theory, is a better reliever than Neris, so that's why the team DFA'd Neris to return Fermin. In his two appearances against Washington over the weekend, Fermin touched 98 MPH and his slider sat in the upper-80s and ran up to 91 MPH -- which led to two clean and efficient innings of relief against. Fermin's numbers were pretty much on-par with Neris' this season, but the stuff is far better and the team wants to fully integrate their no. 20 prospect into the big leagues since he is a massive part of their future.

The hope is Neris clears waivers and will return to Triple-A Salt Lake. He could still elect free agency and pursue a better opportunity elsewhere, or the team might trade him. If he does clear waivers and re-signs with the Angels, there is a clear path for him to return to MLB despite this recent transaction.

Kenley Jansen blows his first save as a member of the Los Angeles Angels

Jansen's first season with the Angels was going just about as well as it possibly could have...until yesterday. In the rubber match between the Angels and Nationals, Jansen finally blew his first save of the season. Jansen had a 15:0 save-to-blown save ratio for the season, only eclipsed by Josh Hader's 23:0 mark for Houston. No reliever other than Hader had 15 or more saves without blowing a save.

Now, Jansen's 4.40 ERA and 5.22 FIP look a lot more messed up. Of the 23 closers with 10 or more saves this season, Jansen has the single worst FIP and the third worst WHIP. The 37-year-old's inability to hold runners is also a massive cause for concern, as the Nationals' baserunners were just freely gifted an extra 90 ft. on Sunday. It feels like Jansen's immaculate season was a bit of a mirage, and things might continue to unravel with him given the underlying numbers and eye-test.

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