Former Angels reliever finds a new home with the New York Mets

Chris Devenski, once a dominant back-end reliever with the Astros, signed with the New York Mets on a minor league contract. Devenski threw 33.2 innings with the Angels in 2023, before they designated him for assignment following a lengthy rehabilitation process for shoulder inflammation. The Rays claimed him on waivers following the Angels' DFA in late August, and Devenski went on to pitch incredibly well for the last month of the 2023 season.

Chris Devenski, AKA The Dragon, is a pitcher who could easily fit the mold of a modern reliever if he can stay healthy. Devenski is a changeup merchant, much like MLB fans are seeing right now in the World Series with Tommy Kahnle. In 2024, Devenski's changeup usage was at 47%, by far his most used pitch. His changeup, also known as The Dragon or The Dragon Ball, comes from a high, 3/4 arm release and has incredible depth and arm-side run. Perhaps with the Mets Devenski uses his changeup in the high 60%, low 70% range (Kahnle used his changeup 73% of the time this season with New York). Devenski is not known for his fastball velocity, and gets way more whiffs on his changeup than his heater.

Devenski finished fourth in the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year race, and followed that up with a 2017 All-Star Game appearance and was a part of the World Series winning* Astros team. Despite the potential, Devenski has pitched for five teams, about to be his sixth, in his about to be ten year career. The Angels were the fourth team to utilize Devenski, and had some solid underlying stats despite his traditional stats not looking great. He had a 33:9 strikeout to walk ratio, and generated a solid amount of whiffs. Unfortunately, he sported a 5.08 ERA and his rehab process from shoulder inflammation took a month and a half. The Angels opted to waive Devenski, and, in typical fashion, he pitched way better for the Rays.

The Angels have tried hard to find lightning in a bottle with their roster moves on the margins, and Devenski represented that. Perry Minasian, and his front office team, need to do a better job of identifying players like Devenski in order to fill out their roster. The best teams bring in players on cheap deals, or minor league deals, and are able to maximize their talents through stellar player development methods. So the Angels either need to do a better job of scouting underutilized players or revamp their coaching skills, as this facet of their team-building is one of the major reasons they have not made the playoffs since 2014.