Latest Ben Joyce update gives hope that Angels’ bullpen could be on the rise soon

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the Los Angeles Angels' bullpen has not been a roster strength so far in 2026. With injuries to key arms like Robert Stephenson and Kirby Yates and an underwhelming unit beyond that, the Angels' relievers currently rank 24th by fWAR in all of baseball, which certainly tracks with what fans have been treated to thus far. However, help may be on the way soon in the form of Ben Joyce.

Joyce has the most upside of any reliever in the Angels' bullpen, but the triple-digit heat he brings on the regular brought with it serious command issues and, more importantly, injury concerns. Since last May, Joyce has been on the injured list recovering from shoulder surgery, and news on his rehab had been concerningly sparse until very recently.

Now, we have a much better handle on exactly how close Joyce is to returning. After a series of mostly successful bullpens this spring, Joyce cleared a key hurdle this week by facing live hitters. By all accounts, that went well, and we should see Joyce out on a rehab assignment very soon.

Ben Joyce is getting very close to starting a rehab assignment, and the Angels need him badly

Now that Joyce has faced live hitters, it all comes down to exactly how careful you want to be with the young flamethrower. Figuring out how his body responds in the days that follow that outing on Tuesday and where his stuff is sitting will be a key consideration before LA makes any decisions.

Assuming that he isn't experiencing any soreness and his stuff passes the eye test, the start of Joyce's rehab assignment could be imminent. However, fans probably need to temper expectations in terms of how quickly Joyce will finish his rehab assignment, as he has had a long layoff without the usual spring buildup like his teammates. It is going to take several appearances of varying lengths before the Angels feel good enough to activate him.

With Joyce nearing a rehab assignment and Yates close to returning as well, the Angels will soon finally have the bullpen (mostly) that they envisioned for this season. Whether or not that vision is going to be good enough is the next question that needs answering.

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