3 Angels players who won't be on the roster by July 1
The Los Angeles Angels have been forced to make a ton of roster changes in recent days due to injuries. Ben Joyce, Zach Neto, and Gio Urshela have all been placed on the IL in the last 10 days.
With us being more than halfway done with the month of June, the roster looks pretty different from how the month started. The bullpen has a different look, and the lineup features some fresh faces as well.
While injuries are impossible to predict, players who will get DFA'd or sent down are a lot easier to guess. It feels like these three players won't last the entire month of June.
1) LA Angels pitcher Kolton Ingram might be sent down as soon as today
Kolton Ingram is an arm the Angels have been excited about. They liked him enough to add him to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule-5 Draft to protect him from being taken, and they liked him enough to make him the latest call-up from AA Rocket City.
While other arms to come from the Trash Pandas like Sam Bachman, Jose Soriano, and Ben Joyce have shown flashes of brilliance in their short stints with the Angels, Ingram's MLB debut couldn't have gone much worse.
Handed an 8-2 lead in the seventh against a Royals team with the worst record in baseball and on a ten-game losing streak, Ingram failed to do much of anything. He gave up two hits and walked a pair as well while recording only one out. The Royals scored three runs against him, and Ingram allowed them to begin their epic comeback.
It's unfair to do this after one outing, but that's baseball. There's a very good chance we see Ingram again, but as a reliever with options who looked as bad as he looked in his debut, it feels more likely that we see him get sent down as soon as today than it does seeing him on this roster come July 1.
2) LA Angels infielder Michael Stefanic has to hit to stay
With the infield injuries the Angels have sustained this past week, Michael Stefanic earned the call-up from AAA Salt Lake. Stefanic was enjoying a fantastic season there, but he's always swung a good bat in AAA.
When Stefanic got his opportunities last season he didn't do much with them, hitting .197 with a .509 OPS. This season can be different obviously, but his spot is on thin ice to begin with.
With Zach Neto and Gio Urshela out, the Angels need versatility in their infield. While Stefanic has played around the diamond, he really is a second baseman. That's the only spot he's played at in the majors, and is the only position he's seen action at in the minors this season.
When Anthony Rendon is ready to play, he'll slot in at third base. We know Brandon Drury will be playing somewhere on the right side of the diamond. While Stefanic might be a better option than Luis Rengifo, the switch-hitter without options is going to be higher on the depth chart than the less-versatile player with options.
The spot the Angels really need to worry about is shortstop with Zach Neto out. Andrew Velazquez is filling in right now (and has performed admirably in his first three games) but is not an ideal starter. With Stefanic not being a good option at short, it feels a lot more likely to me that we see David Fletcher take his spot sooner than later.
Of course, if Stefanic is hitting the conversation might change, but until he does, his roster spot feels very much in jeopardy.
3) LA Angels pitcher Tucker Davidson doesn't provide much
Perry Minasian has done a nice job getting rid of players who have proven they didn't belong. He got rid of a big investment in Ryan Tepera despite the money he was owed. He got rid of Brett Phillips despite signing him this past offseason. When he feels a player doesn't fit, he lets them go.
This makes me question why Tucker Davidson is still here. As the only remaining piece from the extremely underwhelming Raisel Iglesias trade return, it feels like the southpaw is only here to help Minasian try and salvage something out of what is clearly a bad trade. Since Davidson is seldom used, that's the only explanation I can really come up with.
Davidson's role is simple. He's the long reliever. When a starter can't go long or a game is out of reach late, he's the guy who comes in and eats innings. While that can be valuable, there are two problems I have with Davidson still being here.
One, he's rarely used. Davidson has made two appearances and thrown a grand total of three innings this month. The Angels have been winning and that's a huge reason why, but if this team is good then a need for a guy whose sole purpose is to come in for games that are out of reach feels a bit unneccessary.
My other issue with Davidson being on the roster is there has to be someone better. Even if you want a long reliever, Davidson hasn't been great. He has a 6.58 ERA in his 14 appearances, and has an ERA of 13.50 in his last seven.
In his last seven appearances the left-hander has two scoreless outings. There has to be an arm in the organization the team will use more and have better results than Tucker Davidson. I don't care that he's out of options and that he's the last piece of the Iglesias trade. It's time to let go.