3 relievers the Angels desperately need to step up in 2023

The Angels need Jimmy Herget to prove 2022 wasn't a fluke

Jimmy Herget came out of nowhere and was the best and most consistent reliever the Angels had all season.

HIs career high in appearances came in 2020 with 20 back when he was with the Rangers. He appeared in just 14 games for the Angels in 2021.

Herget allowed four runs while recording just one out in the Angels' second game of the season. He allowed just 15 earned runs the rest of the season. If you exclude that outing and a different outing where he allowed three runs while recording one out against the Mets, he will have allowed just seven runs in 68.1 innings pitched. He'd have a sub-1.00 ERA.

Unfortunately, bad outings cannot be erased, but it really shows how consistently dominant he was outside of those two blips. He ended the season as the Angels closer and recorded nine saves in 12 opportunities overall. As of now, he'd begin next season in that same role.

Something special about Herget was his ability to record more than three outs in an outing. He did this 22 times in his 49 appearances, and he even recorded as many as 11 outs in an outing while allowing just one hit in Seattle.

The Angels need Herget to prove 2022 wasn't a fluke. He had never really found a permanent spot in a bullpen before this season. He will be in some sort of high leverage role. Whether that's serving as the closer or not remains to be seen, but Herget has to have another really good season for the Angels.