Angels News: Angels DFA once promising reliever in latest roster move

The Los Angeles Angels played their best baseball of the season in early June as they 11 of 14 at one time and had even pulled into sole possession of the second Wild Card spot. A big reason they were winning so consistently is their pitching finally improved. Particularly the bullpen.

In that stretch of 14 games, the Angels bullpen had a 2.68 ERA which was good for fifth in the majors. Guys like Chris Devenski, Sam Bachman and Jose Soriano really stepped up alongside Carlos Estevez, but there was another arm who really came up huge for the Halos.

Jacob Webb was instrumental for the Angels through that stretch and pitched really well for over a month, but an extremely rough month of July and a couple of bad outings in August sealed his fate as Webb was DFA'd by the Angels.

LA Angels DFA struggling reliever in latest roster move

In that aforementioned 14-game stretch, Webb was a key piece for Phil Nevin out of the bullpen. He made six appearances and did not allow a run in 6.1 innings pitched. He did walk six batters and allow another four hits, but runs are all that matter in the end and Webb allowed none. This included three holds and a monster save in which he came on in relief of Carlos Estevez in Texas and shut the door in what remains one of the best wins of the Angels season.

Unfortunately, Webb went from a guy who Phil Nevin could trust in the eighth inning of a close game to a pitcher who was really unusable. In his last 13 appearances he allowed 11 runs in 14 innings pitched. He walked 12 batters and allowed another 13 hits, four of which left the ballpark.

For whatever reason, Webb, a pitcher who had a 9.6% walk rate entering the season, saw that number spike to 14.3% in 2023. While he had a respectable 3.98 ERA in 29 appearances overall, Webb's FIP sat at 5.67 thanks in large part to the uptick in walks and home runs.

For now we wait and see whether Webb will be claimed off of waivers or not. If not, he can either accept an assignment to AAA Salt Lake or he can choose to elect free agency. Webb had some big moments for the Angels this season, but his prolonged slump made him extremely expendable.