Bright spot in LA Angels bullpen is now on the shelf with shoulder injury

Jimmy Herget has been one of the few reliable arms that the LA Angels have in the bullpen, and now he's been placed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder impingement.

Herget has thrown in 25 games so far this year, and has posted a 3.72 ERA. With an 0.991 WHIP, it's hard to argue with what he's brought to the pen this season. The injury doesn't seem to be severe enough to push Herget back any more than 15 days, but 15 days is a lot without Herget. Herget leads this Halo bullpen in fWAR (0.4).

His 3.40 FIP shows that he's not getting lucky, as does his 3.21 xFIP. The .228 batting average against isn't perfect, but the Angels will take that since he's only walking 1.6 batters per nine innings. He's CERTAINLY limiting the free passes. Besides, he's keeping the ball in the park. He's only given up four home runs all year (36.1 IP).

Oliver Ortega will likely be getting more work with the LA Angels now that Jimmy Herget is on the shelf.

With Ortega called up from Triple-A Salt Lake, he'll be asked to be the Ortega from the beginning of the season for the LA Angels, if he wants to help out with the loss of Jimmy Herget. He CAN'T be the Ortega the Halos saw in his last five appearances. That one had a 12.60 ERA in five innings and allowed a .385 batting average.

It allowed a 1.159 OPS and had a 7.93 FIP. The prior version, however, was much different. In Ortega's first 15 appearances of the season, he recorded a 1.71 ERA to go along with a .200 batting average against. He allowed just a .554 OPS. THAT'S the Ortega that the Halos are looking for.

And it's most certainly possible that he's the Ortega they're going to get. His overall numbers on the year are still not awful. His 3.81 ERA is decent, his 106 ERA+ isn't bad, and he's only given up three home runs all year (in 26 innings). Herget will be missed, but Ortega is capable of holding down the fort for 15 days.