Marte injury could give Angels the excuse they need to include Joyce on Opening Day roster

Jose Marte has a stress reaction in his right elbow. This injury will shut him down from throwing for at least four weeks, and he won't pitch for a few weeks after that according to Phil Nevin. Fortunately, there is no ligament damage in his elbow, and this is something that should heal with rest.

Marte suffering this injury is obviously unfortunate for the young right-hander. Marte hadn't appeared in a Spring Training game, and I assume this was at least part of the reason why.

While it's never a good thing to see a player hurt, this could give the Angels an excuse to bring Ben Joyce with the club to Oakland on the Opening Day roster.

Jose Marte's injury could give the Angels the excuse they needed to add Ben Joyce on the Opening Day roster

It sounds like Marte is going to be out of real game action for at least six weeks. Marte is currently on the 40-man roster, but the Angels can change that by placing him on the 60-day IL. They did this with Davis Daniel already, and with Marte likely not being ready to go in 60 days anyway, it makes a lot of sense.

If they were to move Marte to the 60-day IL, Ben Joyce has an easier path to the majors. The Angels wouldn't have to DFA Marte or anyone else that they might have wanted to remove from the 40-man to add Joyce, and the youngster can just come right up to the big leagues.

I still think a Joyce addition is 50/50 at best considering his inexpereince and the fact that the Angels have a bullpen that you can consider set. Six spots are locked up, likely seven if you want to include Jaime Barria. The last spot is occupied by Andrew Wantz who really hasn't done anything to lose his spot.

If the Angels were looking to promote Joyce but didn't want to DFA anyone to do it, placing Marte on the 60-day IL could be the solution. They wouldn't lose anybody and Marte likely wouldn't make an impact in the next two months regardless.