The veteran who is quietly holding the Angels bullpen together once again

In a year where the Angels have been, to put it politely, "unpredictable" across the board, it’s not easy for one part of the roster to stand out as being more chaotic than any other. But the 2025 bullpen has certainly tried.

As spring training finished up, it felt as if the relief corps was in pretty good shape. Ben Joyce and Kenley Jansen were set to form a devastating back-end tandem, with a plethora of setup options including Garrett McDaniels, Brock Burke and Ryan Johnson. If and when any of those arms tired, Hans Crouse, Jack Dashwood, and (eventually) Robert Stephenson were waiting in the wings.

Now Crouse has gone, Quijada and Dashwood are in the minors after surviving DFAs, McDaniels has been returned to the Dodgers after the Rule-5 draft pick was DFA'd himself and Joyce is out for the season.

Since Opening Day, this bullpen has seen Johnson debut without ever throwing a minor league pitch, anticipated future starters Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri and Sam Bachman used in relief and Reid Detmers stumble his way from rotation front-runner to reasonably dependable swingman. When Bachman made his 2025 debut against the Orioles, he became the 22nd relief arm used this season, not counting Nicky Lopez embarrassingly getting called on in game one.  

Yet amongst all the options, the surprise decisions and the disappointments, one veteran pitcher arrived without fanfare, and quietly set about doing everything he could do to stabilise things. And not for the first time, either.

The veteran who is quietly holding the Angels bullpen together once again

That pitcher is Hunter Strickland. Signed to a minor-league deal in early May after being unceremoniously dumped, twice, by the Rangers, Strickland has pitched 13.1 innings for the Halos without giving up an earned run. He’s 1-0 with 6 strikeouts and a 0.75 WHIP. He has handled any situation he’s been forced into; pitching on back-to-back days, coming in with the bases loaded and stranding everyone, and picking up the pieces after Tyler Anderson allowed two home runs – and all of that was just over this last weekend.

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. In February 2024, the Angels also signed Strickland to a minor-league contract. It came at a time when he was contemplating retirement after a decade long career which had seen him suit up for 8 teams, including a previous blink-and-you-missed-it 9 game stint with the Angels in 2021. This time, it ended up being a perfect fit, with Strickland throwing a career-high 73.1 innings to a 3.31 ERA, providing a much-needed bullpen bright spot during a franchise-worst season.    

Aside from a couple of bizarre injuries, and a dust-up with Bryce Harper, Strickland isn’t the type of pitcher who makes headlines. His four seam fastball averages 93.3 mph, which he pairs with a mid-80s slider for over 60% of his pitches. Add in an 81mph sweeper, 92mph sinker and a much lesser used 87mph changeup, and he has the ability to keep hitters off balance. So far in 2025 his strikeout rate sits at 10.9%, 9 points lower than 2024, and less than half his career rate of 22.2%, but in exchange, his groundball rate is ten points higher than last year, at 45.9%, He's inducing weak contact, too, holding hitters to a tiny 2.7% barrel rate.

Beyond the numbers, Strickland provides something that Ron Washington has desperately needed – reliability. Strickland is a guy who can take the ball virtually any time, in any situation, and lock down an inning. He’s had a remarkably injury-free career – aside from punching the occasional door, his most recent trip to the IL was for COVID in 2021. Over the coming months, that consistency should prove to be valuable, whatever happens. While Robert Stephenson’s return is further delayed, Strickland is providing the shutdown middle innings that the Angels so badly need. If they end up being sellers at the deadline, they’ll likely find that other teams need them, too.  

At 36, having been on the precipice of retirement and seemingly invisible to most other teams, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Hunter Strickland has found a home with these LA Angels. But as long as he keeps taking the ball, putting up zeroes and giving some stability to their bullpen, he should be made very welcome.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout