The Angels announced a series of roster moves and the club picked up right-handers contracts Reyes Moronta And Jacob Webb. The club also announced that he is a left-hander Aaron Loeb Activated from the 15-day wounded list, while the oath Andrew WantzAnd Jimmy HurgitAnd Zack Weiss They were all optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. Moronta and Webb will take the vacated 40-man slate of candidates Brett Phillips And Ryan Teberaboth of which were set for assignment by the club earlier this week.
Moronta, 30, made his major league debut with the Giants in 2017. He remained part of the club’s bull mix until 2021, when the club delisted his owners, prompting him to declare free agency. During his time with the Giants, Moronta excelled on the mound, with a 2.65 ERA that was 52% better than the league average by ERA+ and a 3.44 FIP in 132 1/3 innings pitched. Despite stellar results that saw him see a quality option late on, the Giants opted to part ways with the right-hander after shoulder surgery, which cost Moronta the entire 2020 season, proved to be a sap on his speed. While he averaged 97.2 mph on his four seams in 2019, his pitch speed dropped more than three marks to just 93.9 mph when Moronta returned to the mound in 2021.
After leaving San Francisco, Reyes spent 2022 as a member of the Dodgers and Diamondbacks organizations, with a 4.30 ERA and 4.41 FIP in 37 2/3 innings pitched. Despite declining performances, he secured a minor league deal with Rangers during the offseason, although he was released by the club once it became clear he would not make a list. That led him to sign a minor league deal with the Angels earlier this month. Now, Moronta has joined the Halos Action Center just ten days after signing with the organization.
Webb, meanwhile, posted a 2.47 ERA over 76 2/3 innings pitched as a member of the Braves from 2019-2021, though his 3.99 FIP indicates there is some good luck with his stellar top-line scores. Webb didn’t appear in the majors last season, posting a 6.06 ERA in 35 2/3 innings pitched during an injury-plagued 2022 campaign. Webb elected free agency during the offseason, eventually signing with the Angels on a minor league deal. While Webb has struggled to a 6.75 ERA in 17 1/3 innings pitched so far in Salt Lake this season, the Angels are hoping he can get things back on track in the major league moving forward.
The pair is joined by right-handed Angels bullpen Loeb, who returned from the injured list after suffering a hamstring injury earlier this season. Loup signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Angels prior to the 2022 season, and pitched a 3.84 ERA with a 3.76 FIP in 58 2/3 innings of work last season. Now in his 35-year-old season, Loup struggled in nine innings of work this year before his injury, posting a 7.00 ERA with nine hits and seven walks (two of which were intentional) against just eight strikeouts. Of course, the veteran lefty came into the 2023 campaign with a career-high only 3.15 over his previous 11 seasons in the majors, leaving the Angels with reason to be optimistic that he can turn things around and join Carlos Estevez and Matt Moore late on. inning the option to proceed.
The 27-year-old Wantz has had the best performance this season out of the three Triple-A ticketed righties, with a 3.32 ERA in 21 2/3 innings pitched so far this season. Hergett, 29, has struggled to a 4.38 ERA in 12 1/3 innings pitched so far this season after posting 2.48 in 69 innings pitched for the Angels last season. Meanwhile, Weiss appeared only twice with the Angels before his demotion, with three hits, a home run, and a walk against two strikeouts in 1 and 3 innings of work. All three numbers are depth options for the bull of the angels going forward.
