Angels News

June 2, 2024 - Written by Bryan Whitfield

The Official Move

After the conclusion of last nights game, the Angels made official they have optioned LHP Reid Detmers to Triple-A Salt Lake, this morning the team announced Ben Joyce has been recalled from Double-A Rocket City. Manager Ron Washington said the team will discuss who will take over Detmers spot in the rotation for the time being once they return to Anaheim on Monday. The team technically won’t need a 5th starter until June 11th as they have 2 days off over the next 9 days, so recalling Joyce makes a ton of sense for the team.

A Much Needed Reset

While this isn’t what Detmers or the team wanted to have happen, this is a much needed reset for the left-hander who has struggled heavily as he’s accumulated a 6.14ERA this season. The former first-rounder was excellent in 11 straight starts dating back to last season in 2023 where he had a 1.98ERA in 60+ innings of work. Since then Detmers has made 8 starts and put together an 8.93ERA (40 earned runs) in 40.1 innings. You have to feel for the guy but this move is for the best to allow him to regain both his stuff and his confidence. Detmers was filled with emotions postgame, understandably holding back tears. Detmers said his focus in the minors is to get his slider and confidence back. He was optioned back in 2022 and made a tweak to his slider with former minor league pitching coach Buddy Carlyle. Carlyle has since been let go by the team but when Detmers came back he was a completely different pitcher. One would hope something similar happens in this stint.

Recalled

The logical answer to take over Detmers spot on the 26-man roster made a ton of sense, and that was Ben Joyce. Joyce has 34 strikeouts in 19 innings of work this season at the Double-A level, he’s also consistently hit 102mph. In the month of May specifically Joyce pitched in more innings as he appeared in 11 innings compared to 7 in April. Joyce in a couple of his recent outings he pitched in 2 innings in those appearances. He only allowed 5 hits while walking 6 batters and holding a 16.9K/9. It’s time for Joyce to get another opportunity at the big league level and hopefully he takes it and runs with it. He is likely the closer of our future.

Who Takes the Rotation Spot?

You have a decent amount of options that can take over Detmers spot in the rotation when the team needs a 5th starter. I personally would like to see Roansy Contreras get a shot who was recently acquired from the Pirates. He once was viewed as a top prospect and was viewed a strong candidate to be atop the Pirates rotation when he was the headline prospect in the Jameson Taillon trade. Rosenberg and Daniel also could be options to join the rotation. Carson Fulmer also could be given a shot as he’s been very successful in the long relief role this season. A darkhorse candidate, Angels top pitching prospect, Caden Dana, it’s highly unlikely Dana gets the call, but you never know with Perry’s aggressiveness he’s shown in the past. Dana currently has a 2.62ERA with 53 strikeouts in 55 innings of work across 10 starts this season. Chase Silseth also could be in line to rejoin the rotation as he is currently on a rehab assignment in Arizona and pitched 3 scoreless innings allowing 1 hit with zero runs and 3 strikeouts in a rehab game on Friday.

Our Pick

Personally, I’d like to see the Angels go the route of giving Roansy Contreras a shot in the rotation who was a starter before being converted to a reliever due to struggles with the Pirates. Contreras has the capability of being great if given a chance and once was viewed as a frontline starter. As far as the call-up to take Detmers spot, the easy choice was to give it to Ben Joyce who had dominated recently at the minor league level and is the closer of the future for this team. We’re curious to see what happens within the coming weeks to see what the Halos will do with this situation and who that rotational move will be.

Disclaimer : (1) All photos are not owned by InsideHalos and have been given proper credit beneath each photo. (2) Links of players are property of MLB. (3) InsideHalos is a fan-made site not affiliated with Angels Baseball.