The Los Angeles Angels are down another possible closer as Robert Stephenson could be gone for the entire 2026 season.
As of a week ago, reliever Robert Stephenson was a leading candidate to become the new closer for the Los Angeles Angels this season. Now his entire season is in doubt, and the right-hander still doesn’t know what the issue is in his UCL.
Stephenson fought back tears as he discussed his situation, according to a report by Steve Stockman of MLB.com. The reliever has already missed 2024 due to right elbow surgery, and he was shut down at the end of last season due to inflammation in that same area.
Ironically, Stephenson said the injury occurred when he “felt something” during a throwing session, despite the fact that that the Angels have been careful with his workload due to his prior issues.
“It wasn’t like anything I’d really felt before,” Stephenson said. “It didn’t feel exactly like a torn UCL. It didn’t feel exactly like the nerve stuff at the end of last year. It’s just something different.”
The next step for Stephenson is a road trip to Texas, but it won’t be the same one the Angels are making when they open against the Houston Astros on March 26. Instead, Stephenson will be evaluated by Dr. Keith Meister of TMI Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Surgery.
No one knows how that evaluation will turn out, including the reliever himself.
“There is a concern for the state of my UCL right now and my flexor. I’m gonna see if there’s a way we can rehab this thing and be able to pitch this year,” Stephenson said. “But I don’t know what it looks like.”
It looks bad for the Angels, who were looking forward to seeing if Stephenson could duplicate his performance from last September, when he struck out seven in six relief innings and picked up a pair of wins.
“It’s heartbreaking,” he said with his eyes welling up and his voice cracking. “I’m hoping there’s a chance to rehab it and be on the field this year, but I don’t know. It doesn’t look great.”
The Angels have other options, but they’re not great, either. Next up, at least in theory, is right-hander Ben Joyce, but he’s had trouble staying healthy, too, to the point where his availability for Opening Day is also in question.
The other options are all retreads and reclamation projects. The two big ones are Kirby Yates and Jordan Romano, both of whom have excelled as closers in the past, but neither has separated from the pack so far, with left-hander Drew Pomeranz also in the running.