The Los Angeles Angels could be getting Ben Joyce back to anchor their bullpen if his rehab assignment goes well.
The Los Angeles Angels badly need bullpen help, and there’s a growing chance that they’re about to get it. Fireballing receiver Ben Joyce started a rehab assignment with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga yesterday, according to an update written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, which means he’s got a realistic chance to make it to Anaheim soon to help the Angles.
Joyce is recovering from shoulder surgery last May, and he’s been throwing bullpens since mid-February. He’s also faced hitters three times in Arizona, including an outing in an extended spring training game on Monday. He’ll need to stay healthy through several rehab outings before he’s activated, but this is the best pitching news the Angels have had in quite a while.
“It’s awesome,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “When they told me that, I was pretty excited, and hearing what he’s been doing in Arizona, this guy’s ready to go out. So I’m excited to see what he’s got and pitching in a rehab assignment game and then go from there.”
Bollinger also tracked back through Joyce’s pitching numbers, which are formidable indeed. The 25-year old right-hander Joyce has a career 3.12 ERA with 44 strikeouts and 24 walks in 49 innings, and that includes a 2.08 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 34-2/3 frames in '24.
Last year, however, Joyce allowed just three runs over just 4-1/3 innings before he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.
Joyce’s stuff is devastating when he’s healthy and on his game. He’s hit 105.5 mph with his fastball, and he has a power sinker he calls a “splinker." Throw in a slider that plays at around 86 mph and a 92 mph changeup, and it’s hard not to feel sorry for hitters trying to figure out an approach against him.
Suzuki said there’s no timetable for Joyce’s return, which will depend on how the hurler feels. Joyce could also see action at Triple-A Salt Lake before he returns to try and help a bullpen that has an ERA of 5.71, which is the second-worst in baseball.
“That’s up to him,” Suzuki said. “Just seeing how he does, how he recovers and all those types of things. We obviously don’t want to rush him, but at the same time if he’s feeling good throwing the ball well, I mean who knows? With him he’s a freak of nature, you never know.”
Joyce’s return would represent stability for a bullpen that’s running a shuttle system as the Angels bring in one reliever after another, only to ship them out after they fail. A healthy Joyce would allow Suzuki and pitching coach Mike Maddux to line up the rest of the bullpen in a way that makes a modicum of sense, which hasn’t happened at all so far this season.