The Angels announced four roster moves Saturday, including the news that right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. has been designated for assignment. Right-hander Jose Fermin had his contract selected from Triple-A Salt Lake and southpaw Jake Eder was called up from Triple-A, while righty Victor Mederos was optioned to Salt Lake.
Edwards’ minors contract was only selected to the Halos’ roster on Wednesday, and he allowed three earned runs over three innings and two appearances during what might be a brief stint in the organization. If Edwards clears waivers, he has enough MLB service time to reject any outright assignment in favor of free agency, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see Edwards quickly re-sign with the Angels on a fresh minors deal, or he might accept an outright assignment to Triple-A if he is comfortable in his current situation.
Now a veteran of 11 Major League seasons, Edwards has made seven or fewer appearances in five of those seasons, including a single-game cameo with the Padres in 2024. Best known for his time in the Cubs bullpen during their last run of success and their World Series run in 2016, Edwards’ production fell off sharply from 2019-21 before he rediscovered some of his old form while pitching out of the Nationals’ bullpen in 2022-23. A stress fracture in his shoulder prematurely ended Edwards’ 2023 campaign, and he has just the three MLB appearances in the last two years, though obviously there’s a ton of time left in the 2025 season for the veteran righty to find some more playing time.
Not to be confused with the Cardinals infielder of the same name, the Angels’ Jose Fermin is a 23-year-old righty who will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in a game. An international signing in 2023, Fermin isn’t considered one of Los Angeles’ top 30 prospects, but his relatively quick path to the majors does continue the Angels’ trend of rapidly promoting prospects. Fermin is making the jump from Double-A to the Show without even any Triple-A experience, and Fermin’s Double-A tenure consists of just 10 innings over the last two seasons.
It could be that Fermin is just being called up for a cup of coffee and to give the Angels another fresh arm in the pen, yet the reliever will surely want to make a good impression even in what might be a brief stint in the big leagues. Over 73 2/3 innings in the minors, Fermin has a 2.93 ERA, 10.33% walk rate, and a very impressive 35.33% strikeout rate, working exclusively as a relief pitcher. As Baseball America’s Taylor Ward wrote in January, Fermin quickly put himself on the team’s radar with his strong work in 2024, and the righty’s arsenal includes an upper-90s fastball that can touch 99mph, and an outstanding slider with “double-plus potential.”