HOUSTON — The Angels rotation, which enjoyed exceptional stability in the first half, is suddenly crumbling.
Left-hander Tyler Anderson was placed on the injured list on Sunday with a strained left oblique, likely ending his season and leaving the Angels with two holes in their rotation. They also have still not filled the No. 5 spot vacated when Jack Kochanowicz was optioned to Triple-A, and then Victor Mederos got hurt. The Angels used only five starters until July, the only big league team to go that long without using a sixth starter.
The Angels also signed well-traveled right-hander José Ureña, who could fill a role in the rotation or the bullpen. Ureña, 33, is joining his fifth big league team this season.
He is one of the candidates to start on Tuesday in Kansas City, the next day that the Angels need a starter.
Left-hander Mitch Farris, who was scratched from his start at Double-A on Sunday, also could come up to fill a role.
Left-hander Sam Aldegheri, who pitched eight shutout innings at Double-A on Saturday night, would not be an option to pitch on Tuesday, but he now could be an option later in the week, for Anderson’s next turn.
Interim manager Ray Montgomery said after Sunday’s game that they still hadn’t determined how they would fill out the rotation.
Anderson said he hurt his oblique while stretching in the gym on Thursday, the day before his start in Houston. He had been trying to loosen up his back, which was already an issue even before he got about five hours sleep over two nights in a hospital room earlier this week. He was on paternity leave.
Anderson still pitched on Friday night, working five scoreless innings.
“It didn’t feel good,” Anderson said. “I had a feeling the whole time this is not going to be a good situation here at the end.”
Anderson said he was able to get through the game because it’s his left oblique, which is not stressed as much as his right side when he’s pitching.
“It doesn’t really bother me to throw, but everything else that obliques are used for hurts, like coughing and breathing,” he said. “Throwing was not as painful as it could have been.”
Anderson said he missed about eight weeks when he hurt his right oblique about 10 years ago. Although this might not take as long, he still acknowledged that “it would be a really fast recovery to be able to come back and pitch.”
Anderson, 35, is 2-8 with a 4.56 ERA in the final year of a three-year, $39-million deal with the Angels. His ERA over three seasons was 4.53. He had a career 4.16 ERA before signing the deal.
Ureña has already pitched this season with the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Dodgers and Minnesota Twins. He has pitched for 10 teams in a career that spans 11 seasons.
His best seasons were 2017-18, when he had a 3.90 ERA over 343 ⅔ innings with the Miami Marlins.
This season he’s combined for a 5.00 ERA in 13 games and 36 innings. He started five games, including a five-inning outing with the Twins against the Athletics on Aug. 21.
The Angels had an open 40-man roster spot for Ureña.
NOTES
First baseman Nolan Schanuel (left wrist contusion) took some swings on Sunday morning for the first time in a week. He said it went well, and he’s planning to try to take regular batting practice in the cage on Monday. …
Shortstop Zach Neto appeared to irritate his left wrist on a diving attempt on Saturday night. He also seemed to hurt it when he dove into the stands to try to catch a foul ball on Friday. Neto was first hurt when he was hit by a pitch last week. Montgomery said he didn’t need to ask Neto to be conservative. “Honestly, I would never get in the way of the natural flow of the game and having to have a thought about that kind of thing,” Montgomery said. “Like we’ve talked about all year, even with the shoulder, if things happen in the normal course of the game, then he’s relaxed and he’s in a good spot. Anytime you’re guarded or thinking about something, I think you run the risk of more injury. Those are just plays that happen in the game. And while he has a bruise and it’s sore, he’s certainly playable.” …
When the Angels won their 63rd game on Saturday night, they ensured that they will continue to be the only franchise in the majors to never lose 100 games.
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Yusei Kikuchi, 6-9, 3.68) at Astros (TBD), Monday, 11:10 a.m. PT, FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM