The Angels announced that they have selected the contracts of infielder Scott Kingery and left-hander Mitch Farris with rosters expanding from 26 to 28 today. Additionally, infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and infielder Christian Moore has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. To open 40-man spots for Kingery and Farris, outfielder Gustavo Campero and right-hander Carson Fulmer have been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Kingery, 31, has bounced on and off the roster this year. That seems to be by design. He agreed to a $770K salary to avoid arbitration. His service time count is between three and five years, meaning he can reject outright assignments but has to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to exercise that right. That’s effectively given the Angels an extra infielder, as Kingery has twice been outrighted to Triple-A, then has been selected back to the roster whenever they need a fresh body.
Around the transactions, he has stepped to the plate 27 times at the big league level but with a .160/.222/.200 line. His Triple-A work has been better but still subpar. His .229/.288/.400 line down there translates to a wRC+ of 62. While he may not provide much with the bat, he does give the Angels defensive versatility, as he has experience at every position except catcher and first base.
Farris, 24, gets to the big leagues for the first time. A 14th-round pick of Atlanta in 2023, he was flipped to the Angels in December for Davis Daniel. He has spent this year in the Double-A rotation, having thrown 116 innings with a 4.27 earned run average, 28% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate.
The Angels recently optioned Jack Kochanowicz and then lost Tyler Anderson to the injured list due to an oblique strain. That has dropped their rotation to Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano and Kyle Hendricks. They don’t have starters listed for Tuesday or Wednesday. It’s possible that Farris could soak up some innings, alongside someone like José Ureña, who was signed yesterday.
Moore was just drafted last year. The Angels, as is their wont, aggressively promoted him to the majors. He was up in the show in June of 2025, less than a year after being drafted. However, his first taste of the major leagues hasn’t gone as hoped. He has slashed .195/.287/.336 in his first 130 plate appearances while striking out at a 31.5% clip.
It’s not uncommon for a prospect to struggle when first called up, especially in an extreme situation such as this. Moore could still be a very important part of the club’s future but he’ll try to get back on track in the minors for now.
Campero was carted off the field with an obvious injury a couple of weeks ago and was later diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. Today’s transfer indicates the Halos don’t expect him back this season. Fulmer landed on the 15-day IL a week ago due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. His exact status isn’t clear but he’s also done for the year, based on this move.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images