Angels Pitcher Placed on Injured List With Mysterious Injury

The Salt Lake Bees placed Chase Silseth on the 7-day injured list Tuesday. The placement comes as little surprise, as Silseth has not pitched for the Angels' Triple-A affiliate since May 3.

The nature of the injury has not been provided by the Angels, as confirmed by Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group.

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Silseth, 25, is on the Angels' 40-man roster, but seems unlikely to take the mound in a major or minor league game soon, given his IL placement.

In seven games prior to the injury, Silseth was 3-1 with a 4.45 ERA. Most encouraging, Silseth had not missed a start this season after he suffered an elbow injury in April 2024 and underwent season-ending surgery in August.

No game, but there is news...

*IF Luis Rengifo had season-ending wrist surgery.

*RHP Chase Silseth had season-ending elbow surgery. (Details unavailable, but not TJ.)

Both players are expected to be ready for spring training.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 6, 2024

Now, Silseth's elbow is the primary area of concern again. In his most recent start, May 3 against the Albuquerque Isotopes, Silseth saw his velocity drop precipitously during the course of the game.

Silseth's fastball registered 89.9 to 92.6 mph the third time through the order, per Statcast, after being clocked at 90.1 to 94.3 mph the second time through. The first time through the Albuquerque order, Silseth's fastball touched 92.0 to 95.0 mph.

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Although losing speed is to be expected over the course of the game for any pitcher, Silseth was hitting 91.9 to 93.8 mph with his fastball the third time through the order in his previous start, April 26 at home against Oklahoma City.

A drop in velocity is not necessarily a sign of injury. But given Silseth's history, it's understandable why the Angels might be cautious.

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Silseth threw 52.1 innings for the Angels in 2023 with a 3.96 earned run average. He was in line to seize a spot in the starting rotation in 2024 before injuries struck.

Silseth made two starts to begin the year with the Angels, then landed on the IL with right elbow inflammation. No ligament damage was found but Silseth was transferred to the 60-day IL.

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Silseth began a rehab assignment in May 2024, was reinstated from the IL on June 25, and optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. He then made four more Triple-A appearances between late June and late July.

In August 2023, Silseth was hit in the head by a teammate's throw across the infield.

Wow.. this is very scary. Hopefully Chase Silseth is okay after being drilled in the head by a throw 🙏🏼

pic.twitter.com/ihtPUUuZ2X
— Chris Clegg (@ChrisCleggMiLB) August 27, 2023

The latest injury is an unfortunate bit of timing for both the pitcher and the team. Angels relievers have combined for a 6.48 ERA, 30th in MLB entering Friday.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.