How the Angels Roster Moves Reshape the Bullpen

It is no secret the Angels bullpen needed a revamp and with limited options the organization is trying to pull one off. Here is a look at who is in, who is out, and whether or not this improves the team's chances of winning.

Jordan Romano and Shaun Anderson are both out of the organization.

Jordan Romano cleared waivers (meaning no other club wanted to pick him up at his $2 million salary) and was released yesterday. After multiple down years it was foolish to think Romano could step in and revive his former career highs. Rather than moving him to a lower leverage role to see if he could right the ship, the Angels decided they had seen enough and released him.

Shaun Anderson also cleared waivers today. He had enough MLB tenure to refuse an assignment to the minor leagues and chose to become a free agent. This is a curious move on his part because nobody claimed him at the veteran minimum salary. He is likely looking at a minor league pact with his new club and the Angels offer a clear path to getting back to the Major Leagues.

Romano ends his Angels tenure after giving up 9 runs in 8 innings. Anderson was much better giving up 11 runs in 16.2. Neither was better than MLB average should not be difficult to replace.

Joey Lucchesi and Jose Fermin are the reinforcements.

Of the two, Fermin holds the most upside. His four seam fastball averages 97 MPH and he has a slider that can be filthy at times. He throws each pitch roughly half the time and will occasionally show a sinker.

When he is on his game he looks the part of a solid MLB reliever. When is not at his best he falls behind in the count, grooves fastballs, and gets hit hard. He surrendered 8 home runs in only 34.1 innings last year.

If new pitching coach Mike Maddux can help him work on the edges of the strike zone, he might be a good addition. If not, he will fit right in with the current Angels bullpen.

Lucchesi is a lefty who started the year with the Angels, was dropped from the roster, and is now back. He put up a solid 3.76 ERA in 38.1 innings for the Giants this year but has been shelled in an Angels uniform. Thus far he has given up 4 runs in 3 innings which is not good.

Most likely, Lucchesi takes over the mop up duty from Shaun Anderson but with Kurt Suzuki's bullpen useage don't be surprised to see him in any role.

Will these moves help the bullpen?

Not much. Fermin should be an improvement over Romano but the Lucchesi move is lateral at best. Hopefully these guys prove me wrong but the biggest failure of Perry Minasian's tenure as GM has been an inability to find good relievers and these moves do not change that fact at all.

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