LA Angels Roster Shakeup: Pomeranz Injured, Ryan Johnson Returns in Revamped Bullpen

The ever revolving door in the Angels bullpen keeps on spinning as yet another Perry Minasian off season acquisition flames out. Signed off an impressive bounce back season with the Cubs but with a lengthy medical history, Drew Pomeranz has disappointed on the mound and is now headed to the injured list.

With today's news, the Angels bullpen has been largely remade over the last couple of weeks. Opening Day closer Jordan Romano was released on April 28th.

Kirby Yates, Jose Fermin, Alek Manoah, and Ryan Johnson have been added to the bullpen.

Not all today, but Kirby Yates was activated and made his season debut Friday night in Toronto. Yates entered camp as the likely backup closer to the injured Ben Joyce who has yet to pitch at the MLB level in 2026.

Jose Fermin is a promising young fireballer who began the year in AAA where he appeared in 9 games. In 7 appearances and 7.2 innings for the Angels Fermin has struck out 8 batters and walked 3. Control has been a problem with Fermin in the past but his arsenal should improve under the tutelage of Mike Maddux.

Alek Manoah was brought in to be the fifth starter for the Angels then had a brutal Cactus League run. His velocity, spin, command, and control were all horrible and he opened the season on the injured list. Those problems were blamed on a fingernail that fell off on the middle finger of his pitching hand.

Manoah's struggles really created the Angels pitching churn to open the season and led to Ryan Johnson making the Opening Day roster as a starter. Now, Johnson will join Manoah in the Angels bullpen while upstart Walbert Urena sticks in the rotation. Urena opened the year in the Angels bullpen, so essentially him and Johnson have traded places.

What this means for the Angels bullpen.

May 5, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn (56) throws against the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The unit looks and is performing much better now than it did a few weeks earlier. If you exclude position player Adam Frazier's 4 runs allowed in Toronto, the actual bullpen pitchers only allowed 3 runs in that series. All were charged to mop up reliver Mitch Farris

Against Cleveland the Angels bullpen only allowed one earned run, by Pomeranz in the middle game.

With Sam Bachman finally realizing his potential and Ryan Zeferjahn finding success with a new pitch mix, the Angels bullpen is suddenly holding its own. The real problems lie on offense now.

Perry Minasian's off season bullpen signings have underwhelmed.

Forced to sign multiple relievers due to his failure to draft good bullpen arms, Minasian emphasized relievers with closing experience who were cheap. And so far he is getting an expected return on his investment.

Jordan Romano was a bad gamble from the beginning and never should have been a closer. However, injuries and a general lack of depth forced him into the role.

Yates may ultimately provide value for the Angels but he has been injured which can not be a surprise given his age.

Drew Pomeranz was another gamble that busted. And ERA of 7.20 followed by an elbow injury is just brutal. When your team needs a couple of miracles, though, you take signings that could turn out to be sneaky good but you can not be surprised when they fail.

Brent Suter is by far the best of the Perry Minasian off season signings. His 4.50 ERA though 24 innings is more solid than spectacular but he is generally pitching near expectations.

Meanwhile Jordan Romano, Nick Sandlin, Shaun Anderson, and Joey Luchessi are all off the roster after being shelled. That is a lot of misses and is a big reason the Angels are in the cellar.

Add us as a preferred source on Google