Angels give their bullpen, with 7 new pitchers, a workout

Staff Writer

April 5, 2021 7 AM PT

Joe Maddon said it usually takes “three weeks to a month” to figure out a bullpen, a process that could be even more challenging this year with an Angels relief corps that features seven new arms—including two signed three days before the start of the season—and only one holdover from 2020.

But the Angels manager is giving himself a crash course in his new closer, Raisel Iglesias, the hard-throwing right-hander acquired from the Cincinnati Reds during the offseason.

Four games into 2021, Maddon has summoned Iglesias three times, but only once in a traditional ninth-inning save situation, when Iglesias nailed down the final three outs of Thursday’s season-opening 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Iglesias’ next two appearances had more of a September, middle-of-a-pennant-race, must-win feel. He entered the ninth inning of Friday night’s game with a one-run deficit and gave up two hits and two runs in an eventual 12-8 loss.

Then Sunday night, Maddon tried to coax a five-out save from Iglesias, who needed four pitches to notch two outs in the eighth and 26 pitches to complete the ninth, an inning in which he hit one batter, walked another and committed a throwing error that allowed the tying run to score.

Iglesias wound up with a win when Jared Walsh drove a walk-off three-run homer to give the Angels a 7-4 victory over the White Sox and three wins in a four-game series against a team expected to contend for the American League Central title.

Iglesias told Maddon in spring training he was willing to pitch multiple innings, and the closer is clearly capable of pitching on back-to-back days, but the pace Maddon set for Iglesias in the first series of the season is not sustainable over 162 games.

“Now, it’s a matter of figuring out a nice rotation, matching them up with hitters on the other side … and trying to fill out the work so nobody gets tired,” Maddon said. “Bullpens are always volatile, but I love the makeup, the character, the slow heartbeat of this one. It’s very interesting.”

Despite the uneven play of Iglesias and shaky Angels debuts of sidearm-throwing right-hander Steve Cishek and funky lefty Alex Claudio, the bullpen performed well in the first four games, allowing five earned runs in 16 1/3 innings for a 2.76 ERA, striking out 19, walking seven and yielding a .213 average (13 for 61).

Aaron Slegers, the 6-foot-10 right-hander who was slowed by back spasms this spring, struck out two in 1 1/3 innings Sunday, and with his impressive four-pitch mix (fastball, changeup, slider, sinker) and ability to throw multiple innings, he can be used in a variety of roles.

“Don’t sleep on him,” Maddon said of Slegers, who had a 3.46 ERA across 26 1/3 innings of 11 games for AL pennant-winning Tampa Bay last season. “That’s no fluke. He’s that good.”

Right-hander Mike Mayers, who emerged as the team’s setup man in 2020, and right-hander Junior Guerra have both looked sharp.

Cishek, signed March 29 after he was released by Houston, gave up one infield single and struck out one in 1 1/3 scoreless innings Sunday. Veteran left-hander Tony Watson, signed March 29 after he was released by Philadelphia, allowed one hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings of his first game.

Chris Rodriguez, the flame-throwing 22-year-old, showed considerable potential in his big league debut Friday night, striking out three in two scoreless innings in which he mixed a sinking fastball that touched 98 mph with a nasty slider.

“We can be very good,” Cishek said of the bullpen as a whole. “Slegers did everything in Tampa Bay, and he’s ready for any situation. Guerra has pitched in every situation, including starting. I’ve done everything but start. Tony has great experience and has been an outstanding left-hander for years.

“Then you have Rodriguez throwing cheese. Watching his debut was awesome. It was a special moment for him and enjoyable for us to watch. We bring a bunch of different looks to hitters, and I think that’s gonna go a long way this year.”

Angels give new bullpen a workout while still working out new bullpen

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