Amir Garrett is returning to the Angels on a minor league deal, relays Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The veteran reliever will head back to Triple-A Salt Lake, the place where he opened the 2024 season.
Garrett first signed with the Halos after being released by the Giants in spring training. He threw 7 1/3 innings in Salt Lake, striking out 10 while issuing four walks. Opponents only managed three hits and two runs over those eight appearances. The Angels called Garrett to the big leagues at the end of April. He had a tougher go in six MLB outings, surrendering three runs on four hits and five walks through 5 1/3 frames. After Garrett gave up a tie-breaking home run to Alec Burleson in a loss to the Cardinals last week, the Angels designated him for assignment.
The 32-year-old cleared waivers and declined an outright assignment in favor of free agency. It didn’t take long for him to circle back on a new deal with the Angels. That’s not uncommon for veterans who go unclaimed on outright waivers. Reliever Jackson Stephens re-signed with the Braves Wednesday afternoon days after electing free agency, for example.
Garrett has high-octane stuff and has missed plenty of bats throughout his seven-plus seasons in the majors. Sky-high walk rates tend to be the tradeoff, though, as he has handed out free passes to more than 15% of opponents in each season since 2021. Garrett will again team with Adam Kolarek as experienced non-roster lefties in Triple-A. Matt Moore and Jose Suarez are the two southpaws currently in Ron Washington’s bullpen. Kenny Rosenberg has pitched in a swing capacity over the last couple seasons. He’s on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment to Salt Lake, where he has been working out of the rotation.
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