Jul 20, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery (81) walks off the field against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Angels' $33 Million Reliever Appears Set to Return Soon

Originally posted on Los Angeles Angels on SI
By Nelson Espinal | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 9:07 PM ET

Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Robert Stephenson is inching towards his return from the injured list.

Stephenson signed a massive three-year deal with the Angels before last season, though he missed all of 2024 because of Tommy John surgery.

He worked his way back from the devastating injury and came back in May of this season, but he was lim ited to just two appearances before suffering another injury.

He suffered a stretched biceps nerve, keeping him out for more than two months, but Stephenson has been working on returning soon.

The relief pitcher threw one inning for Triple-A Salt Lake in his first rehabilitation appearance, giving up a two-run home run — but his second outing went a lot better, allowing no hits in his inning of work.

Stephenson struck out two of three batters with his fastball, hitting 97 mph.

“Came through healthy, felt good throwing, so he’s in a good spot,” Montgomery said to reporters.

During his next rehab appearance, Stephenson will pi tch for Class-A Inland Empire, a good deal closer to Anaheim.

“Just to see what he feels like, maybe on a day’s rest or something like that,” Montgomery explained regarding the decision to move the pitcher.

RHP Robert Stephenson is pitching tonight at Inland Empire. He said he felt great on Sunday and they want to see how he does on one day of rest.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 19, 2025

Stephenson's three-year, $33 million deal is aging poorly, though it is not the fault of the front office; rather, it is bad luck and injuries that are preventing him from pitching for the team.

During his last healthy season back in 2023, Stephenson posted a 3.10 ERA, throwing his fastball around 96.9 mph and sporting a 13.24 strikeout per nine-inning rate.

It was the best year of his career, valued at 1.0 WAR.

The Angels still need bullpen help desperately. His return will immediately help the team if he pitches like he has for most of his career.

His bicep injury was tricky to recover from. He will need to hope that it does not reaggravate, especially considering how frustrating it was initially.

“Everything looks really good structurally,” Stephenson said back in June. “... [It] is kind of a weird injury, to be honest. There’s not really a whole lot, unfortunately, we can do. I don't really know what the timetable is, because they just don't react the same way.

"Like, you can't treat it like a muscle or a ligament or anything, so kind of just waiting for it to settle down before I start throwing again."

“There's not any kind of major injury or anything," he added. "It's just a matter of how long it's going to take. They’re just kind of tricky, I guess. They don’t see stuff like this very often.”