Angels Pitcher 'Devastated' After Suffering Yet Another Injury

The Los Angeles Angels signed Robert Stephenson ahead of the 2024 season, but he didn't make his debut with the Halos until this past Wednesday.

After inking a three-year, $33 million deal and coming off of a 2.35 ERA over his last 42 outings of 2023, Stephenson's career came to a screeching halt after undergoing elbow surgery to repair his UCL with an internal brace.

After 16 long months, Stephenson was ready to finally debut for his new team — but after 15 pitches, he has landed back on the injured list.

“I’m kind of devastated, honestly,” Stephenson said. “It sucks to work this hard to get back and have that happen right away. It sucks.”

Three pitches into his second outing of the season, Stephenson felt discomfort in his bicep and exited Friday's game early.

According to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, Stephenson took Saturday off and resumed light throwing on Sunday. Unfortunately, the pain persisted.

“Obviously to a lesser scale, because I wasn’t throwing as hard,” Stephenson said, “but the same symptoms. So we’re shut down from throwing and see where it goes.”

The team hasn't issued any imaging on Stephenson's arm as the concern level is much lower for a bicep injury, but the pitcher is still upset to be back on the shelf and away from the game.

“The medical staff doesn’t seem to be too worried about it, so I’ll trust the professionals,” Stephenson said. “It’s hard right now. Winding up back on the IL, I hate it. I just got back and I want to be out there with the team.”

The hope is that Stephenson will progress without needing to exceed his minimum IL stint and can be back on the mound once again. His Wednesday debut was just a 12-pitch sample size, but Stephenson was able to generate six swings-and-misses while touching 98.5 mph in that frame.

Any talented pitcher missing time can be frustrating, but for someone with the path back to MLB like Stephenson, the added layer of annoyance is warranted.