Angels relief pitcher Carson Fulmer (right) reacts after a home run by Oakland Athletics left fielder Miguel Andujar (background left) during the fifth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on July 21, 2024. Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Angels Pitcher Has Elbow Injury, Will Undergo More Testing

Originally posted on Los Angeles Angels on SI
By J.P. Hoornstra | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 2:30 PM ET

Carson Fulmer's three-year adventure with the Angels has been full of ups and downs.

The latest development unequivocally counts as a "down."

Fulmer, 31, was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with inflammation in his right elbow. The only update on his health since then wasn't great. Fulmer has a strain — a medical term to describe a tear — and is set to undergo further tests, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group.

The right-hander signed a minor league contract with the Angels on June 4 and was assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake. The Angels purchased his contract on July 9. In 13 games since, Fulmer has a 5.83 ERA and 1.227 WHIP across 29.1 innings.

Last year, Fulmer went 0-5 with a 4.15 ERA in 37 games for the Angels. He attempted to transition from the bullpen to the rotation and made eight starts.

That led Fulmer to sign a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Dec. 12, 2024. He continued the starting experiment with the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate and went 1-3 with a 5.34 ERA for the Indianapolis Indians before returning to their bullpen in May.

The Pirates released Fulmer from his minor league deal on June 2, two days before he signed with the Angels.

Fulmer was the No. 8 overall pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 2015 amateur draft. But his career never lived up to the promise that accompanied him out of Vanderbilt, where he was considered one of the best amateur pitchers in the country.

Fulmer went 6-9 with a 6.56 ERA across parts of four seasons with the White Sox before he was designated for assignment in July 2020. The Detroit Tigers claimed him off waivers amid the pandemic-shortened season. Fulmer made just seven appearances with the Tigers that season before he was designated for assignment.

The Pirates claimed Fulmer four days later, but he never appeared in a major league game before Pittsburgh designated him for assignment again on Sept. 2. The Baltimore Orioles claimed him, and Fulmer saw action in three games.

The next few seasons saw Fulmer take a winding path through the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Seattle Mariners organizations before he first signed with the Angels in May 2023.

Over the last three seasons, Fulmer has gone 1-6 with a 4.43 ERA in 53 games with the Angels. Now, his career appears to be on hold again as he awaits a diagnosis on his ailing right elbow.