Angels Remove Young Pitcher's Locker From Clubhouse

The Los Angeles Angels have removed right-handed relief pitcher Ben Joyce's locker from the clubhouse because he will rehab in Arizona after his shoulder injury.

Joyce, who moved from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list after surgery on his inflamed shoulder, will miss the remainder of the 2025 season. The Angels have not provided additional information about the surgery. The right-hander suffered inflammation in the same shoulder during the 2024 season.

Joyce led Angels pitchers with more than 10 appearances in ERA last season with a 2.08 mark. He managed 33 strikeouts in 34.2 innings pitched while serving as the Angels' primary set up man. The right-hander has given up only one home run in all three of his MLB seasons. He threw the fastest pitch in MLB last season, reaching 105.5 miles per hour against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has a career 3.12 ERA in MLB.

He had a more difficult start to this season, though, posting a 6.23 ERA in five games. He only struck out one batter through 4.1 innings of work before his injury.

“It’s frustrating for me, and I’m sure everyone else involved,” Joyce said after his move to the 60-day injured list. “I just want to pitch. I want to be part of the team. I don’t know exactly the concern level. We’re just kind of evaluating as we go. At this point, it's been a month, so even if the throwing program were to come back, it would be another 30 days. So it just made sense right now to get on the 60-day."

The Angels still have the highest ERA among bullpens in baseball, however as their current eight-game win streak grows, so does the consistency among their relievers. The Angels' bullpen has given up 15 runs during their win streak for an ERA of 4.71, nearly two full runs lower than their season average. They've also pitched the fewest innings of any bullpen in MLB during that stretch, a testament to how well their starting pitching has performed.

The Angels will hope for Joyce's recovery to progress well, and look forward to adding him to a pitching staff which grows in confidence by the day.

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