Angels select contract of veteran lefty

The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander José Quijada. Fellow lefty Jake Eder has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake as the corresponding active roster move. Righty Robert Stephenson has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.

The Halos did a bullpen game Wednesday, with Eder mopping up six innings, throwing 98 pitches in the process. They optioned Jack Kochanowicz prior to the All-Star break and haven’t found a permanent solution for that rotation hole yet. Eder wasn’t going to be available for a few days, so the club will bring in a fresh arm. They have Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano, Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks to start the next four games but will need to figure out something for Monday’s game. Perhaps some pre-deadline moves will shake up the roster or they will simply recall Kochanowicz. An optional assignment for a pitcher comes with a 15-day minimum. He was optioned on July 11, so he’ll be eligible to be recalled in a few days.

Quijada, 29, designated for assignment just prior to Opening Day and outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. He didn’t pitch anywhere through the middle of May. He was added to the roster of the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas on May 10. Per Chris Harris of MiLB.com, he had been on the development list prior to that. He told members of the media Thursday, including Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, that he changed his diet at the club’s Arizona complex and has lost 30 pounds since spring training.

He has been putting up good numbers in Double-A since joining the Trash Pandas. He has logged 26 1/3 innings, allowing 2.73 earned runs per nine. He struck out a huge 37.1% of batters faced, while his 8.6% walk rate and 42.6% ground ball rate were around average.

Those numbers and the improved conditioning are perhaps encouraging, though getting major league hitters out is obviously different than Double-A opponents. He had a decent run with the Angels in 2021 and 2022, tossing 66 1/3 innings over those two seasons with a 4.21 ERA. His 12.9% walk rate was high but he struck out 32.3% of batters faced. The two subsequent years were mostly wiped out by Tommy John surgery.

He will give the Halos a fresh arm for now but is out of options, so he can’t be easily sent back to the farm. That was part of the reason why he was designated for assignment earlier this year. His service clock is between three and five years, which means he has the right to reject outright assignments but has to forfeit his remaining salary commitments when exercising that right. Since he’s making $1.075M this year, he naturally accepted. If he were bumped off the roster again, it’s possible the same sequence of events would play out.

As for Stephenson, this shouldn’t impact his timeline. The 60-day count is retroactive to his initial placement on the 15-day IL, which was on May 31 due to right biceps inflammation, though he later said it’s due to a stretched nerve. It’s been almost 60 days already, so he’ll eligible for reinstatement once he’s healthy.