Angels Select Shaun Anderson, Blake Weiman

The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Shaun Anderson and left-hander Blake Weiman. Righty Ben Joyce was also reinstated from the 60-day injured list. They also announced that designated hitter Jorge Soler has been designated for assignment, a move that was previously reported. The Halos had several roster openings after yesterday’s deadline trades.

It’s the third time this season the Angels have selected Anderson to the big league roster. He’s had brief stints in each of the past two instances, then been designated for assignment, cleared waivers and re-signed on a new minor league deal.

In 16 2/3 innings this season, Anderson has been tagged for 11 earned runs on 17 hits and eight walks with a dozen strikeouts. He’s spent both of the past two seasons with the Angels organization but hasn’t had much big league success. Anderson has bounced all over the league since his 2018 debut. He has a 6.35 ERA in 180 major league frames. His slider has in the past graded out as a plus pitch, but he’s never been able to stick with any consistency in the majors.

Weiman, 30, will be making his major league debut. The 2017 Pirates draftee has bounced from the Bucs to the Mariners, Cubs, Astros and now Angels before getting his first call to The Show. He has a mixed track record in the upper minors. He had a great year with the Cubs’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates as recently as 2024 but was hit hard with the Astros’ Sugar Land club last season.

Weiman has missed some time with injury this year but been sharp when healthy. In 18 2/3 innings, he has a 1.93 ERA, 33.8% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate. All of that work, however, has come between the Angels’ Rookie-level Complex League affiliate and their Double-A squad. He’s yet to pitch in Triple-A this year.

Joyce is making his return from a yearlong absence. He pitched just 4 1/3 innings last year before requiring shoulder surgery. Some setbacks early this year slowed him down, but Joyce returns to an Angels’ bullpen with high-leverage opportunities for the taking.

The 25-year-old Joyce is one of baseball’s hardest-throwing pitchers — if not the very hardest-throwing. He averaged 102.1 mph on his fastball in a 2024 season that saw him post a 2.08 ERA in 34 2/3 innings. Joyce’s 21% strikeout rate is lower than you’d expect from someone with quite literal top-of-the-scale velocity, but he kept his walks down to 9.9% in ’24 and logged a gargantuan 58.9% ground-ball rate that season.

Joyce has primarily worked in a setup role for the Angels in the past, but the Halos don’t have many set roles in the bullpen. Joyce should jump right into high-leverage work, and he ought to have a real chance at emerging as the team’s permanent closer if the arm troubles are firmly behind him.