The Angels have announced that they’ve recalled right-hander Walbert Ureña from Triple-A. Lefty Sam Aldegheri is being optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Ureña returns to the big leagues after making two appearances during the club’s season-opening series against the Astros. That was the 22-year-old’s first big-league experience. Though he didn’t allow an earned run in 1 2/3 innings, he surrendered five hits and six unearned runs while also giving up three unintentional walks. He was optioned to Triple-A on March 29 and has since made two starts with a 6.48 ERA. He spent most of 2025 at the Double-A level, where he posted a 4.39 ERA in 27 starts along with an impressive 58.5% groundball rate.
The right-hander was signed as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2021. He currently ranks as the Halos’ No. 18 prospect according to MLB.com, although his inconsistent command has kept him from becoming a top prospect. Ureña has posted walk rates around 12% in the upper levels of the minors. While his scouting report lauds him for his plus fastball, his secondary pitches haven’t developed to the point where a long-term future as a starter seems possible. Still, he is very young and just debuted this year, so he’ll still get opportunities to bolster the Angels’ struggling bullpen. Whatever his long-term role, Ureña’s success hinges on his ability to keep racking up groundballs while improving his secondary pitches enough to achieve at least an average strikeout rate.
More to come.
