The Angels announced seven roster moves before tonight’s series opener in West Sacramento. MLBTR already covered the most notable, with Mike Trout heading to the injured list due to a right hamstring strain and Christian Moore being recalled from Triple-A. Los Angeles also recalled righty Ryan Johnson from Double-A Rocket City to start tonight and activated recently acquired catcher Tyler Heineman. They optioned righty Brett Kerry and catcher Logan Porter in corresponding moves.
Finally, the Halos also released veteran reliever Drew Pomeranz. He’d been designated for assignment on Monday and never seemed likely to attract much trade interest. That made a release all but inevitable, and the 37-year-old southpaw can now look for another opportunity.
Moore makes his first MLB start in left field tonight. The 2024 eighth overall pick was exclusively a second baseman during his rookie campaign. The Angels have gotten him work at third base and his first nine left field starts in Triple-A this season. He has shredded minor league pitching at a .333/.468/.585 clip with almost as many walks as strikeouts.
Johnson, the Halos’ second-round pick in the same ’24 draft, also comes back to the Majors. The Dallas Baptist product will make his second career start and his first MLB appearance in a month. Johnson has been knocked around in his limited big league work but has carved up Double-A opposition this year. He could join Sam Aldegheri in the final two rotation spots after the Angels lost Jack Kochanowicz and Grayson Rodriguez to injuries over the past couple weeks.
The Angels will remain on the hook for the rest of Pomeranz’s $4MM salary. Any other team can add him for the prorated $780K minimum for however long he spends on their MLB roster. Pomeranz had a 5.01 ERA across 23 1/3 innings this season. He allowed five homers, matching his total from last year in more than twice the workload, while walking almost as many batters as he struck out. Pomeranz had posted a 2.17 ERA in nearly 50 frames for the Cubs a year ago.
