The Angels’ bullpen is an unsettled mess. Their relievers have a collective 7.20 earned-run average in spring training, more than a full run higher than the next-closest team.
Ernesto Frieri, Kevin Jepsen, Sean Burnett, Jerome Williams, Scott Downs, Mitch Stetter and David Carpenter all have ERAs above 5. If the Angels choose to send Garrett Richards to Triple-A Salt Lake to get work as a starter (though it’s unlikely in light of his stellar spring), those seven could comprise the Angels’ Opening Day bullpen.
Even though it’s only spring training, the situation was urgent enough for the Angels to add three relievers Wednesday. Before the Angels’ 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers, they announced the signing of Mark Lowe to a minor-league contract. Lowe threw a bullpen Wednesday and is on the travel roster to go to Anaheim.
After the game, the Angels added two more arms to the bullpen: right-hander Elvin Ramirez and right-hander Dane De La Rosa.
Ramirez, whom the Angels acquired from the New York Mets for “cash considerations,” advanced from Double-A to the majors last season. In 20 games with the Mets, he had a 5.48 ERA and struck out 22 batters in 21.1 innings.
De La Rosa was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for minor-league pitcher Steve Geltz. In 12 games with the Rays over the past two seasons, De La Rosa has a 10.95 ERA. The Torrance native had a 2.79 ERA in 54 Triple-A games in 2012.
He did not come with a glowing letter of recommendation from former Angel Sean Rodriguez. According to the Tampa Bay Times,
Rodriguez would not get into specifics over what led him to punch a locker after the Aug. 26 game, except to say it was how De La Rosa reacted when Rodriguez said something about the song that was being played in the (winning) clubhouse.
“How do you disrespect somebody without touching them? You say things or talk in a manner that’s very disrespectful,” Rodriguez said. “In a baseball clubhouse people do that all the time. But when you turn to ask somebody, ‘Are you being serious right now?’ the way someone’s tone is, the way they’re talking to you and they either just smirk or ignore you leads you to believe one or the other, right?
“So instead of me normally doing what I normally would have done in the past, which is basically just to go and do a lot of things to him, I tried to exert my energy and frustration elsewhere to try to let it go. Bad job of trying to deal with it.”
Ramirez was added to the Angels’ 40-man roster, while Lowe and De La Rosa were not. That leaves openings for three non-roster players to make the club this weekend.
