Cubs acquire Ryan Zeferjahn from Angels

Moisés Ballesteros and right-hander Mason McGwire are going to the Angels. With his exceptional 33.5 percent strikeout rate, the 28-year-old Zeferjahn has overcome his control issues enough to post a 3.66 ERA in 51 2/3 innings this year. He was occasionally closing for the Angels and could do the same in Chicago, at least until Daniel Palencia returns. He won’t be a free agent until 2030. The Angels will rely more on Sam Bachman and Kirby Yates, though Yates is also an obvious candidate to be traded.

After Sam Bachman left with arm fatigue in the eighth, Zeferjahn was tasked with getting the final two outs in that frame, and after doing so, they let the right-hander continue to pick up his fourth save of the season. The right-hander gave up two hits, but he also struck out four in an impressive effort. It’s certainly possible Zeferjahn will get the limited save looks that the Angels provide, but it’s also feasible he could be moved before Monday’s deadline.

The Angels again used Ryan Zeferjahn in the eighth tonight, and he allowed one run to narrow the Angels’ lead to 4-2. José Fermin got the ball to start the ninth, but he retired just one of four batters, thanks to a HBP and a Vaughn Grissom error. Bachman took over afterwards and walked two, hit a batter and committed an error on a roller hit right to him. Two ugly flops in two days should take Bachman out of the ninth-inning mix for a spell and perhaps restore Kirby Yates to late-game duty. Zeferjahn remains the Angels’ most interesting reliever, but as long as Kurt Suzuki keeps managing like this, it’s hard to justify playing anyone in the bunch.

With the heart of the order coming up, the Angels used Ryan Zeferjahn with a three-run lead in the eighth today. He retired three out of four hitters to set up Sam Bachman for the save chance. Bachman, though, walked two of the three batters he faced, throwing just seven of his 18 pitches for strikes. Farris replaced him and gave up a two-run double to Luis Arraez with two outs before striking out Heliot Ramos to end the game. Both runs were charged to Bachman, of course. Farris’s first save came in his 22nd relief appearance this year. Zeferjahn still looks like the favorite for saves in Anaheim right now.

The Angels bypassed Kirby Yates today after his blown save and loss on Friday. That left Zeferjahn for the ninth after Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman set him up with scoreless innings. Zeferjahn gave up the homer to start the inning, making it a one-run game, but he retired the remaining three batters he faced. He’s now gone five straight appearances without allowing a walk, which is pretty big. He’d walked 31 in 40 2/3 innings previously. If he continues to stay away from the free passes, he might be a decent enough closer for the Angels. However, his name has already started coming up in trade rumors as the Halos prepare to sell at the deadline.

Mitch Farris did the heavy lifting here, coming in with a 4-2 lead to start the seventh and getting eight outs before exiting with the bases loaded in the ninth. Zeferjahn walked the first batter he faced, forcing in a run, before striking out Cedric Mullins to end it. Unused tonight was nominal Angels closer Kirby Yates, even though he hadn’t pitched since Tuesday. The walk Zeferjahn issued was his 25th in 32 innings, which is why he isn’t serving as the Angels’ closer right now. Still, he’ll be a candidate for more saves if he’s able to cut down on the free passes.

Zeferjahn struck out two, intentionally walked Joey Loperfido and then got Shay Whitcomb to ground out to strand the automatic runner. That he’s unintentionally walked 21 batters in 31 2/3 innings this season has held him back, but he has an argument for being the Angels’ best reliever. It’d just a better one if he could be trusted at all to throw strikes.

Yates was pitching with a lead for the first time in five appearances since coming off the IL, though that had less to do with his status than the fact that the Angels have done little but trail lately. Up 5-3, they went to Ryan Zerferjahn in the seventh tonight, only to watch him hit back-to-back batters with one out. Sam Bachman came in and, after allowing one inherited runner to score, kept the A’s scoreless through the eighth. That led to Yates taking over in a one-run game, but McNeil sent a ball 364 feet down the right-field line to even things up. The Angels ended up losing in 10. Yates has allowed three runs in five innings since coming off the IL, and his velocity is down a bit more than two mph from last year. He’s probably not going to run away with the closer’s role in Anaheim.

aferjahn took the mound with two outs and a runner on base with a one-run lead in the eighth inning. He struck out the final batter and returned for the ninth. He hit a batter and walked two more to load the bases before ending the game on a groundout for his first save. It was interesting that the team opted not to use Kirby Yates in his first day off the injured list, perhaps wanting to get him lower-leverage work first. Zeferjahn will likely remain in the saves mix, but it’s a situation that’ll be tough to project.

It’s theoretically possible that Yates takes over the closing role in Los Angeles considering Ryan Zeferjahn and Sam Bachman appears to be the only obstacles standing in his way at the moment. However, he got hit hard in a couple rehab outings where his fastball velocity was down considerably. A wait and see approach seems like the correct move here, but Yates is probably worth a speculative roster spot in extremely deep leagues where saves are hard to find on the waiver wire.