Ben

Joyce

Joyce is working his way back from last year’s shoulder surgery and won’t be an option for the Angels at the start of the regular season. The hard-throwing 25-year-old righty has the raw stuff necessary to pitch in the ninth inning at some point down the road.

Joyce had shoulder surgery last season, but his throwing program is reportedly “going well.” The 25-year-old will obviously have to progress to adding breaking balls into his bullpens and then face hitters in live batting practice, and then get into spring training games, so a few steps are remaining in his progression. It would be a shock if he were a high-leverage reliever to start the season, but there’s a chance he takes over the closer role for the Angels in the middle of the year.

Barring any setbacks, the 25-year-old hurler is on track to be ready in time for the start of the regular season, though it’s still possible that the Angels take a cautious approach and have him open the year on the injured list as he continues to build back up. Either way, it’s an encouraging development and sounds like the flame-throwing right-hander will be available out of the Halos’ bullpen at some point early in the season.

By all accounts the session went well. The 25-year-old right-hander has yet to be ruled out for Opening Day and appears to be progressing nicely in his recovery. If healthy, he’ll be squarely in the mix to open the season as the Angels’ closer.

Kirby Yates, Robert Stephenson and Jordan Romano seem best positioned entering spring training. Ben Joyce, who is returning from shoulder surgery, also hasn’t been ruled out for Opening Day just yet. “We definitely have options,” Suzuki said. “We have guys that have done it before at a high level. And I think the benefit for us is we have options and we can be flexible. But in that ninth inning, I wouldn’t put a name out there to be our closer right now.”

The deal is now official. Romano heads to Los Angeles as a potential closer alternative in case hard-throwing youngster Ben Joyce isn’t ready to roll after missing nearly all of last season with a shoulder ailment. He’ll be in the mix for high-leverage opportunities with Robert Stephenson and Drew Pomeranz at the outset of the year. The 32-year-old former Blue Jays stopper fell apart last season in his Phillies debut, posting a calamitous 8.23 ERA — 5.39 FIP — and 47/17 K/BB ratio across 42 2/3 innings over 49 appearances. He’s a worthwhile low-risk gamble for the Angels in the event that he’s able to rediscover his previously elite form. He can be left on the waiver wire in most fantasy leagues heading into next season.

Pomeranz will be in the mix for high-leverage innings with the Angels alongside Robert Stephenson, Jordan Romano and Ben Joyce (shoulder). He’ll vulture the occasional matchup-dependent save but is unlikely to emerge as Los Angeles’ primary stopper. The 37-year-old southpaw was an unexpected revelation for the Cubs this past season, registering a sparkling 2.17 ERA — 3.36 FIP — and 57/15 K/BB ratio across 49 2/3 innings over 57 appearances, during his first stint back in the majors since 2021.

It’s a significant blow to Los Angeles’ razor-thin high-leverage depth behind veteran closer Kenley Jansen. The hard-throwing 24-year-old righty hit the injured list back in mid-April with right shoulder inflammation, so it qualifies as a massive surprise that he would up requiring a season-ending procedure. The track record for pitchers coming back from shoulder surgery is extremely checkered, to put it mildly, relative to other types of injuries. It could be a while before Joyce is back on a big-league mound for the Angels.

Nothing has changed in the prognosis for the 24-year-old right-hander, who has been shut down after experiencing renewed soreness in his shoulder, this was merely done as a procedural move to free up a spot on the team’s 40-man roster for Shaun Anderson to join the bullpen on Friday. Joyce is still without any sort of timeline for his return.

The 24-year-old fireballer played catch twice as he started to build back up, but didn’t feel quite right when doing so, so the Angels will get another opinion to find out exactly what’s going on there. It sounds like the Angels are going to have to make due without him for an extended period of time.