Hans

Crouse

The decision to jettison Kremer after a solid showing in spring training and the World Baseball Classic signals that Baltimore will go with Zach Eflin as the final member of a five-man, season-opening rotation. The 30-year-old righty led the Orioles with 171 2/3 innings over 31 appearances (29 starts) last year, which provides some insight into how much the club overhauled their rotation this offseason. He’s unlikely to spend too much time at Triple-A since Baltimore is eventually going to move to a six-man rotation, like most teams in the current era, after a couple weeks to build in extra rest for their starters.

Crouse was a notable pitching prospect just a couple years ago but hasn’t put it together at the highest level, recording a lackluster — 4.96 FIP — 1.30 WHIP and 36/24 K/BB ratio across 32 1/3 innings at the highest level for the Phillies and Angels from 2021-2024. The 27-year-old righty was cut loose by Los Angeles last April after just a handful of appearances for Triple-A Salt Lake.

Crouse is being released just days after appearing to suffer a significant injury while pitching for Triple-A Salt Lake. The 26-year-old was an inspiring comeback story in 2024 as he worked his way back to the majors. Now he finds himself without an organization and dealing with an injury. Tough.

Crouse has been hit hard this spring and will open the regular season back in the minors as extra relief depth for Los Angeles.

Crouse was just called up yesterday, but since he threw 27 pitches then, he’s getting swapped out for a fresh arm. He has a 2.84 ERA in 25 1/3 innings for the Angels this season.

Crouse will be back to provide some middle-inning help for the Halos. The 25-year-old has pitched well with a 3.00 ERA in his 24 innings over 24 appearances thus far.

With Johnny Cueto joining the active roster on Wednesday, someone needed to get the boot to free up a spot and unfortunately for Crouse he was the odd man out this time around. The 25-year-old hurler holds a respectable 3.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 33/15 K/BB ratio across 24 innings in 24 appearances out of the Angels’ bullpen this season. It shouldn’t take him long to earn another shot at the big-league level.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 25-year-old hurler since he appeared in two games with the Phillies back in 2021. Crouse was terrific in 21 appearances at Triple-A Salt Lake, registering a 2.70 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 42/7 K/BB ratio over 23 1/3 innings. Expect him to function in a middle relief role for Angels’ skipper Ron Washington.

Crouse gets an opportunity in Los Angeles after spending the last two seasons in the Phillies’ minor league system. The 25-year-old righty made a pair of starts for Philadelphia in the closing moments of the 2021 campaign. He’s a worthwhile low-risk lottery ticket for the Angels as they enter a transitional phase.

Crouse didn’t end up making an appearance last year for the Phillies as he dealt with a lingering biceps issue for much of the season. The 24-year-old righty has been removed from Philadelphia’s 40-man roster entering the offseason.