Hunter

Strickland

The procedural move opens up a spot on Los Angeles’ 40-man roster for reliever Carson Fulmer. The 36-year-old veteran hit the shelf earlier this week with right shoulder inflammation and will be sidelined into early September. There’s a strong chance his season is over.

No word yet on the severity of the issue, which will determine how much time Strickland misses. The 36-year-old veteran righty has made 19 relief appearances for the Angels since signing with the club back on May 18.

Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth in a tie game tonight. It should have been Brock Burke’s save, but Zach Neto bobbled a grounder and made a wild throw on what would have been the final play of the game. Strickland then took over and got Anthony Volpe to roll a ball to third to end it. A great surprise for the Angels, Strickland has yet to allow a run in 14 1/3 innings since being called up last month. Still, he’s probably not going to be in line for more save chances unless something happens to Jansen.

Strickland’s arrival fortifies Los Angeles’ relief depth ahead of Sunday’s showdown against the Dodgers. The 36-year-old journeyman latched on with the Angels earlier this month on a minor league contract after being cut loose by the Rangers. He compiled a solid 3.31 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 57/24 K/BB ratio across 73 1/3 innings (72 appearances) last year for the Angels.

Strickland returns to Los Angeles after being released earlier this week by the Rangers. The 36-year-old veteran reliever registered a respectable 3.31 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 57/24 K/BB ratio across 73 1/3 innings (72 appearances) last year for the Angels. He figures to return to the big leagues at some point in the coming weeks.

Strickland was technically released by the Rangers on Friday evening, but in truth he opted out. He comes back to Texas, and will assuredly have another potential opt-out if the Rangers don’t add him to the active roster.

Strickland had an upcoming out-out clause in his minor league deal that he was likely to use anyways and he wasn’t going to make the Opening Day roster, so this move makes sense for both parties. He’s now free to explore opportunities elsewhere.

Strickland is a late add to the Rangers’ bullpen, and is unlikely to make the team out of spring training. The 36-year-old still could end up being a helper for the Texas bullpen, likely in a mid-to-late inning role.

This is pretty lame. Strickland has not been a high-leverage guy this year, but the Angels might prefer him closing over Ben Joyce for now in order to save money on Joyce’s future arbitration salaries. To be fair, Strickland has been perfectly solid in posting a 3.06 ERA. Joyce, though, was clearly ahead of him on the Angels’ relief depth chart before the Carlos Estévez and Luis García trades. He pitched a scoreless eighth for a hold in front of Strickland tonight. Strickland came into the game with no saves and six holds on 47 appearances.

Strickland has made 408 career relief appearances with a 3.41 ERA, but has struggled since 2022 to show any kind of consistent success. He’ll get another chance with the Halos in 2024, but likely not in a fantasy-relevant role.