No decision needs to be made until next week, but Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels are leaning toward Hisanori Takahashi as the rotation replacement for demoted starter Joel Pineiro.
Takahashi was a veteran starter in Japan prior to coming to MLB at age 35 last season, but he had a 5.01 ERA in 12 starts for the Mets. He’s had more success in the bullpen for the Mets and Angels, throwing 106 innings with a 2.64 ERA and 100/41 K/BB ratio.
Counting on him as a starter down the stretch is an iffy proposition and throwing Takahashi right into the fire with a Wednesday start against the Yankees is especially iffy, but DiGiovanna writes that the Angels aren’t very confident in any of their potential Pineiro replacements in the minors.
Asked if he’d be ready to make the start, Takahashi replied: “I could throw 100 pitches. I don’t know what would happen a couple of days after that, but I could throw 100 pitches.”