Reyes

Moronta

Moronta went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment last week. The 30-year-old righty struggled in a pair of relief appearances for the Angels and will likely stick around as extra organizational relief depth.

The 30-year-old hurler just had his contract selected from Triple-A Salt :Lake on Sunday, but he’ll be jettisoned from the 40-man roster after registering a 6.75 ERA and cringe-inducing 5.25 WHIP over 1 1/3 innings in his two appearances with the Angels. He’ll likely pass through waivers unclaimed and continue to hone his craft at the Triple-A level.

The 30-year-old veteran made 39 appearances last year for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks while failing to crack the Rangers roster this spring. He will give the Angels another righty to call upon in the middle innings.

Moronta provides the Angels with some extra organizational relief depth at Triple-A Salt Lake after spending spring training attempting unsuccessfully to win a spot in the Rangers’ season-opening bullpen. The 30-year-old righty made 17 39 relief appearances last year between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, finishing with a respectable 4.30 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 38/18 K/BB ratio across 37 2/3 innings.

Moronta was granted his release after being informed that he wouldn’t make the team. The 30-year-old was blasted for 10 runs in 5 2/3 innings this spring, so it was a foregone conclusion.

Moronta, a former Giants reliever who pitched for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks last season, will pause his tour of the NL West to jump to the AL West this year. He has a 3.02 ERA in 170 innings as a major leaguer, but most of that came from 2017-19 and before he started having elbow issues. With his velocity down about two mph from where he had been, he posted a 4.30 ERA in 37 2/3 innings last year.

The Giants must be disappointed that they didn’t get to non-tender Moronta themselves. The 29-year-old righty had a 4.30 ERA and a 38/18 K/BB ratio in 37 2/3 innings for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks last season. His stuff isn’t what it was a few years ago, but he still probably belongs on a major league roster.

Revenge game? Moronta started his career as a Giant, and the burly right-hander looked good against his former employer. He struck out two while not allowing a hit, and threw 10-fo-13 pitches for strikes. He could see a few more save chances in the final few weeks, but it’s far from a guarantee.

Moronta was designated for assignment by the Dodgers and subsequently picked up off waivers by the D-Backs in late August. He had an opportunity to make his former organization pay on Tuesday evening and did just that, coming in for the ninth in a 5-2 contest and holding the score right there. In 32 appearances (33 1/3 innings) split between the two teams this season, Moronta owns a 3.78 ERA and 35/13 K/BB ratio.

Moronta had been designated for assignment after posting a 4.18 ERA and 27/10 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings. He’s under team control for 2023, as well, so the D-backs will see what they have in the 29-year-old before making a decision whether to tender him.