The Angels positioned starter José Soriano on the 15-day injured listing, retroactive to June 17, with an belly an infection. Los Angeles is off tonight, so that they didn’t instantly reveal the corresponding transfer. The Halos additionally introduced that Cole Tucker went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake after being designated for project on Monday.
Soriano has been a uncommon vibrant spot in a tough season. Los Angeles transitioned the hard-throwing righty to the rotation this yr. It was of venture, as Soriano had been one of many membership’s higher relievers as a rookie. The second-year hurler has taken properly to the beginning function. In 72 1/3 innings, he carries a 3.48 earned run common. Whereas Soriano’s strikeout charge has plummeted from final yr’s 30.3% clip to a modest 20.3% mark, he has offset that with a drastic uptick in grounders.
Amongst pitchers with 50+ innings, solely Framber Valdez has run a better ground-ball charge than Soriano’s 60.2% clip. The Angel hurler has additionally trimmed his stroll charge by virtually three proportion factors. This yr’s 9.5% stroll proportion nonetheless isn’t nice, however it has been ample for Soriano to work to mid-rotation outcomes. He has held big velocity in prolonged stints, averaging 97.8 MPH on his sinker.
Tucker, 27, signed a minor league deal in April. He hit properly in 10 video games for Salt Lake to earn an MLB look a pair weeks later. Tucker didn’t carry that success over in 25 contests for the Halos. Over 57 journeys to the plate, he hit .180/.263/.300 whereas hanging out practically 30% of the time. A former first-round draftee of the Pirates, Tucker has performed within the majors in six consecutive seasons. He owns a .213/.266/.316 batting line over 536 plate appearances between Pittsburgh, Colorado and Los Angeles.
That is the fourth profession outright for Tucker. He has the precise to check free company every time he clears waivers. The Angels didn’t announce whether or not he’ll rejoin Salt Lake or head again to the open market seeking a minor league alternative elsewhere.