Welcome to the Angels 2026 season. With pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, now is the time to get caught up on the off season and look at the storylines to follow through camp.
Last season the Angels bullpen was anchored by Kenley Jansen and Reid Detmers. Brock Burke provided a steadying middle relief prescence as well. None of the three will be in the Angels bullpen this year. Jansen signed with Detroit, Burke was traded to Cincinatti, and Detmers was moved to the rotation.
Despite those three performing well, the Angels bullpen as a whole struggled and ranked near the bottom of MLB in most statistical categories. A complete remake was needed and Angels GM Perry Minasian went to work.
Here’s what to watch for as camp progresses.
Are Robert Stephenson and Ben Joyce healthy?
Stephenson was signed to a three year $33 million contract prior to the 2024 season that has been a disaster for the Angels. Over the last two seasons Stephenson has pitched a measly 10 innings, all of which came last year.
When healthy, Stephenson is capable of shutting down offenses in the highest leverage and save situations. He’s just rarely been healthy.
Ben Joyce is a maximum effort fireballer who has topped 105 MPH with his heater. Drafted in the third round in 2022, he wasted little getting hurt. Injuries took out chunks of his 2023 and 2024 seasons before shoulder surgery ended his 2025 campaign after he was put on the IL in April.
If healthy, Joyce has devastating stuff and is the likely closer. But with his violent delivery and injuries stretching back to his college, days, that is a big “if.” He’s at camp and hopefully doing well.
Ben Joyce throwing. Hopefully we’ll get an update today on how he’s doing after surgery last year. pic.twitter.com/Nq21IjvQmK
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) February 10, 2026Who are all these guys?
With limited resources but a lot of holes to fill, Minasian had to go with the quantity over quality approach to the bullpen. Still, he appears to have come away with some interesting pieces.
Kirby Yates was dominant as recently as 2024 and has closing experience. Dominant might not be the right word. Yates posted a 1.17 ERA over 61.2 innings. His pitching coach in 2024 was Mike Maddux, who will coach him this year in Anaheim. If he regains control of his split finger fastball he could be a real weapon for the Angels.
Drew Pomeranz is another graybeard with tons of MLB experience. He’s having a second act as a reliever after over a decade as a starter and was suprisingly good for the Chicago Cubs last season. On an inexpensive one year deal, Pomeranz could be a sneaky good pickup.
Brent Suter is a soft tossing lefty who gets a ton of ground balls. That might not be a good thing with the Angels infield defense, but worm burners are better than home runs. Jordan Romano was good for the Blue Jays a few years ago but hasn’t been lately and is a total roll of the dice.
Battle for the final spot(s)
Exactly how many spots are open depends a lot on the health of Stephenson and Joyce. If those two break camp with the team and the four above mentioned veterans are also healthy that only leaves one spot. Given the ages and injury histories of this group, that’s a lot of wishful thinking.
Mostly likely 2-3 spots will be up for grabs over the course of the Cactus League. Familiar names like Jose Fermin, Ryan Zeferjahn, and Chase Silseth will get cracks at them. Ryan Johnson made the Opening Day bullpen last season. Chris Cortez spoke with me from camp and could land in the bullpen as well.
Old friend Hunter Strickland signed a minor league deal with the Angels and has a path to a roster spot. Jayvien Sandridge was acquired by the Yankees and had a cup of coffee in the Bronx last season.
Really the success of the Angels bullpen is riding on the health of Stephenson and Joyce. If they can provide the high leverage innings and allow the veterans to settle into middle relief roles this could be an effective bullpen. But depth is a huge concern and any injuries to those two really take a toll quickly.