CINCINNATI \u2014 Kurt Suzuki believes that George Klassen returned to the minors with a clear idea about what he needs to correct.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Klassen, the stuff\u2019s there,\u201d the Angels manager said of the rookie right-hander. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen it. We all talk about it. We still love him. He\u2019s just got to get more consistent. That\u2019s all. There\u2019s nothing else really to it. Just experience, consistency, and pitching.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klassen, 24, was a last-minute rotation replacement when Ryan Johnson got sick. He made two disappointing starts, with 10 walks in 4\u2154 innings. On Sunday, the Angels sent him back to Triple-A.<\/p>\n
The best-case scenario is that Klassen will respond the way right-hander Jack Kochanowicz did two years ago. Kochanowicz gave up 12 runs in his first two big league starts in July 2024. He spent three weeks in the minors, and then posted a 2.78 ERA in nine big league starts over the rest of the season.<\/p>\n
The Angels hope that they won\u2019t need Klassen back that quickly, though.<\/p>\n
Johnson is scheduled to throw around 80 pitches in a game in Arizona on Monday. Suzuki said he might need one game in the minors after that.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the Angels have to fill a hole in the rotation at least one more time, either Wednesday or Thursday in New York. Kochanowicz will start the other game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could go bullpen game or we could bring a guy up,\u201d Suzuki said.<\/p>\n
If they are going to bring someone up, the most reasonable option is right-hander Walbert Ure\u00f1a. He threw five innings on Wednesday at Triple-A. Although he gave up four runs, he didn\u2019t walk anyone and he threw 87 pitches. He\u2019d have an appropriate amount of rest to pitch either of the two games in New York, and he\u2019s on the 40-man roster.<\/p>\n
The Angels believed they had an unusual bounty of rotation depth in spring training, but not at the moment.<\/p>\n
They designated right-hander Victor Mederos for assignment and then traded him. Left-hander Sam Aldegheri has gotten beaten up in Triple-A. Left-hander Mitch Farris is currently in the big league bullpen. (He\u2019d be a candidate to start a bullpen game in New York.)<\/p>\n
Then there is a list of pitchers with health issues, including Johnson.<\/p>\n
Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder inflammation) threw fastballs and changeups in the bullpen on Saturday. He is set to throw another bullpen on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Right-hander Caden Dana, who missed much of spring training recovering from mono, is finally about to start his season at Triple-A.<\/p>\n
Right-hander Alek Manoah, who had a fingernail issue, has been facing hitters in Arizona.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got talent,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cOn the bright side, they\u2019re not far away. Soon guys are going to be saying \u2018man, you have so many options.\u2019 You\u2019re hoping it\u2019s sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n
SANDLIN UP<\/p>\n
Right-handed reliever Nick Sandlin took Klassen\u2019s spot on the roster, returning to the majors for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery last fall. The Angels had a vacant 40-man spot for Sandlin because they designated Jeimer Candelario for assignment on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big step getting back from kind of a full year of rehab last year,\u201d Sandlin said. \u201cThe worst part of this game is being injured. It\u2019s a lot of work that people don\u2019t see. It\u2019s good to get back to this point for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandlin, 29, has a 3.19 ERA in parts of five big league seasons, with the Cleveland Guardians and Toronto Blue Jays. Opponents have hit .191 against Sandlin in his career. Even though he\u2019s a side-arm pitcher, he\u2019s been effective against righties (.196) and lefties (.183).<\/p>\n
Sandlin said he\u2019s ready to pitch multiple innings and back-to-back days.<\/p>\n
NOTES<\/p>\n
The Angels lost ABS challenges in the first inning each of the first two days of this series. Suzuki acknowledged that they\u2019ve talked about those decisions \u2014 by Zach Neto and Logan O\u2019Hoppe \u2014 but he stopped short of saying they\u2019ve established any firm rules about when players can and can\u2019t challenge. \u201cThe right word is recommendations,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cGuys know what we\u2019re talking about, big spots and things like that.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n
Left-hander Brent Suter provided valuable work to the Angels\u2019 bullpen by getting 11 outs on 39 pitches during Saturday\u2019s loss. One of the trademarks of Suter\u2019s career has been his durability and ability to get through multiple innings with minimal pitches. \u201cHe attacks the zone,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cHe knows who he is. It\u2019s great for the young guys to watch him. He attacks guys and gets outs.\u201d<\/p>\n
UP NEXT<\/p>\n
Angels (LHP Yusei Kikuchi, 0-2, 6.75) at Yankees (RHP Will Warren, 1-0, 3.07), Monday, 4:05 p.m. PT, FanDuel Sports Network, 830 AM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CINCINNATI \u2014 Kurt Suzuki believes that George Klassen returned to the minors with a clear idea about what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2390],"tags":[291,5,1165,446,3223,774,56,3224,3222,4,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-674260","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-angels","8":"tag-angels","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-angels","12":"tag-laangels","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-angels","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangelesangels","17":"tag-mlb","18":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116392938907558286","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}