Angels right-hander Matt Shoemaker has been shut down indefinitely after suffering a setback in his rehab from a forearm strain, he told reporters Thursday (Twitter link via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times). Shoemaker is headed to see a nerve specialist in Missouri next week in an effort to better determine the cause of his discomfort.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” the right-hander said. “I’m pissed off. Everything felt great until I ramped up with bullpen on Sunday. Then the symptoms came back.”
The setback is the latest in an ongoing string of health issues for Shoemaker, who has pitched in just 83 1/3 innings dating back to Opening Day 2017. Shoemaker has had three separate trips to the disabled list in the past year due to forearm injuries and underwent surgery on his right forearm last August. A season prior, he was struck by a line-drive and suffered a skull fracture that ultimately required surgery to alleviate internal bleeding. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register explains, though, while both last year’s forearm injury and the current injury are nerve related, the current injury seems to be different than the one that plagued him in 2017.
It’s yet another tough loss for an Angels pitching staff that is currently without Nick Tropeano due to a shoulder injury and has seen J.C. Ramirez’s season cut short by Tommy John surgery. The Halos also lost righty Alex Meyer and lefty Nate Smith for the 2018 season long before it even began due to shoulder surgery (Sept. 2017 for Meyer, Jan. 2018 for Smith).
[Related: Los Angeles Angels depth chart]
Shohei Ohtani, Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs, Andrew Heaney and Jaime Barria are currently in the Angels’ rotation, with Parker Bridwell on the 40-man roster as a sixth option when necessary (though he’s currently in Triple-A). Former Reds lefty John Lamb is off to a nice start with their Triple-A club as he looks to put his injuries behind him, though he’s not on the 40-man roster.
The Angels already have one open spot on their 40-man roster, and at this point, Shoemaker has been on the disabled list for 40 days and clearly won’t be activated before hitting the 60-day mark. As such, the Angels should be able to make two depth adds whenever they see fit — be they internal or from outside the organization — by using their vacant spot and by transferring Shoemaker to the 60-day disabled list.
Damnit
Okay….. and? This team needs an ACE. Not a bunch of low 3’s or 4’s. Has to get old on the offense.
You’re right. But Ohtani is your ace, the rest are 3s and 4s.
Ohtani is no ACE. Maybe in 2 or 3 years maybe…. I don’t see it.
Seem like a hater and angels fan….strange. Team is in first in th west, need to chill.
And they’ll be in third-fourth in a month .. #tissuepaper
Doubt it, offense is lethal and not everyone is hitting right now. Biggest hole is bullpen and legit closer. Sound like an astros fan upset they arent running away with division. Besides pitching and altuve/correa the team is average.
No the NY YANKEES.
Angels pitching stinks period.
HaHaHa…hundreds of comics out of work and you’re trying to be funny.
4th in the AL in ERA.
It’s May 11. Let’s see when they make the East Coast wind.
I hope that specialist can find and fix that pesky nerve issue. Wish him complete health!
I feel bad for the cobbler. Nitro will be back soon. Barria has looked good. Things will be patched up soon for SP. I’m more concerned about the relievers. That should be an easy fix. Not sure if they can get a #1 starter to help shutdown and eat innings. But this could be their year.
Your teams pitching all around is garbage. God bless your offense. It has to get old thinking if we don’t score 7 runs or more, we are gonna get beat…..
Pitching is clearly not garbage dude. Nitro/Heaney/Barria have proven to be a solid bottom of the rotation while Shohei and GRich are capable top of the rotation pitchers. Depth is obviously needed but this group is very talented and possesses a pretty high floor IMO.
Skaggs is pitching well, too. The team pitching isn’t garbage, it’s average. Team ERA is ranked #15 in the league
I feel bad for Shoe, but the Angels will be fine. Nitro will start Saturday. In addition to Bridwell and Lamb, Castillo has been pitching very well at Mobile. With or without an ace, the Angels have the 4th best team ERA in the AL.
Shoemaker is the kind of guy everyone can root for: and undrafted prospect who fought his way all the way to MLB and had some success. I’ve met him and he’s a super nice, down to earth guy.
I hope he can get back to health, but that seems less likely every setback.
The Angels need to figure out which is more important addition needed. Three biggest needs are, starting pitcher. A legitimate closer. And I hate to say it, a right fielder. Starting pitcher will most likely be the hardest to add. Considering the fact there isn’t a good starting pitcher who the Angels will be able to get, without gutting the farm system. Closer, there really won’t be many available. Right fielder might be more realistic. Teams looking to dump payroll with some outfielders. Maybe Trumbo could be someone in mind for a trade.
Should have signed davis or someone of equal skill im free agency. I think they may make a move at the deadline depending on where they stand.
A lot of experts were lobbying for Holland to be signed, and he’s currently underperforming for $14M in STL.
Closers, more and more, rise up through organizations. It takes a special player to have sustained success in the role, and too often the player who has success and becomes FA is more of a bust with the new team.
Angels will find their closer—or closers—from within. Maybe Key, maybe Johnson or Anderson, or maybe all of the above. But allocating the kind of $$$ Davis got from Rockies on multi year deal is a real crapshoot which rarely works well.
Kole Calhoun will begin to hit . He’s not a .160 hitter. The Angels don’t need a DH. Mark Trumbo is not the answer. If you watch the Tigers RF Nicholas Castellanos who is hitting well but is contribution to higher pitch count and easy runs with his poor defense. Calhoun’s defense helps Angels pitchers… and will continue to need all the help they can get.
Way too early to think like that. Especially when they’re in first place. In the last couple of weeks, Martin Maldonado has raised his BA about 80 points, and Kinsler’s has gone up about 60 points. And then in their current series, Brian Dozier has raised his BA with the Twins about 40 points. Calhoun can easily do the same.
Trumbo!? Spoken like an Angel fan. HEY! Why at it… They should bring back Bobby Grich to play 2nd, Doug DeCinces to play 3B, and oh oh oh…! I know! Fred Lynn to LF and they can move Upton to RF.
You can sign a player for RF or your can get Mark Trumbo. Pick one, because they’re not the same thing.
HaloShane, you are an idiot. Trumbo is 32. And you comparing him to guys in their 60’s. Let me repeat myself, you are an idiot. GeoKaplan learn how to read. I said trade for Trumbo. Not sign him. When I was talking about signing someone, I was talking about this past offseason. The Angels strength last season was their bullpen. This season it is their biggest weakness. The Angels lead the majors, in blown saves this season. If they had a good closer, they would have a better record.
“The Angels already have one open spot on their 40-man roster…” That’s actually not true. There are 40 players on the Angels’ 40-man roster.