ANAHEIM, Calif. — The first time that Sam Aldegheri was called up to the big leagues this season on June 2, then-manager Ron Washington was asked if there was concern a spot-relief promotion could affect his long-term development as a starter.
“We never thought that far ahead,” Washington told reporters. “Right now, we need length here.”
The Angels have made it abundantly clear this season that much-needed minor league pitching development is secondary to survival in individual big league games. In a season where the Angels have a 3.7 percent chance of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs, they are focusing on the present and not their future.
The most egregious example of this shortsightedness came on Tuesday night, as Aldegheri was forced to wear it. It took three walks and two hits before anyone started warming. In the end, he threw 42 pitches in the fifth inning, giving up four runs. Then, he was asked to pitch a second inning, where he gave up another run.
“Listen, it’s a tough spot, when you’re in that position and you’re here to give us length, and then it kind of gets off the rails a little bit — we have to protect him too,” said interim manager Ray Montgomery.
But the Angels didn’t protect him.
Protecting him would have been keeping him in Double A, starting games every five days, and waiting until he was ready to stand on that big league mound as a starter. Protecting him, at the very least, would have been pulling him when it was clear he didn’t have it that night.
What the Angels did on Tuesday was force Aldegheri into a bad position — one that could stall or harm his growth.
Angels GM Perry Minasian has talked a lot in the last two years about development and growth. Yet so many of his decisions seem rooted in the team’s present-day needs at any given moment and not development at the affiliates. His is a front office that has yet to develop a good starting pitcher in the five years it’s been at the helm, with many failures occurring along the way.
Perhaps that will change someday, but decisions like this make it less likely.
“Of course,” Montgomery said when asked if he was concerned Aldegheri’s outing would impact his development and confidence. “Anytime you don’t have success at the major-league level, regardless of your status, it affects your psyche.”
Minasian did not immediately respond to a text message after the 13-1 loss.
Aldegheri is not the only pitching prospect who’s been put in this position. Caden Dana and Victor Mederos have also been called up twice as spot long relievers. Mederos filled that role on Monday night, walking two batters in an inning before being optioned to Triple A in favor of Aldegheri.
Dana’s last appearance for the Angels came on May 24. In his first inning of work that night, he threw 41 pitches and gave up three runs. He was optioned after the game, pitched three more games in Triple A — all very poor — and has been out with what the team says is fatigue.
That’s to say nothing of Ryan Johnson — a pitching prospect who made his professional debut in the majors on Opening Day this season, only to be optioned to High A after it became evident he wasn’t ready.
It’s because the Angels have rushed so many pitchers to the big leagues that they have compromised their roster flexibility. There are almost no other options on the 40-man roster, other than prospects who were called up before they were ready to stay up.
Jake Eder is the only non-prospect in the minor leagues on the 40-man, but he was unavailable for a call-up after pitching the night prior. Bringing up anyone else would require someone being designated for assignment or placed on the 60-day injured list.
While the big league team has performed better this season, on the backs of improved play by their one-time first-round picks, the minor league system appears to be in a shambles.
The Angels’ Triple-A, Double-A and Low-A affiliates are all below .500 in last place — with Double-A Rocket City recently snapping a 16-game losing streak. Calling up prospects before they’re ready risks further detriment in an already ugly situation.
What happened on Tuesday night wasn’t anomalous.
There’s no doubt that owner Arte Moreno — who has always had a hand in baseball operations — has been singularly obsessed with the big league product. There’s a reason you’ll never hear any of his hired executives use the word “rebuild.” There’s a reason there are no aggressive trade deadline sell-offs, regardless of the team’s playoff positioning.
That, however, shouldn’t lead to this. The front office needs to make better decisions. Embarrassing a pitcher you’ve invested in, just for the sake of eating a couple innings, should not be an option.
Decisions about young pitchers should solely be about what’s in their best interest. Because what’s in the player’s best interest is what will benefit the organization long-term. The people in charge just haven’t realized that yet.
(Photo of Victor Mederos pitching: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
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