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On the surface, the Angels’ addition of right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson may not seem like a bullpen-altering splash.
After all, Stephenson -- who signed a three-year, $33 million deal -- is a soon-to-be 31-year-old right-hander with a 4.64 career ERA over eight big league seasons, all while playing for four teams.
But now, let’s zero in only on the current version of Stephenson. You know, the guy who posted a 2.35 ERA over 42 appearances following his June 2 trade to the Rays last season.
That success wasn’t just the result of a small sample size or a change of scenery. It came about as a result of a completely revamped approach from Stephenson.
The biggest change Stephenson made was altering the release point on his slider. It sounds simple, but it essentially turned the pitch into a completely new offering -- and an incredibly effective one at that.
By tweaking his mechanics, the pitch is considerably faster and has a much tighter break, essentially making it a cutter -- though Stephenson still refers to the pitch as his slider. Whatever it is, the new version averaged 88.7 mph, well above the previous 84.8 mph average on his slider.
That’s a pretty significant increase for what is by far Stephenson’s most-used pitch. He threw his “cutter” 71.6% of the time from July onwards.
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And regardless of whether Stephenson truly discarded his slider in favor of a cutter or simply tightened up a pitch that was already a cutter, it’s hard to argue with the results.
Opposing batters hit just .101 (8-for-79) with 42 strikeouts against Stephenson's cutter. He had a 59.9% whiff rate with the pitch -- a sizable jump from the 41.8% whiff rate he registered with his old slider.
“Just making a little adjustment on how I release [the slider] helped add some velo to it,” Stephenson said. “I think that helped a ton on just putting the pitch in the zone more often and getting more swing and miss on it. Moving forward, I feel like that’s sustainable because it’s a better version of that pitch.”
Relying heavily on that pitch, Stephenson went from posting a 5.14 ERA in his 18 outings with the Pirates to becoming one of the most dominant relievers in the game with the Rays.
Stephenson not only put up a 2.35 ERA over 42 appearances with Tampa Bay, but his strikeout numbers skyrocketed. His strikeout rate went from 28% with the Pirates to 43% with the Rays.
From July onwards, Stephenson struck out 45% of the batters he faced. Of the 380 pitchers who faced at least 100 batters during that span, nobody had a higher strikeout rate than Stephenson.
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“One of the things you look for from a player, especially from a scouting standpoint and just tracking a player over the course of time, is improvement,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said. “He went to Tampa last year and was one of the best, if not the best, reliever in baseball over those 40 innings.”
Armed with his elite newfound cutter, Stephenson will undoubtedly be one of the top high-leverage options in an Angels bullpen that ranked 26th with a 4.88 ERA last season. And while incumbent closer Carlos Estévez was a first-time All-Star last season, he stumbled to a 6.59 ERA in 27 second-half appearances after his remarkable 1.80 ERA in the first half.
“We had a hard time in the sixth, seventh, eighth inning,” Minasian said. “For us to win more games, and especially compete, we have to be better in those middle innings. Adding a Stephenson, you try to push as many guys as you can down the pecking order. Stephenson gives us another high-leverage guy where [manager Ron Washington] can use him where he wants to and more depth in the bullpen, which we felt like was needed.”
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Who holds the Angels’ record for the highest single-season strikeout rate (min. 50 innings) in franchise history?
A. Francisco Rodríguez
B. Ernesto Frieri
C. Raisel Iglesias
D. Troy Percival
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Along with adding Stephenson, the Angels continued to bolster their ‘pen by agreeing to a one-year, $9 million deal with left-hander Matt Moore, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. The club has not confirmed the deal.
Moore posted a 2.66 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP over 44 innings with the Angels last season before being claimed off waivers by the Guardians on Aug. 31. Moore then made five appearances with Cleveland before being claimed by the Marlins, for whom he turned in four scoreless outings.
Overall, the 34-year-old produced a career-high 27.5% strikeout rate, eclipsing the 27.3% mark he posted in 2022 when he transitioned exclusively to a bullpen role. Moore has a 2.20 ERA in 126 2/3 innings over 113 outings in his two seasons as a full-time reliever.
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• With Minasian saying on Tuesday that the Angels are “definitely not done from an offseason standpoint,” stay up to date on all the rumors across the Majors here.
• Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. Beltré, a longtime Angels nemesis, and Mauer were elected on their first BBWAA ballot, while Helton made it in on his sixth try. More >>
• Bartolo Colon, who won the 2005 AL Cy Young Award with the Angels, was one of eight players who did not reach the necessary 5% threshold to remain on the ballot next year. More >>
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C. Raisel Iglesias
Iglesias posted a franchise-record 37.7% strikeout rate in 2021, edging out K-Rod's 36.7% mark from 2004.
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