ANAHEIM — Jack Kochanowicz was stunned when he learned what his MRI exam on Monday showed.
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Even though Kochanowicz was able to throw 98 mph fastballs, only feeling some discomfort on his changeup, he had torn his ulnar collateral ligament.
Kochanowicz said on Tuesday that he’ll have Tommy John surgery. That procedure will knock him out until at least late in the 2027 season, and very likely until the 2028 season.
“Honestly I didn’t think this was in the cards,” Kochanowicz said. “I really thought it was just a little angry. My velo was fine. The fastballs, everything. It was really just the changeups. I thought I was going to hear back that it was all right.”
Kochanowicz, 25, said he’d been feeling some minor issues for a month.
“I thought it was just kind of general soreness that I was going through,” Kochanowicz said.
His recent performances now make more sense.
Kochanowicz had a 3.05 ERA in his seven starts through May 3. In the next six starts, he had an 11.91 ERA. On Saturday, he didn’t even get out of the first inning against the Dodgers. After that game, he finally had tests to determine what was wrong.
“It’s tough,” Kochanowicz said. “I’ll just miss being here, with all the guys and all that. It does give me a little bit of clarity, because I’ve been grinding.”
The Angels still don’t know who will take his spot in the rotation, which would be on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
It could be left-hander Sam Aldegheri, who pitched one inning on Monday night and has a 2.25 ERA in 12 major-league innings this season.
It could be left-hander Mitch Farris, who has a 2.92 ERA in 24⅔ innings out of the bullpen. Farris might be limited to around 70 pitches, though.
If the Angels bring up someone from the minors, it could be right-hander George Klassen or right-hander Caden Dana.
YATES’ ROLE
Manager Kurt Suzuki was noncommittal when asked whether struggling right-hander Kirby Yates is still the closer.
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“We’re thinking about our options and we’ll see who’s up today,” Suzuki said. “We’ll watch and see how guys feel out there, and how they’re throwing.”
Pressed on whether Yates now has a new role, Suzuki said: “As of right now, there’s no different role. When the time comes to have that conversation, we’ll have a conversation with him.”
Right-hander Sam Bachman, the pitcher who seemingly would be next in line to close, was not available on Tuesday because he had pitched three of the previous four days.
TROUT’S SLUMP
Mike Trout was hitless in his last 21 at-bats heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Houston Astros. The worst streak of his career was an 0-for-26 stretch in 2022.
Suzuki said Trout is hitting the ball better than the slump suggests.
“He’s been hitting a lot of balls hard that are caught at the wall,” Suzuki said. “I feel like his swing’s right there. Some of those balls that he hits you think are going out and they’re not. But I think the swings are there. The at-bats are there. He’s having long at-bats. He’s having good at-bats, putting good swings on it. You just feel like he’s right there. He still looks dangerous in the box.”
During the hitless stretch, Trout has made seven outs on balls that were hit 99 mph or harder. That includes two balls that outfielders caught against the fence.
NOTES
Third baseman Yoán Moncada will have knee surgery, Suzuki said. The Angels aren’t sure how long Moncada will be out following the surgery, which will be sometime next week. Moncada is currently on the 60-day injured list. …
On Monday night, Zach Neto became the first shortstop in Angels history to hit homers in three straight games. …
A scoring change from Monday’s game removed the error from catcher Logan O’Hoppe on the 10th-inning play in which the Astros scored the go-ahead run. Second baseman Nick Madrigal made a one-hop throw that skipped past O’Hoppe. It is still an unearned run for Aldegheri because it was the automatic runner.
UPCOMING Q&A
Do you have questions about the Angels? Email Fletcher at [email protected] and look for his responses to some fan questions in a story coming later this week.
UP NEXT
Astros (RHP Peter Lambert, 5-4, 3.55 ERA) at Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 2-5, 4.26 ERA), Wednesday, 6:38 p.m., ABTV, 830 AM
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