BALTIMORE — The Angels’ lineup had a new look on Tuesday.
Between moves made at the trade deadline and a couple of moves the next day, the Angels have a lineup that figures to be more balanced, and with more contact.
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The Angels traded outfielder Jo Adell on Monday and on Tuesday they designated Jorge Soler for assignment, moving two hitters who provided occasional power but struck out at a high rate. Both are also right-handed.
Moises Ballesteros, who was acquired on Monday from the Chicago Cubs, went into the DH spot. Wade Meckler started in right field. Ballesteros and Meckler are both left-handed hitters who strike out less often than Adell and Soler.
“I’m excited to wear this uniform,” Ballesteros said. “New opportunities. I’m excited to be here.”
Ballesteros will DH and catch, although the ratio is yet to be determined.
“That’s going to be dictated by what we see and how comfortable he is back there and stuff,” Manager Kurt Suzuki said. “I talked to him today and he’s been working on catching stuff and all those type of things.”
As for Meckler, the fact that he got a start against a left-handed pitcher on Tuesday night suggests that he’s now ahead of Josh Lowe on the depth chart.
“I don’t want to say he’s going to be our everyday right fielder, but he’s going to play a lot,” Suzuki said.
The Angels also now expect Mike Trout to get a little more time at DH, since Soler is gone. Soler hit .203 with a .664 OPS, including a .585 OPS since coming off the injured list.
The Angels’ best offensive stretch of the season coincided with Soler’s time on the injured list, because the Angels were giving regular playing time to contact hitters like Meckler, Donovan Walton and Nick Madrigal. Now, they have a chance to recreate that with Ballesteros. Infielder Adam Frazier, another left-handed hitter who puts the ball in play, was also activated after nearly two months on the IL.
ROTATION UPDATE
The Angels opened one rotation spot when Ryan Johnson was optioned on Saturday, and then a second opened when José Soriano was traded on Monday.
The first will be filled by … Johnson.
The Angels recalled him and scheduled him to start on Thursday, even though he has a 7.63 ERA.
“We feel like there’s a few glimpses of him showing the capabilities to be a a reliable starter,” Suzuki said. “Obviously with his age, his youth on his side, we feel like giving him another opportunity was fair for him. We expect him to go out and be more consistent every time he goes out there.”
The Angels haven’t announced a starter for Friday in Miami. The most likely choice would be right-hander George Klassen, who has been pitching well at Triple-A.
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi was scheduled for a rehab start at Triple-A on Tuesday night. He is expected to make at least one more start at Triple-A after this one.
BULLPEN UPDATE
Right-hander Ben Joyce, who has long been projected as the Angels’ eventual closer, was activated for the first time since he had shoulder surgery in April 2025.
Joyce said he’s “felt good” during his rehab assignment, both with his shoulder and the quality of his pitches.
For now, the Angels will use him in high-leverage roles, but not necessarily as the closer, Suzuki said.
“Eventually when he gets his feet under him and stuff, I think everybody would love it if he could be the closer,” Suzuki said.
The Angels also added right-hander Shaun Anderson and left-hander Blake Weiman, a 30-year-old who has bounced around the minors without appearing in the majors. He had a 2.30 ERA this season at Double-A, after missing the start of the season with an injury.
Right-hander Sam Bachman remains on the active roster even though he acknowledged he’s been fighting some fatigue. Suzuki said he was not available on Tuesday night.
Suzuki said the Angels want to “be safe with it and not overdo it or push it too much.”
NOTES
More than a dozen members of the Angels’ traveling party traveled from Baltimore to New Jersey on Monday to play golf at Trout’s recently opened golf club. That’s where Adell, Zeferjahn and Brent Suter were when they learned they had been traded. That’s also where pitcher Reid Detmers was when he saw a rumor, which turned out to be false, that he was traded. He said his agent told him it wasn’t true, but nonetheless Detmers said “it was a pretty stressful day.” …
The Angels made a handful of significant roster moves in the minor leagues on Tuesday, most notably probably promoting 2025 first-round pick Tyler Bremner from Class-A to Double-A. Outfielder Hayden Alvarez, who has become the Angels’ best position player prospect this season, was promoted to High-A Tri City. They also moved some of their 2026 draft picks onto full-season rosters after having them get acclimated in Arizona. Third baseman Gavin Grahovac, outfielder Rylan Lujo and infielder Jaxon Willits – who were the third- through fifth-round picks – were all added to the Class-A Rancho Cucamonga roster.
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 3-7, 4.03 ERA) at Orioles (LHP Trevor Rogers, 6-7, 4.27 ERA), Wednesday, 3:35 p.m. PT, ABTV, 830 AM