Angels Pitcher Suffers Setback, Putting Season in Jeopardy

Maren Angus-Coombs | Aug 1, 2024

Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

Chase Silseth's return to the mound for Triple-A Salt Lake has been nearly disastrous.

Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian told reporters on Tuesday that the right-hander has been shut down and will get an evaluation on his elbow.

Silseth missed a couple of months with an elbow issue earlier this season. He was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 8 with elbow inflammation and since returning he’s posted a 6.35 ERA in seven starts for the Bees.

The 23-year-old earned the fifth and final spot in the Angels starting rotation out of spring training. When he made his first rehab appearance in Salt Lake, it was nearly the end of June and he told reporters then that was nearing a full recovery.

.@Chase_Silseth was lights out tonight with 10 strikeouts! 👊 pic.twitter.com/O0YkWYyuII

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) March 27, 2024

“Going through rehab is tough,” said Silseth. “Coming back, you’re going to go through a lot of adversity and you just have to find a way to keep pushing through it, finding a way to be better at it, trusting your body, trying to get through it. It’s tough because this is one of the most major rehabs I’ve been going through.”

Silseth was grinding through his first two starts of this season collecting 12 strikeouts, yielding six runs on eight hits and four walks over eight innings for a 6.75 ERA.

“Still trying to take in as much as I can, but that injury set me back a little bit and I think I’m just trying too hard to get back to where I was,” he said. “I need to get back to that if I’m going to be successful. You know, you got to keep grinding and hopefully one day be better than what I was during that span.”

At one point, Silseth was considered to be an up-and-coming star for the Angels. Three months later, he was injured, sent to Triple-A, and then pulled from the minor league rotation. His journey throughout this season hasn't been easy.

Chase Silseth (@Chase_Silseth) has had to overcome a lot of adversity with injuries over the past year, but is regaining his confidence and has been delivering quality outings for the Bees. pic.twitter.com/XeUu8KhiQk

— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) July 28, 2024

“I’m just trying to get back there, man,” Silseth said. “It feels like there’s been a lot of adversity coming my way. … I think I’m just trying too hard to get back to where I was. Just getting frustrating, not getting back there right away.”

Now, he's feeling soreness in his elbow again which interrupts his search for confidence. The Angels were hoping Silseth would figure things out but his velocity dipped and he became very hittable which raised red flags for everyone.

Silseth is coming off his best big-league season. In 2023, he appeared in 16 games and recorded a 3.96 ERA. He also recorded 56 strikeouts in 52.1 innings of work.