One Time Dodgers Pitcher Resurfaces with Angels

Old friend alert out of Orange County.

Old friend alert out of the city of Anaheim, home of the Anaheim Angels of Orange County. The Halos announced a slew of moves on Sunday including the addition of RHP Reyes Moronta to the active roster.

#Angels Transactions:

•Selected the contracts of RHP Reyes Moronta (#52) and RHP Jacob Webb (#71)

•Reinstated LHP Aaron Loup from injured list

•Optioned RHP Jimmy Herget, RHP Andrew Wantz and RHP Zack Weiss to Triple-A Salt Lake

— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) May 21, 2023

Moronta got into 22 games with the Dodgers last season, pitching to a 4.18 ERA over 23.2 innings. He had success early with LA before falling off a cliff. He allowed just 2 runs over his first 10 games and 12 innings before a stretch where he allowed runs in 5 straight appearances, ballooning his ERA from 1.50 to 4.96.

The Dodgers eventually DFA'd the veteran to make room for the return of Dustin May last season. The Arizona Diamondbacks claimed him off the waiver wire and he finished his season in the desert. He earned a save against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in September and celebrated as if he had just won the World Series.

Despite his recent struggles, Moronta has been mostly solid throughout his career. He owns a 3.02 ERA over parts of 5 seasons at the big league level, mostly with the San Francisco Giants. The stocky right-hander pitched in the Mexican League after not making the Texas Rangers roster out of spring training, appearing in 8 games and posting a 2.35 ERA. 

That was good enough for the Angels to sign him to a minor league deal a week ago and now he gets the call up to Anaheim to help bolster the bullpen of the third place Angels.