ANAHEIM — Once merely surviving, the Angels’ bullpen is now thriving, and the monthlong transformation has been made possible by a left-hander chasing a completely different role and a right-hander who was essentially out of work just over five weeks ago.
Fate works in fascinating ways, although it might not have been easy to see the road ahead when Reid Detmers was ruled out of contention for a starting spot at the end of spring training and moved to the bullpen instead.
Detmers last had consistent relief appearances when the lefty was a freshman in college. And even then, he was a starter half of the time.
On Wednesday, as he mowed down the Athletics in the ninth inning for his second career major league save, Detmers never gave his opponent a chance to breathe, much less blink. His 10-pitch inning was electric, with a fastball that reached 97.7 mph.
“It’s just going out there with confidence, trying to keep things rolling,” Detmers said. “Just attack, attack, attack. That’s really my only mindset, to go out there and have fun and just go all out.”
Strickland had just 12 minor-league outings in 2023 as he appeared to be coming to the end of an impressive career. But he signed with the Angels last season, added three pitches he could throw for strikes – a sinker, a cutter and a sweeper – and his revival included a 3.23 ERA in 69⅔ innings.
He signed with the Texas Rangers in March, was released in May and then followed a familiar path by rejoining the Angels. It’s proving to be an excellent fit again. Strickland has not allowed a run in nine innings since he arrived.
“I added a few pitches just to boost the repertoire there, and just throwing everything in zones,” Strickland said. “Just trust the teammates behind me and the catcher behind the plate. I think that’s the key.”
By Detmers’ account, he can see now that he needed a little more than a month to adapt to a relief role. That’s about the time Strickland came aboard with his first outing on May 20.
The reason for the bullpen’s turnaround seems clear. Since May 19, the relievers have pitched to a 2.80 ERA, which is among the better groups in the American League over that stretch. And since May 16, the Angels are 16-9 as a team.
Detmers was 11 starts into his major league career in 2022 when he fired a no-hitter and looked to be a rotation fixture for the future. Curiously, over his last 11 relief appearances, Detmers hasn’t allowed a run with 18 strikeouts.
It wasn’t the job Detmers was looking for this season, but it is one he has learned to embrace. On Wednesday, Manager Ron Washington talked about how good Detmers is going to be when he returns to a starting role eventually. Detmers didn’t want to talk about his old job.
“I’m not looking in the future at all,” he said, while admitting he still views himself as a starter but that it does him no good to pine for that day when there is a job to do now. “Right now, I’m focused on where I’m at in the bullpen and trying to get zeroes.”
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe has marveled at how Detmers has gone from the chaos of last year to this season’s intense focus as a reliever.
“When he was going through stuff last year, I did feel bad for him with just how much stuff he had around him, whether it was suggestions from other people or stuff that he was just pulling out, trying to work on,” O’Hoppe said. “But for him to be able to find a consistent routine and a consistent mindset has been pretty cool to watch.”
At age 36, Strickland continues to be at his best. He had a 4.91 ERA with the Cincinnati Reds in 2022, and in 2023, after posting an early 11.45 ERA with the club at Triple-A, he was released on May 9 and did not pitch for anybody the rest of the year.
His rebirth with the Angels last season started on a minor-league contract and he was in the major leagues by April 8. So far, he has topped his impressive run from 2024.
Praised for his leadership style, Strickland said he just tries to operate in the best interest of the team. If others pick up on how he carries himself and try to emulate it, it’s a win all around.
“We’ve got a fairly young group of guys and they’re starting to kind of figure themselves out,” Strickland said. “Just give any insight that I can to help others get better. I think that’s the ultimate key. We’re a team. You’ve got to play together and help each other out and that’s ultimately how you win.”
Ask O’Hoppe and the young catcher will tell you it’s more than that.
“I really can’t put into words what he’s done for this group, this clubhouse and myself included,” O’Hoppe said. “He’s like the unsung hero of a lot of this going on, and he doesn’t get enough credit for it. He should.”
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Angels (RHP Jack Kochanowicz, 3-7, 5.61 ERA) at Orioles (Charlie Morton, 2-7, 6.59 ERA), Friday, 4:08 p.m. PT, Apple TV+, 830 AM
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