Angels' Ben Joyce: Underwent surgery to repair labrum
Rotowire
Joyce said Friday that he underwent shoulder surgery in May to repair his labrum, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Joyce hasn't pitched since April 8 and has already been ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season. He said it remains to be seen if he'll be ready for the start of spring training next February. The hard-throwing right-hander produced a 6.23 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 1:1 K:BB across 4.1 innings of work prior to being shut down with the injury earlier this season.
Joyce underwent surgery to repair his right shoulder Wednesday and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
The Angels shut down Joyce's throwing program earlier in the month after he reported further discomfort in his shoulder. Rather than waiting to see if more rest would do the trick, the 24-year-old righty opted to go under the knife to address the issue, sacrificing the rest of his season in the process. He'll close the book on 2025 with three earned runs allowed in 4.1 innings and shift his focus toward getting ready for the start of the '26 campaign.
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Angels' Ben Joyce: Shifts to 60-day IL
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The Angels transferred Joyce (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list Friday.
The Angels shut down Joyce's throwing program last week after he reported shoulder discomfort following a round of catch. Now on the 60-day IL, the right-hander won't be eligible for activation until June 10, and it's still unknown how far away he is from throwing again. Shaun Anderson was selected to the active roster from Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday to take Joyce's place on the 40-man.
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Angels' Ben Joyce: Halts throwing program
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Joyce (shoulder) said Friday that he's no longer throwing but will try again next week, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
The fireballing reliever indicated that he has paused his throwing program because he didn't feel right while recently playing catch. Joyce was placed on the injured list April 11, and given his continued shoulder discomfort, he's likely at least a few weeks away from a potential return. Per Fletcher, tests on Joyce's shoulder haven't revealed anything beyond his original diagnosis of inflammation.
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Angels' Ben Joyce: Making slow progress in rehab
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Angels manager Ron Washington described Joyce as "moving along, slowly" in his recovery from right shoulder inflammation, per MLB.com.
Joyce has been on the injured list since April 11 due to the shoulder injury. Though the right-hander is technically eligible to be activated, it doesn't appear that he's close to a return. Joyce put up a 6.23 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 4.1 innings prior to getting hurt, but all three of the runs he allowed came in his final appearance before landing on the IL, and he notably experienced diminished velocity in that outing.
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Angels' Ben Joyce: Lands on IL with shoulder issue
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The Angels placed Joyce (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list Friday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Joyce is dealing with shoulder inflammation, which likely explains his noted drop in velocity earlier this week. Joyce expressed that he wasn't concerned following his Tuesday outing in which he allowed one home run and three earned runs during his one inning of work. With Joyce headed to the IL, the Angels have recalled Michael Darrell-Hicks from the minors.
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Angels' Ben Joyce: Not worried about velocity drop
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Joyce said Wednesday that he's not concerned about the drop in velocity he experienced in his most recent outing Tuesday versus Tampa Bay, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Joyce displayed the lowest in-game velocity of his big-league career on both his sinker and four-seamer in the outing, during which he gave up three runs on four hits in one-third of an inning. However, the right-hander stated one day later that his location was the issue rather than his velocity. Angels manager Ron Washington seemed similarly unconcerned following Joyce's appearance, stating, "He was fine. He's human. Tonight he just didn't have it," per Fletcher. Fantasy managers who roster Joyce certainly hope that the right-hander's velocity is back to normal the next time he takes the mound, but for the time being, it appears the fireballer isn't dealing with any sort of injury.
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Angels' Ben Joyce: Velocity down Tuesday
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Joyce was charged with a blown save against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, allowing three runs on four hits while retiring just one batter.
Joyce entered the contest in the seventh inning with the Angels ahead 2-0, and by the time he departed the Rays had taken a one-run lead. Joyce served up a Junior Caminero solo homer on his third pitch, and then gave up three more hits -- a single, a double and a triple -- to the next three batters, resulting in two more runs, before finally notching his first out. Notably, Joyce's sinker averaged just 93.5 mph in the outing, while his four-seamer averaged 99.3 mph -- both falling a couple ticks below his season average coming into Tuesday. There's been no indication that the righty is dealing with any sort of injury, but the velocity is worth keeping an eye on in Joyce's next outing.
Joyce is unlikely to be the Angels' primary closer with the team's signing of Kenley Jansen (shoulder) on Monday, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Angels and Jansen agreed on a one-year, $10 million contract Monday, which DiGiovanna notes will likely give Joyce "another year to grow into [the] closer role." It wouldn't make much sense for Los Angeles to have signed Jansen for any other reason than to serve as the team's primary closer, as he currently sits first among active players -- and fourth all-time -- with 447 regular-season saves. While Jansen may be nearing the end of his storied career, he showed he still has gas left in the tank with his performance for Boston last year, which included a 3.29 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 28.4 percent strikeout rate and 27 saves. It's still likely that Joyce will get an occasional save opportunity, per Sam Blum of The Athletic, but at least for one season it appears he will be an understudy to Jansen, which cuts down Joyce's fantasy appeal in most formats considerably.
