HOUSTON — The Angels placed left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain Sunday (retroactive to Saturday, Aug. 30) and signed right-handed pitcher José Ureña to a Major League contract.
Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said Anderson felt the injury on Thursday and Friday after he flew back from being at home on the paternity list.
“It was one of those things when he flew back from being home on the paternity list, he said that he felt a little stiff,” Montgomery said. “He tried to work through it just in his pregame stuff the day before, and he might have irritated it a little bit, but he felt like he was good enough to pitch. Then, as he pitched, he was still feeling it. He woke up the next day, and it felt a lot worse.”
Anderson said he felt the injury a bit playing catch on Thursday, but he felt better Friday morning.
“When I played catch, I felt like my back was stiff — not in a bad way like it had been before, but just like overall really stiff. Probably from bad beds the last couple nights at the hospital,” Anderson said. “I was trying to roll out and stretch through some stuff and have my back loosen up at the gym on my off-day, and I felt I kind of tweaked something in my oblique. I went to bed and felt a little bit better in the morning. I definitely felt like something was still there, but I was able to pitch through it.”
Anderson, who is 2-8 with a 4.56 ERA in 26 starts this season, pitched five scoreless innings on Friday against the Astros. He said he “didn’t feel good” during the start.
“I had a feeling the whole time that this was not going to be a good situation at the end,” Anderson said. “At least for that start, fortunately, I feel like it was my back-side oblique. I’ve done my front side like 10 years ago maybe, but with the back one it doesn’t really bother to throw.”
Anderson said he didn’t know if he would be able to return before the end of the season.
Ureña is 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA over four teams this season. He has pitched for the Mets, Blue Jays, Dodgers and Twins this season before signing with the Angels. Ureña would tie a Major League record for most teams played with in one season (five) when he appears in a game for Los Angeles, joining Mike Baumann (2024) and Oliver Drake (2018).
Over 11 seasons, Ureña is 44-78 with a 4.77 ERA. He has started and worked out of the bullpen throughout his career, including five starts in 10 games this season.
“He’s been everything,” Montgomery said when asked about what role Ureña could see with the Angels. “Right now, it would be the bullpen, it would be length, it would be protection. As we move forward, we will figure out the exact role.”
