The Angels selected the contract of right-hander Mike Mayers, the team announced today. To make room for Mayers on their 40-man roster, the club transferred right-hander Michael Lorenzen to the 60-day IL. A spot on the active roster had been cleared last night, when the team optioned righty Janson Junk to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Though he’s had some success in an Angels uniform, 2022 has been a struggle for Mayers. The 30-year-old logged a 5.40 ERA (5.81 FIP) in 16 2/3 innings before accepting an assignment to Triple-A Salt Lake after he went unclaimed following a late-May designation. Things didn’t go much better for him in the minors, though he was stretched out as a starter. The righty notched a 6.27 ERA in 33 innings across 8 Triple-A appearances (all starts).
While he’ll be given another chance to establish himself in the majors, Mayers remains a strong non-tender candidate in the offseason, as he’d be in line for a raise from this year’s $2.15MM salary. Regardless, he should get an opportunity to latch on somewhere, as he’s pitched quite effectively in the fairly recent past, including a combined 105 innings of 3.34 ERA ball between 2020 and 2021. Across parts of seven seasons between the Cardinals and Angels, Mayers has struck out 24.5% and walked 8.4% of the batters he’s faced (both a tick better than league average) and owns a 4.98 ERA (4.30 FIP) in 202 1/3 innings.