Angels designate veteran reliever for assignment

The Angels designated veteran reliever Amir Garrett for assignment before Wednesday’s game with the Cardinals. Righty Davis Daniel has been recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to take the vacated active roster spot. The move drops their 40-man roster count to 39.

Garrett pitched in six games for the Halos after they selected his contract in late April. The hard-throwing southpaw tallied 5 1/3 innings. He punched out 11 behind a huge 14.4% swinging strike rate but also walked five of the 24 hitters he faced. Garrett surrendered three runs on four hits, including a homer.

That’s par for the course for the 32-year-old. Garrett has posted higher than average strikeout and walk rates in every season since the Reds moved him to the bullpen in 2018. He was a setup arm for a couple seasons in Cincinnati before falling on harder times since 2021. Garrett combined for a 5.52 ERA over 123 appearances between 2021-22. While he had a solid 3.33 mark in 24 1/3 frames for the Royals last year, Kansas City released him around the All-Star break because of his scattershot command.

Garrett struggled with Cleveland’s Triple-A team late last season and had a nightmarish spring training with the Giants. He had a good month for Salt Lake before being called up, working 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball with 10 strikeouts and four walks. Garrett started with three scoreless appearances for the Halos before surrendering runs in two of his last three outings. That includes last night’s loss to St. Louis, as he coughed up a two-run homer to Alec Burleson to break a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning.

The Angels will likely place Garrett on outright or release waivers within the next few days. He’d have the right to test free agency if he goes unclaimed.