Los Angeles Angels' Jose Arredondo To Miss 2010 Season
This is just another blow to a once powerful Angels bullpen. If there was one thing you could count on in baseball from year to year, it was that the Angels would have a rock-solid bullpen. Not so much anymore.
Outside of a select few, relief pitchers are like kickers in the NFLโunpredictable from year to year. Arredondo is a perfect example of that, and another reason why the Angels' bullpen is not as good as it once was.
Arredondo burst onto the scene as a 24-year-old in 2008, and looked like Francisco Rodriguez: Part Two .
In 2008, Arredondo had a 1.62 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 61 innings. He looked like he could haven taken over for Rodriguez if the closer left for free agency.
Rodriguez did leave for free agency, the Angels replaced him with Brian Fuentes, and Arredondo had a dreadful 2009 season. Funny how things work out.
In 45 innings, Arredondo had a 6.00 ERA, gave up 9.4 hits per nine innings, and increased his walks per nine innings from 3.2 to 4.6. Whatโs interesting about Arredondoโs 2009 season is that his strikeouts per nine innings actually increased from 8.1 in 2008, to 9.4 in 2009.
That just tells me his stuff was there, but his control, and the mental aspect of his game were not. Arredondo was so bad, he was sent to the minors in June.
While in the minors, Arredondo was placed on the DL with a sprain in his right ulnar collateral ligament. Anytime a pitcher has an issue with his ulnar collateral ligament, it usually means he is headed for Tommy John surgery at some point.
Arredondo is now headed for Tommy John surgery. The Angels expect him to make a full recovery and return at some point during the 2011 season.
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