Angels turn to bullpen reinforcements ahead of deadline

Luke Murphy's path to the big leagues has been anything but a straight line, and now it's finally about to end in an Angels uniform. MLB Trade Rumors reports Los Angeles is expected to promote the right-hander, giving the bullpen a fresh arm just as the trade deadline chatter starts heating up.

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Angels Expected To Promote Luke Murphy t.co/5ATcnsqRyA

The numbers behind the call-up are absurd. Murphy has been running a 0.71 ERA across 38 innings and 34 appearances at Double-A Rocket City this season, striking out 32% of hitters against just a 7% walk rate. That kind of control jump matters a lot here, because Murphy's track record wasn't always this clean.

A Vanderbilt product and Angels 4th-round pick back in 2021, Murphy went unselected in last year's Rule 5 draft after getting torched for 48 runs in 45 1/3 minor league innings. It's a rough enough stretch that the Angels are reportedly skipping Triple-A entirely for his debut, bumping him straight from Double-A to the show.

There's an obvious reason the door swung open. The Angels created bullpen space by trading Chase Silseth to Texas, and that deal left them with 3 open spots on the 40-man roster. With rentals like Kirby Yates and Brent Suter still floating around as possible deadline chips, the front office is clearing lanes for exactly this kind of upgrade.

None of this fixes the bigger picture in Anaheim, but a mid-90s arm with a 32% strikeout rate is the kind of depth every bullpen wants heading into August. If Murphy's Double-A control translates even partially, the Angels may have found a real weekend piece for a fraction of the cost of a deadline rental.