The Angels aren't waiting for the offseason to reload the arm barn. Los Angeles inked right-handers Michael Fulmer and Hagen Danner to minor league contracts, adding two reclamation projects at very different points in their careers as the club looks to build out pitching depth down the stretch.
Fulmer is the bigger name here. The 33-year-old was an All-Star and Rookie of the Year winner back in his Tigers days, but injuries have chewed up the last several seasons — he missed all of 2024 recovering from elbow surgery and has thrown just 5 2/3 big league innings since, split between the Cubs and Red Sox last year. He spent most of 2026 with the Giants' Triple-A Sacramento club and posted a sub-3.00 ERA with a 29% strikeout rate over 42 1/3 innings before getting released. The Angels are sending him straight to Triple-A Salt Lake, betting there's still something left in the tank.
Danner's path is a lot weirder. He was drafted in the second round as a catcher and only converted to pitching a few years ago, riding a mid-90s fastball to a 25% strikeout rate across 32 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season. His big league résumé is exactly one out, recorded with the Blue Jays back in August 2023. He was released by Cincinnati in mid-July and now heads to the Angels' Arizona complex, with a bump to Salt Lake reportedly coming later this month.
Neither guy comes with control to spare — Fulmer walked 11.7% of hitters in Sacramento, and Danner was worse at 16.5% — which is exactly why these are minor league flyers and not big league contracts. But that's the whole point of moves like this in August: cheap depth, low risk, and a shot at a September call-up if the stuff plays. The Angels' pitching staff has been a work in progress all year, and this is the kind of quiet roster churn that can end up mattering if injuries hit down the stretch.