Ryan Tepera left today’s game with a shoulder issue and will receive further examination, Angels manager Phil Nevin told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters. Tepera needed 33 pitches to get through two-thirds of an inning against the Red Sox today, with two hits, a walk, and two catcher’s interference calls on Matt Thaiss resulting in three runs (one earned).
Losing Tepera to injury wouldn’t help an Anaheim bullpen that has already had its share of struggles in the early going, though Tepera has been part of those struggles with a 13.50 ERA over 3 1/3 innings of work. The veteran reliever signed a two-year, $14MM free agent deal with Los Angeles during the 2021-22 offseason and was pretty solid in 2022, posting a 3.61 ERA over 57 1/3 innings with some elite soft-contact rates.
More from around both the AL and NL West divisions as Jackie Robinson Day comes to a close….
- The Rockies will call up right-hander Noah Davis from Triple-A to start Sunday’s game against the Mariners. (The Denver Gazette’s Danielle Allentuck was among those who reported the news.) With German Marquez now on the 15-day IL, Davis was seen as a logical candidate to take Marquez’s spot in the rotation, as Davis is already on Colorado’s 40-man roster and has plenty of experience as a starter during his time in the Rockies’ and Reds’ farm systems. Davis is just a week away from his 26th birthday, and he made his MLB debut in the form of one inning of relief work with the Rockies last season.
- Zach Davies was placed on the 15-day injured list due a strained left oblique last weekend, and Diamondbacks Torey Lovullo told reporters (including the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro) that Davies will need “several weeks” to recover. Lovullo was a little vague about the nature of Davies’ injury, stopping short of calling it a Grade 2 oblique strain, but also saying it was “more than” a Grade 1 strain. Regardless, Davies now looks to miss some significant time, so Drey Jameson might get a long look at the replacement in Arizona’s rotation.
- X-rays were negative on Rangers right-hander Jon Gray after Gray was hit on the elbow by a Yanier Diaz line drive in tonight’s game. Texas manager Bruce Bochy even told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters that Gray isn’t expected to miss his next turn in the rotation. An upcoming off-day on Thursday will give Gray an extra day to rest and recover, and while plans could change if his elbow/forearm area continues to be sore, it still counts as some real good fortune for Gray in avoiding what looked like a potentially serious injury. Counting today’s abbreviated two-inning outing, Gray has a 3.21 ERA over three starts and 14 innings thus far in 2023.