Matt

Moore

Moore was placed on the 15-day injured list on August 27th. He’s now officially out for the rest of the season. This move was made to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Eric Wagaman. Moore had 5.03 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 41 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings for Los Angeles this year.

No word as to what the injury is just yet. The 35-year-old will have to miss at least two weeks with the undisclosed ailment. Ryan Miller had his contract selected in the corresponding transaction.

With Carlos Estévez getting the night off on Wednesday, Moore was summoned in the ninth to close it out with a one-run lead over the Padres. He tossed a clean frame to shut the door on San Diego for his first save of the season.

The deal, which was agreed to earlier this week, is now official. Moore has turned himself into one of the premier high-leverage relievers in the game over the last few seasons and returns to Los Angeles as part of a closing mix that also includes Carlos Estévez and Robert Stephenson. The 34-year-old southpaw figures to operate in a setup role, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pick up the occasional save chance.

It’s rather odd that Moore would want to return to an Angels team that disposed of him for luxury tax purposes last August and that really doesn’t figure to be a strong contender, but it’s probably the case that they made him the best offer. Moore wound up with a 2.77 ERA for the Angels, Guardians and Marlins last season.

Moore was jettisoned from Miami’s 40-man roster at the conclusion of the regular season since he was ineligible for the Marlins’ postseason roster. The 34-year-old left-hander wound up posting a stellar 2.56 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 60/15 K/BB ratio across 52 2/3 innings (50 appearances) between the Marlins, Guardians and Angels. He should garner plenty of interest this offseason on the open market.

Moore was removed from the Marlins roster not for underperformance, but he is ineligible for their playoff roster due to how late he was claimed off waivers by the Marlins. Tough business. The lefty finished with a 2.56 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 60/15 K/BB ratio across 52 2/3 innings and will likely ink a deal with another club this winter.

Moore was claimed off waivers from the Angels back in late August and wound up making just five relief appearances for the Guardians, who find themselves seven games behind the Twins in the AL Central with less than two weeks left in the regular season. The 34-year-old left-hander is ineligible for Miami’s postseason roster, but provides manager Skip Schumaker with another experienced high-leverage option in their bullpen for the final two weeks of the regular season. He holds a sparkling 2.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 57/14 K/BB ratio across 48 2/3 innings (46 appearances) this season between the Guardians and Angels.

The Guardians also claimed Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez as they rounded out their roster for a playoff push. Moore has been solid in the Angels’ bullpen this year, posting a 2.66 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 44 innings. Moore will likely supplant Sam Hentges as the main left-hander out of the bullpen in Cleveland.

If they hadn’t already waved the white flag on the 2023 season, they’re certainly doing so now. The Angels won’t be able to trade these players and get anyone in return for them — though they will be able to get some salary relief as the claiming team would have to cover their salary for the remainder of the season. Expect there to be plenty of interest around the league in all of these players — with the worst records in baseball getting the first shot at them. Expect the teams on the cusp of the playoff bubble — namely the Twins, Reds, Diamondbacks and Marlins — to have interest.