ANAHEIM -- The Angels are slated to make it through the first half of the season using just five starters, but that will change after the All-Star break.
Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday, a day after he gave up a career-high eight runs over 2 2/3 innings in Thursday’s 11-4 loss to the Rangers. Kochanowicz’s 6.03 ERA in 19 starts is the worst mark among the 68 qualified starters in the Majors. Lefty Jake Eder was called up from Salt Lake to replace him on the roster, but Eder is joining the bullpen and the Angels haven’t determined who will take Kochanowicz’s place to open the second half.
“It's tough only in the sense that we need him and we want him to be a part of what we're doing,” said interim manager Ray Montgomery. “And that was the message. I've been in the game a long time, going down to the Minor Leagues to get yourself right is what it's for. And the intention is exactly that. To go and get some things worked out, and he'll be back.”
With Kochanowicz optioned, he can’t return until July 26 at the earliest, barring an injury to another pitcher, but he’s likely to spend more time in Triple-A working on his stuff. He could be an option to rejoin the rotation if the Angels do decide to sell at the Trade Deadline, as veterans Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks are both impending free agents.
Kochanowicz was visibly down when talking to reporters after Thursday’s game, as he seemed to know what was coming but said the key is trying to stay optimistic despite the struggles.
“The hard thing about delivering those messages is they're very abrupt in the moment,” Montgomery said. “Collectively, in his mind, he probably ran through everything that he could have done to not have that happen. I get it. I've lived it. The big thing before he left was him understanding that there's a plan in place for him to work on certain things to make sure that those things don't happen again when he returns.”
The Angels want Kochanowicz to build confidence in the Minors after his struggles in the Majors this season. Last year, the sinkerball specialist had a 3.99 ERA in 11 starts as a rookie, including a 2.78 ERA over his final nine outings. This year, he’s improved his strikeout rate from 9.4 percent to 15.6 percent, but he has seen his walk rate climb from 3.8 percent to 10.8 percent and his ground-ball rate dip from 56.5 percent to 53.6 percent.
More than anything, Montgomery said he wants to see Kochanowicz take command while on the mound. But they also want to see him refine his slider and changeup to pair better with his sinker that has averaged 95.6 mph this season.
“I want him to, quite honestly, be more selfish in who he is on the mound and really take control of the game himself,” Montgomery said. “And not defer and look to others. I think that's the growth of the young pitchers when they start to learn what their strengths are. I think he saw that his spin has to be in place up here for him to be good.”
The Angels will now need a fifth starter coming out of the break, with that start likely to come on July 22 against the Mets at Citi Field. Veteran right-hander Carson Fulmer, who allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings in long relief of Kochanowicz on Thursday, is an option. Otherwise, they have inexperienced options in the Minors such as Victor Mederos, Sam Aldegheri and Ryan Johnson.
“We're gonna have conversations,” Montgomery said. “We have to look at everything because, quite frankly, we want to continue to stay in this thing all the way until the end.”