Angels recall Jack Kochanowicz; Christian Moore update

ANAHEIM, Calfi; -- Following the conclusion of a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners Sunday afternoon, Los Angeles Angels manager Ray Montgomery confirmed that Jack Kochanowicz will be starting for the Angels on Monday.

In a corresponding move today, the team elected to option José Fermin to make room for Kochanowicz.

On July 10, Kochanowicz had a rough outing against the Texas Rangers where he lasted only 2 2/3 innings, giving up 8 runs, 8 hits and 3 walks against the Texas Rangers. The next day, he was optioned to Triple-A to "Get some things worked out."

During his week-and-a-half hiatus away from the big leagues, Kochanowicz has had only one start in the minors, where he was very good, going 5 innings, while giving up 3 hits and 1 run with 4 strikeouts and 4 walks.

"One start may or might no be enough. I get it," Montgomery said. "There is no actual formula in terms of what it takes for something to flip the switch. We talked about it with (Reid Detmers) a few years ago. He went down. He worked on his slider a little bit"

"Sometimes you just need a break. Like mentally, you just need to get off the wheel a little bit. So we'll see."

Since Kochanowicz's absence from the Angels' starting rotation, the Angels have not seemed to figure out a way to replace him.

Coming back from the All-Star break, the Angels opened a three-game series in Philadelphia with a bullpen game. Five games later, relief pitchers Brock Burke and Sam Bachman pitched in the first and second innings. Jake Eder, who has pitched as a starter but has served as a relief pitcher in the Angels' bullpen, finished the afternoon off by pitching the game's final six innings.

With Kochanowicz back in the Angels rotation, their bullpen will finally have a chance to rest after what's been a busy return to baseball following the All-Star break.

While in Triple-A, Kochanowicz canceled out his sweeper and relied only on three pitches, his sinker, change up and slider. His sinker was thrown 67 times, while sliders were used just 5 times.

Last season, he showed a lot of promise for the Angels after making his debut in July. In August, he had a 2.45 ERA, 7 strikeouts, and 4 walks in 4 starts. In Sept. he was almost just as good, having five starts with a 3.03 ERA, with 13 strikeouts and 3 walks.

This year, he's been a full-time starter for the Angels and it's been a "Welcome to the big leagues kid" moment for him.

Before being optioned, he had the league's worst ERA (6.03) and WHIP (1.63).

As Kochanowicz is set to return to the Angels lineup tonight against two-time NL Cy Young winner and 5 time All-Star Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers, Montgomery is hoping this mental break will result in Kochanowicz finding the success he had last season.

"One of the big things is just pitching to his strengths. So he's got to get back to what has helped him have success here in the past," Montgomery said. "We're looking forward to that tonight."

Christian Moore Injury Update

Working his way back from a thumb sprain injury he suffered on July 2, Christian Moore is narrowing in on a return back to the Angels lineup.

Today, Moore said he was planning to do infield drills for the first time since he suffered his injury. He said the plan today is to do about 30-45 minutes of drills with a pad on his injured thumb and will hit in the batting cage later on. While this isn't the first time he's been back in a cage, Moore said he's taken roughly 35-40 swings in the cage and wasn't sure what the number will be today, but was expecting it to be close to 50.

"It's very hard to sit out and watch," Moore said. "I definitely want to be a part of that and I definitely contribute to that. Just help these guys keep pushing forward."

As Moore has progressed, he is still unsure of when he will go down to the minors for a rehab assignment.

"Definitely want to see how today's feels out there. Pretty much a full day of work. Haven't had that yet so we'll see how that feels and take it day by day."