Angels recall Sam Aldegheri, option Mitch Farris in bullpen shuffle

The Angels reached for a left-handed answer with their pitching calendar already flashing red. Sam Aldegheri was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on April 14 and Mitch Farris was optioned back, a move made before the club’s Tuesday road game against the New York Yankees and against the backdrop of no starter listed for Wednesday or Thursday in New York.

That is the real story here: urgency, not housekeeping. Aldegheri is not being summoned on reputation alone, but the Angels are clearly betting that his experience and arm angle give them a quicker solution than waiting on a cleaner rotation alignment. The 24-year-old left-hander has already logged seven major league appearances and 26.2 innings, so this is not a blind leap into the unknown. It is a roster patch with a familiar face.

Aldegheri’s Triple-A line this season was rough, 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA over 13.1 innings in three starts, with 11 strikeouts and a 2.18 WHIP. Still, the Angels had a need that went beyond one ugly stat line. At 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, the Verona, Italy native gives them a left-handed look they can move around the staff, whether that means a spot start, bulk innings, or a bridge role while the rotation settles. He made his MLB debut on Aug. 30, 2024, becoming the first pitcher born and raised in Italy to appear in a major league game, and later became the first Italy-born pitcher to earn an MLB win since 1949.

Farris’ demotion does not read like a setback so much as a recalibration. The 25-year-old right-hander allowed one earned run in 4.1 innings across three relief outings for the Angels, posting a 2.08 ERA with a 3:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio before heading back to Salt Lake. That kind of work is exactly why the organization has treated him as more than a one-note arm. MLB.com had already tagged him as one of the options to fill out the 2026 rotation, and he carried a 4.27 ERA with 142 strikeouts in 116 Double-A innings last season.

For Salt Lake, the shuffle cuts both ways. Aldegheri leaves a Triple-A rotation that had been absorbing his development innings, while Farris returns with enough major league exposure to keep him in the conversation. For the Angels, the message is simpler: left-handed depth and inning coverage mattered more than waiting for the next perfect turn in the schedule.