Angels send George Klassen to Triple-A Salt Lake, select Nick Sandlin to bullpen

George Klassen’s first shot in the majors ended the way the Angels feared it could: with command problems, a bruised throwing hand and a trip back to Triple-A Salt Lake. The club optioned the rookie right-hander on Sunday and selected Nick Sandlin’s contract to give a thin bullpen an immediate reinforcement.

Klassen left Saturday’s game in the third inning after taking a bruised right index finger on his throwing hand, then was sent back to Salt Lake after the Angels’ 7-3 loss to Cincinnati. The move underscored how quickly the club chose relief help over carrying a struggling starter whose path to the rotation had already been accelerated by need.

The numbers on Klassen’s first two big league starts were hard to ignore. He allowed 10 walks and struck out five in 4 2/3 innings, leaving him with a 13.50 ERA. For a pitcher ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Angels’ No. 4 prospect, the raw stuff remained part of the appeal. The problem was turning that arm talent into strike throwing at the major-league level.

Manager Kurt Suzuki did not hide the club’s message to the 24-year-old right-hander. “Just keep working,” Suzuki said, adding that “the stuff’s there.” That is the bet the Angels are still making on Klassen, even after sending him back to Salt Lake for more development.

The assignment also came with a reminder of how fast Klassen got to Anaheim in the first place. He made his major-league debut only last week after Ryan Johnson was scratched because of illness, an emergency call that thrust Klassen into a role he was still adjusting to. Johnson is now on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 3, with a viral infection, adding to the pitching churn that has kept the Angels patching holes all month.

Sandlin’s arrival gave the Angels a different kind of answer. He had been recovering from arthroscopic elbow surgery during spring training, then was optioned to Salt Lake on March 16 to build stamina before having his contract selected on April 11. The Angels wanted bullpen stability, and Sandlin’s return offered that more directly than another start from Klassen would have.

Klassen, born Jan. 26, 2002, stands 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds and entered pro ball as a 2023 sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies before the Angels acquired him. Back in Salt Lake, his next job is clear: cut the walks, clean up the delivery and show the Angels that his next call is about readiness, not necessity.