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Overheard at work last night that Reggie Willits was demoted to AAA. Is there any truth to his rumor? If so, was he struggling that bad?
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Hadn't heard, but the outfield depth is so great right now there's not many at bats for him. He'd be on most any other team's 25 man roster & a starter on more than a couple. maybe they're trying to hide him for the time being, or else feel he'll develop better there where he can get some ABs. -
From Angels official site
ANAHEIM -- Discarding from a position of strength to improve an area of need, the Angels dispatched Reggie Willits to Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday, selecting the contract of reliever Alex Serrano from the same Pacific Coast League club.
Fifth in the American League's 2007 Rookie of the Year balloting, Willits had only one at-bat this season -- a two-run double filling in for Vladimir Guerrero when the Angels rallied from an 11-0 deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning to score six times on April 4 in the home opener.
"Reggie can use some at-bats to stay sharp," manager Mike Scioscia said. "He'll be back; he's a valuable part of our club."
Willits appeared in five games, reduced primarily to pinch-running and backing up in the outfield in the late innings after playing a big role in the team's run to the 2007 AL West title. Willits set club rookie records with his .293 average and .393 on-base percentage, scoring 74 runs in 136 games and stealing 27 bases.
"It's kind of hard to get any playing time with all the guys we have here," Willits said, who was competing with veteran Juan Rivera for the fifth outfielder spot behind Guerrero, Garret Anderson, Torii Hunter and Gary Matthews Jr.
In Serrano, the Angels are adding a right-handed middle reliever who performed capably in Cactus League play. A 27-year-old native of Barcelona, Venezuela, Serrano was 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 innings for Salt Lake, appearing in five games.
"He has the ability to throw strikes," Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher said. "He moves the ball around, sinks it. I like his changeup, and he can finish a guy with the slider. He never seems rattled or out of control. For a guy who's never pitched in the big leagues, he's pretty cool, calm and collected."
There was a good chance Serrano would be put to work immediately, given how Darren Oliver, Justin Speier and Scot Shields have been subjected to a heavy workload of late in front of closer Francisco Rodriguez.
Scioscia said he wasn't sure how long the club would go with a 12-man pitching staff.
"Hopefully, it's going to be short-term," Scioscia said. "We've had four guys who have been pitching a lot this week down there. We're going to need some depth."
Middle reliever Chris Bootcheck (strained oblique) isn't quite ready to rejoin the staff, Scioscia said, and will continue his rehab work for Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Bootcheck could resume his role with the Angels on the next road trip, opening on Tuesday in Boston and continuing in Detroit, the manager added.
Serrano signed with the Angels as a free agent on Dec. 20, 2006, after spending seven seasons and part of an eighth in the Rockies organization.
Lyle Spencer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.Comment
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