Hunter Strickland had just 12 minor league outings in 2023 as he appeared to be coming to the end of an impressive career. But he signed with the Angels last season, added three pitches he could throw for strikes — a sinker, a cutter and a sweeper — and his revival included a 3.31 ERA in 73 1/3 innings.

He signed with Texas in March, was released in May and then followed a familiar path by rejoining the Angels. It’s proving to be an excellent fit again. Strickland has not allowed a run in nine innings since he arrived.

“I added a few pitches just to boost the repertoire there, and just throwing everything in zones,” Strickland said. “Just trust the teammates behind me and the catcher behind the plate. I think that’s the key.”

By Detmers’ account, he can see now that he needed a little more than a month to adapt to a relief role. That’s about the time Strickland came aboard with his first outing on May 20.

The reason for the bullpen’s turnaround seems clear. Since May 19, the relievers have pitched to a 2.80 ERA, which is among the better groups in the AL over that stretch. And since May 16, the Angels are 16-9 as a team.

Detmers was 11 starts into his major league career in 2022 when he fired a no-hitter and looked to be a rotation fixture for the future. Curiously, over his past 11 relief appearances, Detmers hasn’t allowed a run while logging 18 strikeouts.

It wasn’t the job Detmers was looking for this season, but it is one he has learned to embrace. On Wednesday, manager Ron Washington talked about how good Detmers is going to be when he returns to a starting role eventually. Detmers didn’t want to talk about his old job.

“I’m not looking in the future at all,” he said, while admitting he still views himself as a starter but that it does him no good to pine for that day when there is a job to do now. “Right now, I’m focused on where I’m at in the bullpen and trying to get zeros.”

Catcher Logan O’Hoppe has marveled at how Detmers has gone from the chaos of last year to this season’s intense focus as a reliever.

“When he was going through stuff last year, I did feel bad for him with just how much stuff he had around him, whether it was suggestions from other people or stuff that he was just pulling out, trying to work on,” O’Hoppe said. “But for him to be able to find a consistent routine and a consistent mindset has been pretty cool to watch.”

Strickland, 36, continues to be at his best. He had a 4.91 ERA with the Cincinnati Reds in 2022, and in 2023, after posting an early 11.45 ERA with the club at Triple-A, he was released May 9 and did not pitch for anybody the rest of the year.

His rebirth with the Angels last season started on a minor league contract and he was in the major leagues by April 8. He has topped his impressive run from 2024.

Strickland, praised for his leadership style, said he just tries to operate in the best interest of the team. If others pick up on how he carries himself and try to emulate it, it’s a win all around.

“We’ve got a fairly young group of guys and they’re starting to kind of figure themselves out,” Strickland said. “Just give any insight that I can to help others get better. I think that’s the ultimate key.”

Moore gets call

The Angels will promote top prospect Christian Moore to the majors today in Baltimore, a source confirmed Thursday.

Moore, 22, was hitting .350 with a .999 OPS in 20 games at Triple-A Salt Lake. He began the season at Double-A Rocket City, hitting .234 with a .665 OPS in his first 34 games.

It seems likely that Moore will get regular playing time at second base, which is the only position he’s played in the minors. The Angels have struggled to get production out of that position because Luis Rengifo (.498 OPS) has not been productive. They’ve also given opportunities to Tim Anderson, Kevin Newman and Scott Kingery, but no one has performed well.

Moore, who was the Angels’ first-round pick in last July’s draft, has played 79 minor league games.

He is the latest in a list of Angels’ prospects to speed to the majors in less than a year. Shortstop Zach Neto was drafted in July 2022, and he debuted in April 2023. First baseman Nolan Schanuel was drafted in July 2023 and debuted the next month. Right-hander Ryan Johnson was selected last summer, a couple of rounds after Moore, and he made the Angels’ Opening Day roster this season.

Outfielder Matthew Lugo was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

— Jeff Fletcher