HOUSTON >> The Angels are changing course with Chase Silseth again.

The right-hander was sent back to Triple-A on Saturday to work as a starter again.

“With Chase, you just kind of watched the process of coming out of the ‘pen the last few times and I’m not sure he just looked the part, comfortable,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said.

The Angels brought up right-hander José Soriano from Double-A to go into the bullpen, replacing Silseth.

Silseth had a 5.30 ERA in 18 2/3 big league innings, including a 4.11 mark in 15 1/3 innings as a reliever.

It’s been a season of change for Silseth.

He reached the big leagues last year — the first player from the 2021 draft to make it — and showed some promise as a starter. He was a candidate to start this spring before going to Triple-A.

The Angels brought him to the big leagues in late April when they had a bullpen crunch and simply needed innings, and he immediately pitched so well in relief over a few games that Nevin said he thought that was his better role.

That changed days later when José Suarez got hurt, and the Angels opted to move Silseth into his rotation spot. In his only start, on May 16, he lasted just 3 1/3 innings, again showing the durability issues he had as a starter last year.

So the Angels moved him again, believing he could be valuable working in high-leverage relief spots. After pitching two perfect innings to protect a lead in his first relief outing, he allowed runs in each of the next three, with his velocity at times dipping.

The Angels had hoped his velocity would actually increase out of the bullpen, but it didn’t work. Silseth suggested his body was having trouble with adjusting to the new role.

Now, all of that seems to be over.

Aside from the Angels finally being convinced Silseth is better as a starter, they also have seen Ben Joyce emerge as a weapon out of the bullpen. Sam Bachman has also come up and pitched effectively twice.

“I just think (Silseth) is best suited in the starting rotation,” Nevin said. “It was something we tried. With the arms we’ve added down there, not sure the innings were going to quite be what the we thought they were at the beginning. So I think this is best for him. As an organization, we feel like it’s best for Chase to go back down and start. I’m sure we’ll see him again.”

Soriano’s turn

Jose Soriano made his first appearance on a big league roster after a journey that included two Tommy John surgeries and a trip to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Soriano was the Angels’ top pitching prospect when he had his first surgery in February 2020. The Angels then left him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft that December, and the Pirates took him with the first pick. But Soriano had a setback, required another surgery, and the Angels got him back.

This season at Double-A, he had a 4.24 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 16 walks in 23 1/3 innings. Over his final eight games in the minors, he allowed two runs in 8 1/3 innings, with 12 strikeouts.

“I’ve watched the video of his last several appearances down in Rocket City and it’s just electric,” Nevin said. “He’s in the upper 90s, the slider is good. A lot of swing and miss.”

Rotation shuffle

Nevin said the Angels are considering making some changes with their rotation after Monday’s off day, which could include pushing Shohei Ohtani back a day.

The Angels have kept Ohtani pitching every sixth day, regardless of off days. Under that schedule, his turn would have been Thursday, the final game of a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs.

Jaime Barría has allowed one run in 10 innings in his two starts, so the Angels also may want to get him back onto the mound sooner than waiting until the next time they would need a sixth starter.