The Angels Add Joey Lucchesi On A Major League Deal

Written By Cade Lalim

Angels News

March 24, 2026 - Written by Cade Lalim

Jon Heyman reported on Tuesday afternoon that the Los Angeles Angels are going to sign left-handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi to a major league contract. He will join the bullpen, and be the fifth reliever the Angels have brought in on a major league contract since the end of last season.

With the Lucchesi signing becoming official on Tuesday night, along with many other transactions, the Angels bullpen became finalized along with the rest of the roster. Reliever Jayvien Sandridge was the only player designated for assignment in the flurry of Angels roster moves.

Lucchesi will factor into a bullpen with lots of key arms missing due to injuries. Both Ben Joyce and Kirby Yates were placed on the 15-day IL, with Robert Stephenson hitting the 60-day IL. The Angels Opening Day bullpen will feature five righties and three lefties.

Angels Opening Day Bullpen:

Notes On Lucchesi

The San Diego Padres drafted Lucchesi in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of Southeast Missouri State University. He appeared in the Padres top 30 list in 2018 ranked as their ninth best prospect, per MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. He ranked in front of notable names including; Josh Naylor, Gabriel Arias, Chris Paddack, and Andres Munoz.

Lucchesi is a veteran of seven major league seasons, spending time with the Padres, Mets, and Giants. He’s appeared as both a starter and reliever, logging 77 games as a starter and 42 as a reliever. His results have been pretty similar so far in his career pitching in both roles. He’s logged a total of 387.1 innings as a starting pitcher, posting a 4.09 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. As a reliever, he’s pitched 45.2 innings with a very similar 3.94 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.

Something to note about Lucchesi is that he can be a pitcher with two completely different results. During his career, Lucchesi has been a significantly better pitcher when he records a win. In those 27 appearances where he’s logged a win, he’s pitched to a 1.56 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Across his 27 losses, his ERA skyrockets 7.83 with a 1.68 WHIP. Note that his other 111 career games were not included in these results, as they were either games pitched in a no-decision, and save or non-save situations.

Pitch Arsenal

According to his 2018 scouting report put out by MLB Pipeline, Lucchesi featured four pitches which all grade above average. His best being his 60 grade fastball. More recently in 2025, he featured only three pitches including a sinker (48%), curveball (27%), and a fastball (25%). All of his pitch types last year had an average to above-average run values. Last year with the San Francisco Giants, Lucchesi pitched only as a reliever and his pitch mix fits that role nicely.

Below is a Stuff+ breakdown from 2025 according to FanGraphs.

  • Four-Seam Fastball (89)

  • Sinker (108)

  • Curveball (104)

  • Stuff+ (103)

  • Location+ (97)

  • Pitching+ (98)

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Cade Lalim
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