ANAHEIM — Angels reliever Ty Buttrey surprisingly declined his assignment to the club’s alternate training site and was placed on the restricted list, manager Joe Maddon said before Friday’s game against the White Sox.
Buttrey was expected to be one of the club’s primary relievers this season, but he struggled with his fastball command and was left off the Opening Day roster. The Angels were informed of his decision on Thursday and it became official on Friday.
“He has chosen to walk away from the game right now,” Maddon said. “Really, that’s all I can report on it. We want to honor his wishes. And we’ll see what happens down the road. But right now, that’s where we’re at with Ty.”
Maddon said he didn’t have any inclinations Buttrey was leaning that way after he told the 28-year-old he wasn’t going to make the club last week. Maddon said he hasn’t spoken to him since, but he plans to soon so he can get a better feel for what Buttrey is thinking.
“Of course, it’s always surprising when a young man chooses that route,” Maddon said. “But, believe me, I totally compare it to myself at that particular age, and I was just telling the guys upstairs where there’s a lot of times when you get [to] that age you become confused by different things and you choose different routes, and maybe something’s more important to him right now. I don’t know. For us, it always seems like the right conclusion is to pursue a Major League career, or maybe he wants to pursue something else.”
Buttrey posted a 5.81 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings in the shortened 2020 season — though he was one of the club’s primary relievers from 2018-19, posting a combined 3.86 ERA in 88 2/3 innings. He was particularly solid in the first half of ’19, posting a 2.57 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 42 innings before the All-Star break.
Buttrey, though, has had trouble with his command since then and walked four batters in seven innings in Spring Training. Still, he was expected to be brought back to the Majors in short order if he fared well at the alternate site.
The Angels would welcome back Buttrey if he changes his mind, but it’s still too early to know what he’ll decide to do going forward.
“There would be probably procedures to go through and that would not be my decision to be made, but, of course, you would be there for the player,” Maddon said. “I would believe we would be open, but I don’t know when [that] would happen.”
• Maddon said he wants to get his backups in the lineup soon, so catcher Kurt Suzuki will make his first start behind the plate on Saturday. However, Maddon’s still not sure when he’ll get outfielder Juan Lagares or infielder José Rojas in the lineup. First baseman Jared Walsh will also be in the lineup on Saturday after Albert Pujols started on Opening Day and against lefty Dallas Keuchel on Friday.
• The Angels didn’t use a defensive replacement for Justin Upton late in Thursday’s game, and Maddon said it’s because he believes the outfielder’s defense has improved and he wants to keep his confidence high. There will be times this season when Lagares could serve as a defensive replacement for Upton late in games, but Maddon said they are not at that point.
