The Angels have placed righty starting pitcher Kelvim Escobar back on the disabled list after just one start. He lost the game allowing 2 earned runs and 8 baserunners in only 5 innings. The thinking in the Angels’ front office is to make Escobar a relief pitcher when he’s ready to return to protect his arm.

The Angels have lost set-up man Scot Shields for the season due to knee surgery. Shields was pitching awful this season and maybe his bad knee was the cause. He pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Angels this season and he was 1-3 with 1 save, a 6.62 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. The Angels will miss Shields who has been a big key over the years to the Angels’ bullpen success.

The Angels have demoted Howie Kendrick to AAA. Kendrick played in 51 games this season for the Angels and he was 43 for 186 (.231 avg, .636 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 4 homers, 22 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Maybe Kendrick will turn things around in AAA as he’s just too good of a player to continue playing like he was. The Angels have recalled 24-year old righty swinging Sean Rodriguez from AAA and he will likely replace Kendrick as the starting 2B. Rodriguez played in 57 games at AAA this season and he was 56 for 205 (.273 avg, .989 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 21 homers, 60 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Rodriguez has a huge upside but he appeared overmatched in the majors in his first look last season so he will need to improve this time around to stay.