Ben Joyce DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Los Angeles Angels announced on Wednesday that right-handed reliever Ben Joyce (shoulder) is expected to miss the rest of the 2025 season after having surgery to fix his right shoulder on Wednesday morning. It's a blow for the hard-throwing right-hander and for an already weak Angels bullpen. The 24-year-old former third-round pick in 2022 out of Tennessee was shut down earlier in May with more right-shoulder issues and will now undergo surgery. There's no timetable on when Joyce will be able to return, but fantasy managers shouldn't automatically expect him to be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign. In his five appearances out of the bullpen before his injury in 2025, Joyce allowed four runs (three earned) while walking one and striking out one in 4 1/3 innings. Depending on his health, Joyce has the stuff to be the team's closer of the future.

The Los Angeles Angels signed veteran closer Kenley Jansen on a one-year, $10 million deal on Tuesday, which will give 24-year-old right-hander Ben Joyce another year to grow into the closer role for the Angels. While Jansen will most likely be L.A.'s primary ninth-inning arm, he's also 37 years old and an injury risk, so Joyce's fantasy value could shoot back up quickly if Jansen ends up missing significant time due to an injury in 2025. But there's also no denying the fact that the signing of Jansen puts a huge damper on Joyce's fantasy prospects for the Halos this year. Joyce should still see the occasional save on days where Jansen is being rested, but one of the hardest throwers in the game will now be relegated to a high-leverage setup for the Angels this year.

According to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, Los Angeles Angels right-handed pitcher Ben Joyce is expected to be the "favorite" to be the team's closer to open the 2025 season. However, Bollinger noted that Joyce has yet to prove he can stay healthy for an entire season, which could open the door for other relievers to earn save opportunities. Bollinger mentioned that Robert Stephenson (elbow) will likely get a few looks when he recovers from his UCL surgery. Joyce pitched 34 2/3 innings of work in the major last summer. After allowing five runs over his first three outings, he held a near-perfect 0.83 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP over his final 32 2/3 innings of work. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor Joyce's status during spring training but should expect him to open the season as the team's top closer. However, fantasy managers should draft him with caution, given his injury history and the possibility that the Angels continue to ease his workload.