Angels' Ty Buttrey placed on restricted list after failing to report to team

In surprising news, Angels right-handed reliever Ty Buttrey has chosen not to report to the team, manager Joe Maddon told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and other media members. Buttrey is walking away from the game, at least for now, and the Angels have placed him on the restricted list.

Buttrey joined the Angels in a 2018 trade with the Red Sox for second baseman Ian Kinsler, the year the hurler debuted in the majors. He has since pitched to a 4.30 ERA/3.70 SIERA, averaged 96.1 mph on his fastball and logged a 24.8 percent strikeout rate against a 7.5 percent walk rate in 115 innings. However, Buttrey posted career-low numbers in 2020, when he notched personal lows in ERA (5.81) and strikeout percentage (16.1) over 26 1/3 frames. The 28-year-old hadn’t been due to become eligible for arbitration until after this season.

Despite last year’s downturn in performance, Buttrey looked like a good bet to occupy a spot in the Angels’ remade bullpen when the spring started. The Angels optioned Buttrey earlier in the week, though, leaving him out of their season-opening picture.

“He’s going to be a big part of how we conclude this year,” Maddon said when the Angels demoted Buttrey, via Daniel Guerrero of MLB.com.  But it’s now possible he won’t pitch at all this season or ever again.