The Los Angeles Angels are off to a surprising start in their season, but they had to recently make a roster move that could affect them for the next few games.

“Ben Joyce is going on the IL with shoulder inflammation, the Angels say. His velo dipped a decent amount in his appearance on Tuesday night. No word yet on the severity,” The Athletic's Sam Blum wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

With Joyce being placed on the 15-day injured list, right-hander Michael Darrell-Hicks was called up from the Triple-A Salt Lake to replace him. Joyce didn't pitch with his same velocity in their matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 8, but he said that he felt fine. With him being put on IL, it's obvious something was wrong with him.

“I just didn’t have my best stuff,” Joyce said the day after the Rays game. “Just kind of missed with the sinker up a little bit, and then the four-seam, which I wanted to get up in the zone, just kind of left it down [the] middle. Just a little off location-wise.”

This season, Joyce has posted a 6.23 ERA with one strikeout and a walk in 4 innings, He was the Angels' top setup reliever for Kenley Jansen. It'll be interesting to see if the Angels can continue to play well with Joyce sidelined.

Angels continue to surprise the league

Related Los Angeles Angels NewsArticle continues below
Angels set franchise record with seventh-straight 2 home run game
Angels set franchise record with seventh-straight 2 home run game
Los Angeles Angels center fielder Kyren Paris (19) rounds third base to score on an RBI double by shortstop Zach Neto (9) during the fifth inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park.
Angels’ Zach Neto drops truth bomb after 7th straight win
Los Angeles Angels left fielder Taylor Ward (3) rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam during the seventh inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park.
Angels’ Taylor Ward gives bold admission after helping LA extend winning streak
Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Ben Joyce (44) strikes out Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman (25) on a 105.5 mph pitch in the eighth inning at Angel Stadium.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Angels have been a surprise to many to start the season, and some would say that they've been one of MLB's biggest surprises. They had their best start through 10 games in franchise history at 7-3, and they're still getting wins as the season continues. Whatever they were expected to do in the preseason should be looked at differently, but there are still a lot of games left in the year for anything to happen.

Players such as Logan O'Hoppe and Mike Trout have been helping the team have a great season so far, and Kyren Paris has also stepped up after only playing 21 games last season. By the end of the season, it wouldn't be a surprise if he was considered one of the breakout players in the league.

The Angels seem to have what it takes to continue to stack wins at a high level, and all they need to do is to stay consistent.