The #Angels have optioned LHP Mitch Farris to Triple-A Salt Lake and reassigned RHP Shaun Anderson, RHP George Klassen, INF Trey Mancini, C Sebastián Rivero, INF Yolmer Sánchez, RHP Nick Sandlin and INF Donovan Walton to minor league camp.
Former Blue Jay reliever Nick Sandlin sent down to Angels’ Minor League camp
Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Mar 21, 2026, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 21, 2026, 10:45 EDT
With Opening Day less than a week away, Major League Baseball rosters are beginning to be finalized.
One former Toronto Blue Jay who won’t find themselves on the Opening Day roster is Nick Sandlin, as the Los Angeles Angels sent the 29-year-old righty to their Minor League camp. Additionally, former Blue Jay Shaun Andersson was also sent to the Minor League camp.
Sandlin’s tenure as a Blue Jay lasted just one season. Acquired in the trade that brought Andrés Giménez to the Jays, Sandlin pitched in just 19 games with the team. When healthy, he was an effective middle reliever, authoring a 2.20 ERA and 4.60 FIP over 16.1 innings pitched. However, he had two lengthy stints on the injured list, with the second one keeping him on the shelf for the remainder of the season.
The 29-year-old was outrighted in mid-November 2025, shortly before the deadline to non-tender players, with the righty signing a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels in late January.
Although his tenure with the Blue Jays was brief, Sandlin has proven to be an effective reliever at the big league level. Beginning his big league career in 2021, he posted a 2.94 ERA and 2.96 FIP with the Cleveland Guardians over 33.2 innings. He had a career-best season in 2022, posting a 2.25 ERA and 3.68 FIP in 44 innings pitched. In the preceding two seasons before the trade, Sandlin posted back-to-back seasons with a 3.75 ERA, but an elevated FIP of 4.96 in 2023 and 5.23 in 2024.
Sandlin is one of four former Blue Jay pitchers who could pitch for the Angels in 2026. Becoming a free agent following the 2024 season, Yusei Kikuchi signed a three-year deal with the west coast team, authoring a 3.99 ERA and 4.23 FIP in 178.1 innings pitched in 2025.
This past off-season, the Angels signed two important pitchers from the 2022 Jays, agreeing to terms with both Alek Manoah and Jordan Romano. Both pitchers are trying to rebuild their stock after a rough past few seasons, with Manoah posting a 9.39 ERA and 8.95 FIP in 15.1 innings pitched during Spring Training. Romano has had a much better Spring Training, as he hasn’t given up a run or a walk over his five innings of work.
We’ll see if Sandlin joins Romano, Manoah, and Kikuchi later this season if the Angels run into injury issues.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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