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The Angels optioned Urena to Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday.
The 22-year-old cracked the Halos' Opening Day roster and recorded two outs without allowing a run Opening Day, but he surrendered six runs (all unearned) on four hits and two walks to take the loss Saturday against the Astros. Urena should get another look with the Angels later this season, but for now Shaun Anderson will take his roster spot to round out the bullpen. Manager Kurt Suzuki confirmed that Urena will get stretched back out as a starter in the minors as a member of Salt Lake's rotation, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
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Angels' Walbert Urena: Could break camp with Angels
Rotowire
Urena could make the Angels' Opening Day roster, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Urena has pitched just one game above the Double-A level, so he came into camp as a long shot to break camp with the big-league club. However, the right-hander has had a decent spring, posting a 4.60 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 14:5 K:BB over 15.2 innings spanning six appearances (including one start). Beyond those surface numbers, Urena has hit triple digits with his sinker and hasn't yet given up any long balls. He's worked mostly as a starter in the minors, though Urena's profile could fit that of a high-leverage reliever. Whether or not he makes the season-opening 26-day roster could hinge on whether Alek Manoah (finger) and Grayson Rodriguez (arm) begin the campaign in the Angels' rotation.
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Angels' Walbert Urena: Added to 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Angels selected Urena's contract from Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday.
The right-hander spent most of the 2025 campaign at Double-A Rocket City, where he had a 4.33 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 121:74 K:BB across 139.1 innings. Urena moved up to Triple-A for his final outing of the season and could be back at the highest level of the minors to begin 2026.
