| Year | Team | G | IP | ERA | K | BB | WHIP | K/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | SD | 26 | 130.0 | 4.08 | 145 | 50 | 1.29 | 10.0 |
| 2019 | SD | 30 | 163.2 | 4.18 | 158 | 52 | 1.27 | 8.7 |
| 2021 | NYM | 16 | 72.2 | 3.84 | 76 | 22 | 1.24 | 9.4 |
| 2024 | NYM | 10 | 47.0 | 4.02 | 44 | 15 | 1.30 | 8.4 |
| 2025 | SFG | 32 | 38.1 | 3.76 | 37 | 11 | 1.28 | 8.7 |
| 2026 2026 | LAA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
A Veteran Lefty and His Churve. Signed the Day Before Opening Day.
Joey Lucchesi signed a major league deal on March 25 — the day before Opening Day — after the Giants granted his release. The timing tells you what he is: a known, available veteran the Angels could plug into a bullpen that needed left-handed innings the moment Kirby Yates landed on the IL. He is the third lefty in the pen alongside Drew Pomeranz and Brent Suter.
What separates Lucchesi from a generic depth arm is the churve — a hybrid curve-changeup that has been his calling card since San Diego. It is a genuine out pitch, and his 2025 in San Francisco was his best work in years out of the bullpen: a 3.76 ERA across 38.1 innings with a 53% ground ball rate and a walk rate under 8%. For a reliever the Angels got essentially for free, that is a useful profile.
The concern is durability and platoon limits — he is not a shutdown arm against right-handed power, and his best work comes in lower-leverage spots and matchup situations. But on a bullpen this thin, a lefty who throws strikes, keeps the ball on the ground, and has a real swing-and-miss pitch is exactly the kind of low-cost addition that holds a season together.