Albuquerque Journal

HEARING THE ANGELS’ CALL

Angels pick up ex-Lobo off waivers

- BY KEVIN HENDRICKS JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Ex-Lobo Bobby LaFrombois­e is picked up by Los Angeles after the Pirates place him on waivers.

Bobby LaFrombois­e is going back to Cali.

LaFrombois­e, a Downey, Calif., native and former All Mountain West pitcher at the University of New Mexico, was claimed by the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday after being placed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“It’s mixed emotions. I was a big fan of the Pirates and I liked what they were doing,” LaFrombois­e told the Journal on Thursday. “But then again, I’ve loved the Angels since I was about 15. It’s a dream come true to go back home.”

LaFrombois­e made six appearance­s for the Pirates in the 2014 regular season after being designated for assignment by the Seattle Mariners and waived by the San Diego Padres. He also pitched in the 2014 National League wild-card game, getting San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford —the lone batter he faced — to ground into an inning-ending double play in the seventh inning.

LaFrombois­e pitched one inning in May this season for Pittsburgh but spent most of 2015 at Triple-A Indianapol­is. He was called up in September and made another 10 appearance­s for the Pirates, who again made it to the NL wild-card game but didn’t put LaFrombois­e on the roster.

“They had such a good bullpen all year that there wasn’t any room for anyone to move up,” LaFrombois­e said. “That’s one of the things that happens in baseball. They won 98 games for a reason, and the bullpen was a big help.”

With LaFrombois­e out of minor league options for the 2016 season, the Pirates had to make a decision regarding his future. They decided to place the 6-foot-4 left-hander on waivers, which LaFrombois­e didn’t find out about until he got the phone call Wednesday morning from Pittsburgh.

“They called me and told me that I had been placed on waivers and been claimed by the Angels,” LaFrombois­e said. “When I saw who was calling me I had a pretty good idea of what was going on. I was expecting something bad, but when one door closes another one opens.”

The door is now open for LaFrombois­e to pitch in the big leagues, and in front of his friends and family from Downey, which is 20 miles from the Angels’ stadium in Anaheim.

“When (the Angels) called, they said, ‘we’re always looking for lefties in the bullpen. And we think you can help us out and that’s why we picked you up,”’ LaFrombois­e said.

The 29-year-old LaFrombois­e says he has no hard feelings toward the Pirates for not getting more of an opportunit­y to contribute in the majors.

“I love the organizati­on, I loved the guys there and I enjoyed my time there,” LaFrombois­e said. “That’s just part of baseball, and now I have to move on and hopefully move in the right direction and see what I can do with the Angels.”

What LaFrombois­e plans to do with the Angels is make the team out of spring training — the Angels train in Tempe, Ariz. — and spend the season pitching out their bullpen.

“That’s obviously always the goal,” LaFrombois­e said. “All I can do is show up to camp in shape and be ready to go and prove to them that I belong there.”

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 ?? DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP FILE ?? Bobby LaFrombois­e, a former University of New Mexico player, saw limited action with Pittsburgh and now sees a greater opportunit­y with the Los Angeles Angels, just 20 miles from his hometown.
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP FILE Bobby LaFrombois­e, a former University of New Mexico player, saw limited action with Pittsburgh and now sees a greater opportunit­y with the Los Angeles Angels, just 20 miles from his hometown.

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