MADISON, AL — The Los Angeles Angels announced the following roster moves impacting the Trash Pandas roster. Following last night's Angels game against the Athletics, Los Angeles optioned RHP Ryan Johnson to Rocket City. In a corresponding move today, INF Arol Vera was placed on the Rocket City Development List. Johnson becomes the fifth current Trash Panda to bring Major League experience, joining position players Kyren Paris, Wade Meckler, Matthew Lugo, and Gustavo Campero.
Johnson, 23, entered 2026 ranked by Baseball America as the Angels' No. 2 overall prospect after making history in 2025 by becoming just the 24th player in Major League Baseball history to go directly from the MLB Draft to the Major Leagues without appearing in a Minor League game. He joined Jim Abbott (1989) as the only Angels players to accomplish the feat, and made his Major League debut on Opening Day, March 27, 2025, at the White Sox.
Johnson began the season on the Angels' injured list and made two rehab appearances for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga and Triple-A Salt Lake, pitching to a 3.24 ERA with 12 strikeouts and one walk. In his last outing on May 8 at Oklahoma City, Johnson worked 5.0 innings, throwing 78 pitches, giving up three runs on six hits, striking out five, and walking none. Rocket City is the only full-season affiliate in which Johnson has not appeared.
Selected by the Angels in the second compensatory round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Dallas Baptist, Johnson appeared in 12 Major League games with Los Angeles in 2025 before being optioned to High-A Tri-City on May 9 and transitioning into a starting role for the remainder of the season. Across 12 starts with the Dust Devils, Johnson posted a 4-3 record with a 1.88 ERA (57.1 IP – 12 ER) and 65 strikeouts, earning Northwest League Postseason All-Star honors and two Northwest League Pitcher of the Week selections. On July 5 against Spokane, he tossed a one-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts and no walks.
Johnson starred collegiately at Dallas Baptist, where he went 22-9 with a 3.46 ERA and 314 strikeouts across three seasons while setting program records for single-season strikeouts (151 in 2024) and career strikeouts. The Conference USA Pitcher of the Year in 2024, Johnson earned First Team All-America honors from Baseball America, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and Perfect Game after finishing 11-3 with a 2.21 ERA and 151 strikeouts. The 23-year-old also owns early Major League milestones, becoming the first American League pitcher since Roy Halladay to record both a win and a save within his first three MLB games.
ABOUT THE ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS
Owned and operated by BallCorps, LLC, the Rocket City Trash Pandas are the proud Double-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels in the Southern League. The Trash Pandas play at state-of-the-art TOYOTA Field in Madison, Alabama. The organization's mission is to unite our communities by creating positive and lasting memories one experience at a time.