ROSTER MOVE: Najer Victor promoted to AAA Salt Lake, Chris Cortez joins Trash Pandas

MADISON, AL — The Angels announced on Tuesday the addition of starting pitcher Chris Cortez to the Trash Pandas roster. In addition, the Angels have promoted relief pitcher Najer Victor to Triple-A Salt Lake and released pitcher Aneurys Zabala from his contract.

Cortez, 22, enters the 2026 season ranked as the No. 12 prospect in the Los Angeles Angels system by Baseball America. Over his first five starts with High-A Tri-City, he has posted a 4.67 ERA, allowing nine earned runs across 17.1 innings with 26 walks and 13 strikeouts.

The Angels selected Cortez in the second round (45th overall) of the 2024 MLB Draft and signed him to an under-slot bonus just shy of $1.6 million. He spent his first full professional season in 2025 with Tri-City, making 26 starts and logging 113.2 innings with a 4.28 ERA. He struck out 114 and held opponents to a .224 average, ranking tied for the Northwest League lead in starts while finishing second in opponent average and sixth in innings pitched. Cortez earned his first professional win on April 25 at Hillsboro and posted a 2.01 ERA over six starts in May (31.1 IP, 7 ER).

Prior to turning pro, Cortez pitched three seasons at Texas A&M (2022-24), appearing in 69 games and going 19-7 with a 4.67 ERA and 173 strikeouts over 150.1 innings. As a junior, he transitioned into a multi-inning, high-leverage relief role, posting a 2.78 ERA with a 36.7% strikeout rate over 62.2 innings while helping the Aggies reach the College World Series final, earning D1Baseball Third Team All-American honors.

A Las Vegas native, Cortez attended Silverado High School, where he earned All-Southern Nevada honors in 2021. He features a power arsenal highlighted by a plus-plus sinker that sits in the upper 90s and touches 101 mph, paired with a swing-and-miss slider.

Victor, 24, earns a promotion to Triple-A Salt Lake after a strong start to the 2026 season. Over nine appearances, he has a 2.84 ERA with 21 strikeouts and nine walks while holding opponents to a .093 average. He has been dominant over his last five outings, allowing one hit and no runs across 7.2 innings with one walk and 12 strikeouts.

Victor also impressed in Spring Training, earning a spot on the Los Angeles Angels Spring Breakout roster and tossing 5.1 scoreless innings across five Cactus League appearances. He represented Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic, striking out six over 2.1 hitless innings, including a March 7 outing vs. the United States, where he fanned Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Gunnar Henderson, and Roman Anthony.

In 2025, Victor split time between Low-A Inland Empire and High-A Tri-City, going 1-6 with a 4.87 ERA and four saves in 35 appearances, recording 65 strikeouts in 40.2 innings. He was selected in the 14th round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of the University of Central Florida.

Zabala, 29, was 1-1 with a 6.30 ERA over nine relief appearances, striking out 11, and walking 10 over 10.0 innings pitched. The Angels signed the Santo Domingo, DR native as a minor league free agent on January 21.

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.