One of the first questions about Sam Bachman, when he was drafted No. 9 overall by the Angels in 2021, was about his role.

Bachman was a flame-throwing righty who could eclipse 100 miles per hour on the radar gun but had relatively few college innings under his belt. Typically you don’t draft anyone that early and project them as a reliever.

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But he had the profile to suggest that his best fit — particularly in the short term — might be out of the bullpen.

The consensus at the time, however, was that Bachman was going to start.

Nearly two years later, the dynamics have changed, even if the long-term outlook is the same. The Angels need bullpen help. And Bachman has labored through the past two years in attempting to develop as a starter.

The Angels recalled their righty to join the bullpen, a source confirmed to The Athletic, to help build a bridge to their back-end relievers. And to test Bachman out in a new role that might be a long-term fit. A corresponding move has not been announced.

“If we get down to the middle or late in the season and need an arm like that — you’ve seen it many times,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said in February when asked if Bachman could pitch for the Angels as a reliever. “Guys come up from wherever they’re at, in a playoff run, you pick a big arm that’s going to help you late.”

Righty Sam Bachman, the @Angels' No. 6 prospect, fanned three over a pair of scoreless innings.

He hasn't allowed a run over three 🌵 appearances.

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 25, 2023

That’s exactly what the Angels have done. It’s not quite the middle of the season. And talks of a playoff race might feel premature. But the need is there now. And the belief that he can help evidently hasn’t wavered. He might still become a starting pitcher in the future. But short term is now how the Angels are thinking these days.

The minor-league experience has been a slog for Bachman. He suffered a back injury in the spring of last year that kept him out for a month. He returned to some brief success before the back injury kept him out for two more months. When Bachman returned, his mechanics were out of whack and his velocity was significantly impacted.

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He’s seen it creep back up this year. He’s sitting in the mid-to-upper 90s, while touching 98 mph in Double A. That’s lower than where he was when drafted, but higher than at the end of last season.

Walks have also been a huge issue. He’s got 20 walks in 26 1/3 innings — likely due in part to the unpopular “enhanced grip” baseballs the sport is experimenting with in the Southern League.

All of those factors likely played some role in why the Angels decided to scrap his development as a starter for the time being.

Then there’s the Angels’ need for go-to relief pitchers. It’s already been established: Angels GM Perry Minasian will call up whomever, whenever he feels it’ll help the team at that moment.

After the Angels lost on Saturday, they optioned three relievers — Jimmy Herget, Andrew Wantz and Zack Weiss — to Triple A. They called up Reyes Moronta and Jacob Webb, and activated Aaron Loup. They flipped Jaime Barria to the rotation a day later. That sent Chase Silseth back to the bullpen, where he’s thrived.

The purpose was to reset the bullpen. Have fresh arms, yes. But also completely overhaul the effort of finding reliable middle relievers. Matt Moore is the set-up man. Carlos Estévez is the closer. They’ve been elite. Getting the ball to them with a lead, however, hasn’t been as simple.

That’s what this all comes down to, it seems. The Angels need to establish middle relievers who can be trusted. And starting in Double A wasn’t necessarily working well for Bachman. It also wasn’t serving the Angels’ purpose in the present.

There is an obvious follow-up question. If he wasn’t pitching well in Double A, why would he be any better in the majors?

The short answer is that he might not. This is a big risk, and Minasian is known to take them. But there are some underlying numbers that suggest he’d be more effective without the ball used in Double A.

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Bachman has allowed just 15 hits in those 26 1/3 innings. And despite his control issues, he’s still striking out more than a batter per inning. Both of those numbers are significantly improved from last year at the same level.

Clearly, the Angels believe that part of his game will transfer while the walks might be minimized by throwing a regular baseball again.

“This year I’m a lot more prepared,” Bachman said in spring. “I know what to expect. I know how to handle my body and how it responds to certain things.”

If it’s been said once, it’s been said a million times. The Angels are going to be aggressive in how they promote and demote players. The evidence of this is shown on a near-weekly basis.

They called up their 2022 first-round pick in April. Zach Neto is now the starting shortstop. He’s shored up the defense and has a .745 OPS — finishing a triple shy of the cycle on Wednesday. They made Logan O’Hoppe the starting catcher as he completely bypassed Triple A. Silseth, an 11th-rounder in 2021, made his MLB debut more than a year ago.

They’ve cut players like David Fletcher and Ryan Tepera who are making hefty paychecks this year.

The Angels operate in some middle ground between fearless and shameless. The result so far is a 28-23 record. Not bad.

They are a team that’s winning because of young talent, and because some former top draft picks are making it happen. The strategy has been working, and this is an extension of that strategy.

There’s no guarantee Bachman will find immediate success in the same way. But this move follows a trend in how the Angels’ front office operates. Particularly in such a critical season.

Maybe it will work. Maybe it won’t. But that’s how the Angels have done things. And there’s no sense in changing it now.

(Photo of Sam Bachman in spring training: Rick Scuteri / USA Today)