At 27, Haynes gets a shot

Eleven years, eight surgeries, 776 games and 3,082 at-bats into his professional baseball career, Nathan Haynes finally made it to the big leagues Monday when the Angels promoted the 27-year-old outfielder from triple-A Salt Lake.

“This is better than I could have dreamed it,” Haynes said before the game. “I always tried to picture what the call to my mom and dad would be like. It was unbelievable. My mom started crying. I started to tear up.”

It only got better when Haynes, who hit .391 with four home runs and 32 runs batted in at Salt Lake, entered Monday’s game as a defensive replacement, got a hit in the ninth in his first at-bat and scored.

He was acquired by the Angels in a 1999 deal that sent Randy Velarde and Omar Olivares to Oakland, but injuries derailed his career. Haynes missed virtually all of 2004 and 2005 and began 2006 on an independent-league team in Gary, Ind.

There were three knee surgeries, three hernia operations and one surgery for torn thumb ligaments, but the most devastating injury was a tear in his left hip, which limited him to eight games in 2004 and 2005.

“Oh, yeah,” Haynes said, when asked if he considered retirement. “Eight surgeries and not reaching your goal will do that. But I always said one day in the big leagues will make it worth it. I got my day.”

Haynes left as a minor league free agent after 2003, but player development director Tony Reagins promised him in 2006 that if he was healthy, he would re-sign him. Haynes played 31 games in Gary, “and Tony kept his word,” said Haynes, who played 68 games last season at double-A Arkansas and Salt Lake.

To make room for Haynes on the 25-man roster, the Angels sent reserve outfielder Tommy Murphy, who had 34 at-bats in six weeks with the Angels, to Salt Lake.

“He was struggling with his role,” Manager Mike Scioscia said of Murphy. “He needs to play.”

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Erick Aybar, who filled in capably for injured second baseman Howie Kendrick, began taking live grounders at third Monday, an indication Chone Figgins’ hold on the third base job might be tenuous.

Aybar, who came up as a shortstop, replaced Kendrick in mid-April and played superb defense while batting .254 with 11 RBIs. Figgins, who missed all but one game in April because of fractures on the tips of two fingers on his right hand, entered Monday with a .138 average (12 for 87) and has had trouble with his throwing accuracy.

With infielder Maicer Izturis on the disabled list, “we’re just trying to establish more depth at third,” Scioscia said. “We’re confident Figgy will do what he’s capable of, but if we need a game or two out of Erick there, we want him to be comfortable.”

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Reliever Justin Speier, out since May 1 because of a viral condition, threw a 14-pitch inning in an extended spring training game in Arizona on Monday. “We hope he’ll be ready to go soon,” Scioscia said.

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Kendrick scored points Monday with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, rescuing a kitten that was roaming the field during early batting practice. “I picked it up so it wouldn’t get run over,” said Kendrick, who gave the animal to a stadium employee. “I’m just trying to save a life, I guess.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com