Erick Aybar probably will go on 15-day disabled list with bad knee
Erick Aybar appears headed for the 15-day disabled list after receiving a cortisone injection Tuesday in his left knee, which the shortstop injured when Milwaukee’s Casey McGehee slid into his leg while breaking up a double play on June 14.
Aybar, who hasn’t played since suffering cartilage damage in the knee, was examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum on Tuesday. The speedy switch-hitter, who took ground balls in Chicago over the weekend, was shut down from baseball activities for two or three days.
The Angels will probably decide Thursday or Friday, when they can gauge the effectiveness of the shot, whether to place Aybar on the DL, but they appear to be leaning that way.
“We’re encouraged that long-range, it won’t be an issue,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “But short-range, there’s a possibility we might shut him down and give him the extra week to get ready.”
The Angels would back-date Aybar’s DL stint to June 15, making him eligible to return June 30 against Texas. Aybar, who hit .403 (25 for 62) from May 30 to June 14, raising his average from .231 to .272, hasn’t run or taken batting practice since the injury.
“I feel good right now, and I want to play,” Aybar said. “Oh, man, I’m ready to get back. I’m tired of watching everyone play.”
Strain delay
Utility player Maicer Izturis, on the DL since June 16 because of a left forearm strain, is running and doing agility drills but appears a week or two away from resuming baseball activities.
Izturis, who replaced Brandon Wood as the team’s starting third baseman in late May, experienced severe bruising from the middle of his left biceps all the way down to his wrist and was in considerable pain over the weekend in Chicago.
“There’s no timetable, but it’s going to be a while before he gets into baseball activities,” Scioscia said. “He’ll need at least the full 15-day DL.”
Izturis hit .300 with eight homers, 65 RBIs and 74 runs in 387 at-bats last season, and after signing him to a three-year, $10-million contract last winter, the Angels were counting on him to play a more prominent super-utility role this season.
But Izturis, who would have replaced Aybar in the leadoff spot, missed three weeks in May because of a shoulder injury and is now on the DL for a second time.
“It’s been bad luck for me so far,” Izturis said. “It’s frustrating because I know I can play, and I can’t help the team right now.”
Future looks bright
Center fielder Mike Trout, who has emerged as one of baseball’s best prospects since the Angels selected him in the first round of the 2009 draft, will play his first game in Angel Stadium on July 11.
Not for the Angels. Trout, 18, was one of 50 players — and two Angels prospects — chosen for the Futures Game, the annual showcase of top minor league talent held two days before the All-Star game.
Trout, who is batting .370 with six home runs, 35 RBIs and 34 stolen bases for Class-A Cedar Rapids, was named to the U.S. roster for the Futures Game.
Named to the World roster was third baseman Luis Jimenez, who is batting .329 with two homers and six RBIs for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. Jimenez, a 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic, started the season at Cedar Rapids.
Short hops
The Angels have agreed to terms with 32 of their 50 picks from the recent draft, including second-round pick Daniel Tillman, a pitcher from Florida Southern College, and third-round pick Wendell Soto, a shortstop from Riverview High School in Sarasota, Fla.
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