OC Register: Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun lands on disabled list with strained oblique

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — Kole Calhoun is on the disabled list thanks to a strained right oblique. Might the time off help the Angels outfielder break out of his season-long hitting slump?

“Maybe,” Manager Mike Scioscia said Saturday. “That’s not the way you want to get your break, though.”

The Angels placed Calhoun on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Friday, taking the outfielder off their lineup card in the midst of the worst hitting performance of his career. Through 173 plate appearances this year, Calhoun has a slash line of .145/.195/.179 — numbers far below his career average of .254/.321/.410.

Sign up for Home Turf and get 3 exclusive stories every SoCal sports fan must read, sent daily. Subscribe here.

The 30-year-old is only three years removed from winning the Gold Glove Award, a season that also saw him post career highs with 83 RBIs and 26 home runs. He has 11 RBIs this year, going yard just once.

Scioscia said Calhoun felt tightness in his right oblique when the Angels were getting to ready to leave Detroit earlier this week.

“He was in the cage working a lot,” Scioscia said. “I think some things just stiffened up. It’s just something we need to address right now. … There’s no timetable yet, but hopefully it’s not too severe.”

The Angels also optioned right-hander Jaime Barría (5-1, 2.48), who pitched six shutout innings against the Rangers on Friday night. He could be recalled again for a June 12 game in Seattle, when the team will again need a sixth starting pitcher.

The club recalled Kaleb Cowart and Michael Hermasillo from Triple-A Salt Lake, starting the latter in right field against the Rangers on Saturday and batting him ninth.

SURGERY GIVES SHOEMAKER CLARITY

Matt Shoemaker is still six weeks away from being able to throw, but the Angels pitcher is grateful to have an answer on what has been ailing his right forearm.

After exams showed no sign of nerve damage, the 31-year-old opted to undergo exploratory surgery. That procedure, performed on Tuesday, revealed a tear in the middle of his pronator teres tendon — an injury that none of his doctors had ever seen before.

Dr. Steven Shin repaired the tendon, and Shoemaker appeared to be in good spirits on Saturday afternoon despite not knowing when he might finally make it back to the mound.

“MRIs, bone scans, nerve studies — everything showed to be pretty clean,” Shoemaker said. “I’m really thankful we went in and did the exploratory procedure, because we would have never found this if we didn’t. That’s nice to have that answer.”

Related Articles

• Jaime Barria, 21, outshines 45-year-old Bartolo Colon in Angels’ win over Rangers
• Oliver Drake, the Angels’ newest relief pitcher, has thrown batters for a curve
• Andrew Heaney has rough start, sinks Angels in finale of 10-game trip
• Angels hoping Zack Cozart can return quickly from forearm tightness
• Angels bullpen lets game get away after Shohei Ohtani’s outing shortened by rain

Shoemaker also had surgery last August to relieve radial nerve compression in his forearm. The right-hander pitched 5-2/3 innings on March 31 before lingering discomfort forced him onto the disabled list.

ALSO

Scioscia tried to downplay any lingering tensions from Friday night, when a slide by the Rangers’ Rougned Odor resulted in a left leg gash for Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons. “It’s kind of an unfortunate incident,” Scioscia said. “But it’s past us, I think. There was a little bit of veer on the slide.” …

Infielder Zack Cozart, who had an MRI on his left forearm Friday, is “progressing quickly” according to Scioscia, and could be nearing a return to the lineup. He has not played since May 29. …

The Angels held a pre-game ceremony for Albert Pujols, emblazoning the number “3000” in the outfield to commemorate the slugger’s recent career hits milestone. Pujols was also presented with a picture of himself made of 9,858 screws, representing the number of at-bats he needed to reach 3,000 hits.

Nailed it!

Tonight, the Angels will present @PujolsFive with this unique portrait to commemorate his 3,000th career hit. The artist used approximately 9858 screws to create the piece. The 9858 represent the number of at bats Albert needed to attain 3,000 hits. #Pujols3000 pic.twitter.com/oRakwOTPMj

— Angels (@Angels) June 3, 2018

UP NEXT

Angels (Tyler Skaggs, 3-4, 3.60) vs. Rangers (Doug Fister, 1-5, 4.09), Sunday, 1:07 p.m., Fox Sports West, KLAA (830 AM)

View the full article