De La Rosa, Burnett Showing Improvement

Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

The Angels got some good news out of Tempe, Ariz. Saturday where reliever Dane De La Rosa threw his first bullpen session since early March. De La Rosa, along with lefty Sean Burnett, expect to start the season the disabled list, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.

De La Rosa surrendered four runs through 2/3 of an inning before leaving with a forearms strain on March 6 against The Los Angeles Dodgers. The right hander was one of few bright spots in the Angels bullpen last season, posting a 2.86 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings.

Meanwhile, an injury that limited Burnett to 13 games last season hasn’t affected him this spring. The discomfort felt during a bullpen session last Friday wasn’t the result of elbow surgery performed last summer, but rather from the reaction to an arthritis treatment. Burnett signed with the Los Angeles Angels before the 2013 season after posting a 2.38 ERA through 70 games with the Washington Nationals.