C.J. Wilson finally gets back on the mound in rehab.

Los Angeles Angels hoping to see CJ Wilson back on the mound in Anaheim soon. Wednesday's rehab start will be a big step in doing so. Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Angels hoping to see CJ Wilson back on the mound in Anaheim soon. Wednesday's rehab start will be a big step in doing so. Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

C.J. Wilson went down with an elbow injury last August and decided to undergo surgery to alleviate the pain from his elbow.  Wilson was supposed to be back on the mound this Spring, but he will now start for Wednesday for IE 66’ers.

Halo Hangout will send staff writer Grant Avise to San Bernardino to cover C.J. Wilson’s return to the mound.  With the Angels rotation being pieced together since Garrett Richards and Andrew Heaney went down with potential season ending arm injuries, Wilson’s return could be just what the doctor ordered.

More from Halo Hangout

Wilson who has a career record of 94-70 with a 3.74 was 8-8 last season with a 3.89 ERA before the injury.  With the addition of Tim Lincecum who the Los Angeles Angels signed last week and Wilson it takes the starting rotation from a young staff to a veteran staff very quickly as the Angels will now have three pitchers over the age 31. Compared to when the season started having only one pitcher, Weaver, over the age of 30 in the rotation.

The question will be is how effective both Wilson and Lincecum will be coming off serious arm injuries.  C.J. Wilson will likely have a short leash in proving himself as both his recent history (21-18 with a 4.25 ERA in the past two seasons.  The other reason is that C.J. is in the last year of his five-year 80 million dollar contract, so if he is not effective the Angels just may choose to release the 36-year old.

Want your voice heard? Join the Halo Hangout team!

Write for us!

A possible option though that the Angels could try is to put Wilson in the bullpen as he was a closer for three years in Texas and a reliever for his first five years of his career.  That will probably be a last resort, but one the Angels could explore if they wanted to try to get their money’s worth out of Wilson who is making 20 million dollars in this is final year of his contract.

Next: C.J. looking good in return to action

So with all those questions swirling around lets see how Wilson does in the next two rehab starts.  If all goes well he could return to the Angels by next weekend. Stay tuned to Halo Hangout and watch for Grant Avise’s live tweets from San Bernardino tomorrow evening and then his assessment as well as post-game comments from C.J. himself, Taylor Ward, the Angels top prospect and Wilson’s most likely battery mate for Wednesday’s start, as well as 66’ers Manager Chad Tracy who is the son of former Dodgers’ manager Jim Tracy.