Angels News: Julio Teheran returns, Anthony Rendon nursing injury

The Los Angeles Angels received good and bad news on Friday, as one prominent member of the rotation arrived in camp, and another superstar was forced to sit out.

On the heels of the news of Justin Anderson missing the 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery, the Los Angeles Angels could have used some good news on Friday. While they got what they asked for, the team offset it with another injury to a prominent piece of the puzzle.

As reported by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, starting pitcher Julio Teheran arrived in Anaheim on Friday for the first time since the resumption of summer camp. Teheran discussed his absence with the media last week, noting that he had been forced to miss the beginning of camp after displaying symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

At the time, Teheran had reported his results came back negative. However, it still took Teheran over a week to report to camp from his home in Atlanta. Presumably, the delay was due to having to satisfy MLB’s testing protocol of two-consecutive negative tests before he could return to the team.

With that said, the Angels will welcome their prized offseason pitcher pick-up back into the fold. While it’s unlikely that Teheran will be able to ramp up quickly enough to join the team in Oakland for the season opener, he should only miss about a week or two of the season.

After seven consecutive seasons with 30-plus starts for the Atlanta Braves, the Angels signed Teheran to a one-year, $9 million deal for the 2020 season. The hope was that his consistent ability to take the ball every fifth day would help to stabilize a rotation that has been beset by injuries over the years.

Unfortunately, the current atmosphere under Coronavirus will get in the way of that goal, but Teheran should still be a solid addition to the staff once he is ready to pitch.

Anthony Rendon scratched from the line-up with oblique tightness

If the Angels were able to breathe a sigh of relief with Teheran arriving in camp, the wind was knocked out of them when Anthony Rendon had an injury scare on Friday. As announced by the Angels’ PR team, Rendon was scratched with tightness in his oblique.

While oblique strains are a worrisome injury for baseball players and typically require weeks or months to fully heal, the injury to Rendon sounds a bit more minor. Labeled as “oblique tightness”, the all-star is listed as day-to-day.

The Halos inked Rendon to a 7-year, $245 million contract this offseason, and he is expected to help anchor the lineup around Mike Trout. He’s coming off a season where he finished third in the National League MVP voting and won a World Series with the Washington Nationals. He hit .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs and 126 RBI in 2019.

The Angels are hoping that with a few day’s rest, he can be ready to go for the season opener on Friday. If he were to miss any time, David Fletcher would likely be in line to handle the hot corner.