ARLINGTON, Texas — Angels starting catcher Chris Iannetta underwent surgery on his broken right wrist Friday and is expected to be out 6-8 weeks.
Iannetta had tried to play since getting hit by a pitch in his first at-bat May 2, the same night he caught Jered Weaver’s no-hitter against Minnesota.
“It could have been worse. It’s a big loss, but we’re going to get him back for the lion’s share of the season,” manager Mike Scioscia said before Texas beat the Angels 10-3 on Friday. “It’s an important guy, that’s for sure.”
The Angels purchased the contract of catcher John Hester from Triple-A Salt Lake. Bobby Wilson started the opener against the AL West-leading Texas.
Before his injury, Iannetta had been a solid addition to the Angels’ lineup since arriving in an offseason trade with Colorado. But he was in a 2-for-25 slump and hadn’t had a hit since his injury. His averaged had slipped to .197 before getting put on the disabled list Thursday.
Iannetta got three days off after getting hurt.
“He tried to work his way back in the lineup. For a little while it looked like he was sore, but moving in right direction,” Scioscia said. “It was pretty obvious the last couple of games it was going the wrong way. After more extensive tests, it was something that needed to be taken care of right away.”
Chris Sale going back to White Sox rotation
CHICAGO — An MRI on Chris Sale’s sore elbow was clean and the hard-throwing Chicago White Sox lefty will be back in the rotation, maybe as early as Saturday.
Chicago general manager Ken Williams said Friday that Sale convinced him that the discomfort he felt in the elbow area was just soreness and not pain. Williams said the team will continue to monitor the promising 23-year-old.
Sale went 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA in five starts before manager Robin Ventura moved the former reliever into the closer’s role as a precautionary measure. Sale pitched one game in relief.
Orioles put Lindstrom on DL, bring up Eveland
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles have placed reliever Matt Lindstrom on the 15-day disabled list with a right middle finger injury.
The team also purchased the contract of left-hander Dana Eveland from Triple-A Norfolk. Eveland started for Baltimore against Tampa Bay on Friday night.
Lindstrom has a 1.29 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 13 appearances.
Eveland came to the Orioles last December in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was 3-2 with a 2.21 ERA in six starts for Norfolk.
