Angels' DiSarcina Out 3-4 Months
Gary DiSarcina's injured left forearm is injured more severely than first thought, and the Anaheim Angels shortstop will need surgery and miss 3-to-4 months of the regular season.
DiSarcina, an outstanding fielder who hit .287 with three homers and 56 RBI in 157 games last season, was struck by a fungo bat during batting practice on Feb. 21. The original prognosis was he would return in 4-to-6 weeks.
A CT scan Monday showed the bone has not completely healed. DiSarcina, 31, will have a plate screwed into the ulna bone to allow for proper healing.
The Angels acquired utility infielder Andy Sheets from San Diego on Monday as a possible replacement for DiSarcina. Sheets hit .242 with seven homers and 29 RBI for the Padres last season.
Anaheim also made a trade Tuesday, sending switch-hitting infielder Dave Hollins to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league infielder Tomas Perez. The Angels also released infielder Andy Stankiewicz and right-handed reliever Rich DeLucia.
The trade of Hollins means Troy Glaus will be the Angels' third baseman. It had been thought Glaus might play shortstop until DiSarcina returned, but that was when it was believed DiSarcina would be back much sooner.
Glaus, 22, was the third overall pick in the 1997 amateur draft. He played in 48 games for the Angels last season, hitting .218 with one homer and 23 RBI.
Hollins, 32, hit .242 with 11 homers and 39 RBI in 101 games with the Angels last season. In 940 big league games, Hollins has a .262 batting average with 110 homers and 476 RBI. He previously played with Philadelphia, Boston, Minnesota and Seattle.
Perez, 25, hit .252 with three homers and 37 RBI in 116 games for Triple-A Syracuse last season. He will have his contract transferred from Syracuse to Edmonton, Anaheim's Triple-A affiliate, and report to the Angels' minor league camp.
Stankiewick, 34, hit .243 in 17 games for the Angels this spring. Stankiewicz, who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, signed a minor league contract on Jan. 25 that would have paid him $280,000 if he made the major league roster.
DeLucia, 33, was 2-6 with a .427 ERA and three saves in 61 games for the Angels last year -- all in relief. After being traded to Anaheim by San Francisco in 1997, he was 6-4 with a 3.61 ERA and three saves in 33 relief appearances.
Because he pitched regularly last season and wasn't injured, DeLucia's $700,000 salary was guaranteed.
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