Halo Headlines: Weaver lands on DL with back strain, Richards called up, Hunter activated

The May 30th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Jered Weaver lands on the DL with a back strain and spasms, Garrett Richards called up, Torii Hunter activated from the restricted list and much more…

The Story: Jered Weaver was placed on the DL, then not, then was again for a back strain and spasms, but the team doesn’t have a specific timetable for his return.

The Monkey Says: This is a minor-ish injury, but because of its nature, he may be back in 15 days or twice that. The Angels are probably thinking it will be closer to 15 as they briefly rescinded their announcement to place Weaver on the DL because they thought they might be able to skip his next start due to the off day and have him back within 15 days. They, wisely, thought better off that and played it safe by putting on the disabled list after reconsidering about 30 minutes later.

The Story: Garrett Richards was called up to take Weaver’s place on the roster and hopes his experience last season will make him better prepared to succeed this time around.

The Monkey Says: If Richards took Weaver’s rotation slot, he would be slated to pitch against Texas, but the Halos may think better of that and skip that spot in the rotation with their off day and use Richards as a reliever until they definitely need him a few days later against Seattle. With an off day again after that, they could bump him once again, so he might only make one start if Weaver is ready to return in 15 days. Richards has been a bit shaky in recent weeks in Salt Lake, but he looked like a much improved pitcher in spring training and early in the PCL season, so he could have a lot of success this time around.

The Story: The Angels activated Torii Hunter from the restricted list and demoted Andrew Romine to Triple-A.

The Monkey Says: Hunter started last night and will almost certainly play everyday. What will be curious to see is if he will stay down in the lineup like he did last night.

The Story: What kind of contract would Albert Pujols get if he were a free agent today?

The Monkey Says: I can’t argue with the logic other than I think he greatly underestimates the likelihood of a front office losing their mind and overpaying. There’s no way he gets ten years again, but we also said that before he actually signed his ten-year contract.

The Story: How Mark Trumbo’s patience is translating to his great season.

The Monkey Says: This has been written about before, but hey, look! Heat maps!!!