ANAHEIM -- Right-hander Julio Teheran tested positive for COVID-19 two days before the start of Summer Camp and was a late arrival as a result, but he believes he’s only about a week behind the other pitchers. Teheran is the third Angels player to confirm testing positive last month, joining Patrick Sandoval and Matt Thaiss.

Teheran, who signed a one-year deal with the Angels in the offseason, was exposed to COVID-19 at his home in Atlanta, and his wife and children tested positive as well. He felt symptoms for four days, while his other family members were asymptomatic. After testing positive for three weeks, he finally got his two negative tests and arrived at Angel Stadium on Friday and participated in workouts on Saturday, including throwing in front of pitching coach Mickey Callaway.

"My absence was because my family got hit by this virus that's happening in our society, our world,” Teheran said in Spanish via Zoom on Sunday. “It was about waiting. We were being very careful, but two days before coming to Summer Camp is when I started to feel ill. I had to call the team and let them know I was presenting symptoms, and I didn't want to travel like that and put other people at risk. Everything we had heard about the things that are going on with this virus, I decided to be safe.”

Teheran, whose symptoms were fever, chills, headaches and a loss of taste, tried to stay active despite how he felt. He was able to throw a bit at his home but admitted it wasn’t the same as being healthy and throwing at the ballpark.

“You feel tired and you're going to want to rest, but I kind of was telling myself to stay active, especially having the virus in your body,” he said. “You want to keep doing it so that way you're fighting the virus. That's what I was doing. It was like four days of feeling kind of tired and all that, and right after that it was more asymptomatic.”

Manager Joe Maddon is happy to have Teheran back in camp, and he received positive reports from Teheran’s bullpen on Saturday. But Teheran still isn’t going to be ready for Opening Day, so the goal is to get him ready to rejoin the rotation early in the season.

“He threw well, Mickey was really pleased with it,” Maddon said. “So they're gonna continue. Julio is highly eager and highly motivated, so that's all I could tell you. He did do well. He's highly motivated. Mickey liked it a lot. I've yet to see it personally, but it's definitely trending in the right direction.”

Teheran knows he has to be cautious as he continues to build up his pitch count, but he’s optimistic about joining the rotation early in the season. The Angels will use a six-man rotation, with Shohei Ohtani pitching on Sundays, and the sixth spot is up for grabs between Félix Peña and Jaime Barria. Teheran could take that spot once he’s ready, which would allow Peña to pitch in long relief and Barria to give the club more depth in Long Beach.

“I feel like I would be a week behind, hopefully, and obviously, we gotta take care, I gotta be smart about it,” Teheran said. “And I know how to do it. I've been I've been around for a long time. I haven't been injured. And one reason is because I know to how to take care of myself and I know how to take care of my arm. So yeah, I’d say a week behind, hopefully. And whenever I feel ready, I'll be out there working with the guys and doing our best to go to the spot we want to go.”