Notes: Buttrey out 1-2 weeks; Ohtani on driving

February 15th, 2020

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Angels reliever sustained an intercostal injury while playing catch on Thursday, and will be shut down from throwing for one to two weeks but is expected to be ready for Opening Day, manager Joe Maddon said Saturday.

Buttrey is the second Angels reliever to get injured while playing catch early in camp, though fortunately, this injury isn’t as serious as Justin Anderson’s right oblique strain that will keep him out of action for four to six weeks. Buttrey didn’t injure himself on a throw, as it came while trying to backhand the ball on an incoming throw that hit the grass.

“We're looking for at least a week to two weeks of inactivity with him right now, but we still believe he'll be ready for the beginning of the season,” Maddon said. “This is a time of year, you want to be very cautious. I think this kid's gonna be really good. Really good.”

Buttrey added that he doesn’t believe it’s a serious, as he threw a bullpen after the injury without any issues. He just felt during a workout later in the day and when it still bothered him on Friday morning, he alerted the training staff and they decided to shut him down as a precaution.

“I'm sure this is very minor,” Buttrey said. “But the last thing I need to do is try to play through that and make it worse and now I’m looking at a longer recovery, so I spoke up to them. They were great about it and didn’t think anything was serious, but we're just trying to be more cautious right now.”

Buttrey, 26, is heading into the season as the club’s top setup reliever after posting a 3.98 ERA with 84 strikeouts and 23 walks in 72 1/3 innings last year, and Maddon has heard only good things about him.

“He's one of those guys that understands what he's what he's doing and how to do it,” Maddon said. “He's open, wide open. But again, he's another kid with a great body and is the right age to really blossom.”

Ohtani driving; utilizing leg kick
Two-way star had some fun with reporters on Saturday, answering a few questions in English as well as detailing how he recently passed his driver’s test in November and is now driving on his own for the first time in his life.

Ohtani, who participated in pitcher fielding practice on Saturday, was asked how it went and he responded, "Good." After being asked if his English was better, he said "yes," but then asked if he'd been practicing he laughed and said "no." He then nodded when asked if he still needed his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. From there, Ohtani was asked about his driving skills and said he passed his test but never saw his score. Asked how he was doing driving on his own, and Ohtani said, “Pretty good.”

Ohtani then shifted gears to talk about his baseball swing, as he’s noticeably been utilizing a leg kick during batting practice, which is something he abandoned before the start of his rookie season in 2018.

"I'm not sure if he's going to be using it during the season, but I'm just trying to practice and test things out," Ohtani said. "I need to actually step up to the plate and face pitchers to see how I see the ball and timing with the leg kick and without. I’ve been hitting without the leg kick for the last few years, so it won't be a problem going back and forth."

Angels tidbits

• First baseman arrived at camp and is fully healthy after an offseason with no surgeries.

• Outfielder also arrived at Angels camp and participated in a light workout. He remains the favorite for the right field job and is competing with top prospect Jo Adell. Goodwin also came in with a noticeably longer beard and said he hadn’t shaved all offseason.

• The Angels don’t expect any late arrivals to camp with position players set to report on Sunday, Maddon said. Most of the position players have already been practicing on the lower fields.