ANAHEIM -- The list of rehabbing Angels pitchers at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga continues to grow, as right-hander Ryan Johnson will begin his rehab assignment with the Quakes on Sunday.
Johnson, who has been on the injured list retroactive to April 3 with a viral infection and hamstring discomfort, is joining rehabbing pitchers Alek Manoah, Ben Joyce and Kirby Yates at Rancho Cucamonga. Manoah, Joyce and Yates were all scheduled to pitch on Saturday, with Manoah getting his first rehab start. Johnson will start on Sunday.
"The good thing is they're close,” manager Kurt Suzuki said before the Angels’ game against the Mets Saturday night. "The bad thing is they're all on [the IL]. But the bright side is that they're close and getting ready to come back, and we feel good about that.”
Johnson, 23, surprisingly made the rotation to open the season after a strong showing in Spring Training but made just one start, allowing six runs over 3 1/3 innings against the Cubs on March 30, before being scratched from his next outing due to illness.
The viral infection ended up causing him to land on the IL and he suffered a setback in building back up, exiting his outing after two pitches on April 13 with discomfort in his hamstring. But he resumed his throwing program and faced hitters earlier this week at the club’s Spring Training complex in Arizona.
"It was a lot longer than I anticipated,” Johnson said. “But it was good. I was able to just make the most of it, get stronger. I feel like I'm in a good position and ready to come back strong. My hamstring flare-up was pretty minor, but it feels really good right now.”
The Angels could certainly use the help with several pitchers nearing a return, although Johnson is likely to need to make a few rehab starts before he’s activated. Angels pitchers entered Saturday’s game against the Mets with a collective 4.65 ERA that ranks 25th in the Majors, including a 5.69 ERA by the bullpen that ranks as the second-worst mark in baseball.
Lefty Yusei Kikuchi departed his start after two innings on Wednesday with left shoulder tightness and underwent an MRI exam, but Suzuki said there’s still no update just yet. But while Kikuchi still hasn’t landed on the IL, given that it’s his shoulder he appears likely to miss some time.
"The doctors are still looking at the information,” Suzuki said. “They want to be thorough, they want to make sure they get all the information before sharing.”
On the bright side, right-hander Walbert Ureña appears to be OK despite taking a 102.6 mph line drive off the side of his right knee in his start on Friday. He remains in line to make his next start, which is good news after he allowed one run over five-plus innings before exiting his start against the Mets.
"He's fine,” Suzuki said. “He said he's a little sore today, which is expected. Obviously, he got smoked but he's out there throwing and said he feels OK, surprisingly.”
Manoah, who opened the year on the injured list with a right middle finger contusion after his fingernail fell off during Spring Training, started his rehab assignment on Saturday.
Joyce, who is recovering from shoulder surgery last May, threw a scoreless inning in his first rehab outing on Wednesday with his fastball at 100-101 mph. Yates opened the season on the IL with left knee inflammation and rejoined Single-A after he previously made three rehab appearances, including one with Rancho Cucamonga and two with Triple-A Salt Lake.
Yates was previously scheduled to pitch on Thursday, but was mistakenly left off the lineup card with Rancho Cucamonga. He warmed up but had to throw a bullpen session instead of entering the game.
“I think the issue got addressed,” Suzuki said. “He threw a bullpen and that was good for him. Obviously, we would have liked him to throw in a game.”