Vernon Wells Groin Injury Tests Angels Depth

From the cheap seats it appeared that Vernon Wells was simply not hustling out a routine grounder to 3B. After a few seconds though it was apparent that something was wrong in Monday night's game. Despite a lackluster April, Wells was working through his struggles with aplomb. But you can't hide a tweaked groin on a sharp swing. After the game Angels television analyst Tim Salmon said that in his experience, an injury like that takes a lot longer to heal than the fifteen day minimum stay on the disabled list, which is where Wells was placed after the conclusion of the contest.

While Reggie Willits was called up from AAA Salt Lake to take Wells' roster spot, in the short term he will likely not see any playing time. Look for the Angels outfield depth chart to look something like this:

Bobby Abreu will get the most playing time in the outfield.

Alexi Amarista has played two games out in LF now and his switch hitting bat will see some time there.

Mark Trumbo may get some looks in LF

Bobby Wilson, rotting on the bench as the third catcher could break away the rust with a few appearances in LF

Reggie Willits will see a lot of late inning work out there but Mike Scioscia seems to have permanently given up on Willits as a regular batting order presence and confined him to specific utility duties: pinch running, late defense, blowout field mop and a rare pinch hitter.

The injury to Wells is not quite a disaster as the lineup has made due despite terrible production from LF spot. Look for Peter Bourjos to be playing every inning of every game form here on out and the pressure on Torii Hunter to yield even more selfish pulling of the ball and GIDPs from ill-advised hacks at changeups.

If / When Abreu or Hunter go down, look for a trade, a signing or a callup of Jeremy Moore or Jeff Baisley form AAA. The nuclear option of bringing up Mike Trout to the big leagues does not seem to be on President Scioscia's agenda.