Angels Send Jered Weaver to Disabled List with Fractured Elbow

Angels ace Jered Weaver has been placed on the fifteen day disabled list and is expected to miss more than a month with a fractured left elbow. The right-hander dodged a liner up the middle on Sunday in Texas and landed awkwardly on his glove hand, jamming the elbow.

The news was broken here on Halos Heaven in this fanshot by PATTIMELT.

X-rays were negative on Sunday night but yesterday tests indicated it was more serious than a swollen sore joint.

The Angels are calling it a "left non-displaced radial fracture" but the fracture appears to be more "jam" than break or dislocation, but call it whatever you will, for the Angels it simply spells trouble.

What will the Angels do for the 4-6 weeks that Weaver is expected to be gone?

Garrett Richards will be the likely candidate for Weaver's spot in the rotation - which lands Saturday night in Anaheim against the new division rival Houston Astros.

Triple A pitcher Dane De La Rosa was recalled from Salt Lake City and will join the team tonight for the home opener in Anaheim and pitch out of the pen.

To make room for De La Rosa on the forty-man roster, reliever Andrew Taylor was placed on the 60-Day disabled list with a torn shoulder labrum.

According to the press release sent to Halos Heaven at 10:00 AM form Eric Kay in the Angels communication office, De La Rosa, 30, was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays last March 27 in exchange for RHP Steven Geltz. He spent the majority of the 2012 campaign playing for Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate Durham Bulls. The Torrance, CA native posted an 0-4 mark with a 2.79 ERA (21 ER – 67.2 IP) and 87 strikeouts in 54 games. In 13 career professional seasons, he owns a 17-12 overall record with a 2.66 ERA (77 ER – 261 IP) and 298 strikeouts. Originally selected in the 24th round of the 2002 draft by the Yankees, De La Rosa has logged a 10.95 ERA (15 ER – 12.1 IP) and 13 strikeouts over 12 career big-league games.

Weaver was the opening day starter on April 1 and left his second start in Arlington in the top of the sixth. While he had not had his dominating stuff in his first two starts, the reliability of Weaver as a starting pitcher for the Angels cannot be understated. This is a major blow. Richards has pitched well out of the bullpen so while this is not an upgrade to the rotation, it is closer to a lateral move than a downgrade, but the Angels bullpen is now a little dicier than what appeared in the team's first six games.