Last Updated on April 24, 2019 by CCAR Staff
ANAHEIM — Angels infielder Zack Cozart knew he wasn’t concussed Monday night. He knows what a concussion feels like. His 12th-inning collision at second base, when he lost his helmet and slammed head-first into D.J. LeMahieu’s knee, did not result in a concussion.
Ultimately the injury looked worse than it was. Cozart jammed his neck and left the game feeling stiffness and a headache. Although he wasn’t in the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Yankees, Cozart was able to avoid the 10-day injured list.
Cozart loaned his second baseman’s glove to teammate Peter Bourjos – which Bourjos then used to make a diving stop on a ground ball in the 13th inning, his first defensive inning outside the outfield.
Meanwhile, Cozart remained inside Angel Stadium for a couple of hours while he was observed by a team doctor for concussion symptoms.
“I kept getting better and better,” he said. “My headache was going away. I slept fine. Saw a doc this morning. Everything was good.”
As for the concussion, Cozart described it as a “super-weird situation.”
“I was in low-A,” he said. “I was on deck, telling a kid to get down – on a base hit he was trying to score. I wasn’t even paying attention to the throw. I was telling him to get down, and the guy air-mailed (the throw), hit me in the head. That one rung my bell. I was done. … That one got me. That one messed my vision up and everything. It took me a while to get back from that one.”
BULLPEN SHUFFLE
The Angels optioned Luke Bard and Taylor Cole to Triple-A Salt Lake after Monday’s 14-inning loss. The two pitchers combined to throw the final five innings against the Yankees.
Right-handed reliever Justin Anderson was recalled from Salt Lake and right-hander Sam Freeman was added to the 40-man roster. In a corresponding move, outfielder Justin Upton was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Upton (turf toe) is walking without the aid of a protective boot, but he did not project to return within the season’s first 60 days.
Anderson threw 5-2/3 scoreless innings in his first stint with the Angels. Only five of the 22 batters he faced reached base before he was optioned to Salt Lake on April 8.
Freeman, a 31-year-old lefty, is a veteran of 263 games with the Cardinals, Rangers, Brewers and Braves. He pitched a career-high 63 games last season with Atlanta, going 3-5 with a 4.29 ERA. He throws a split-fingered fastball in addition to his two-seam and four-seam fastballs.
The Braves released Freeman on March 22, toward the end of spring training. He signed a minor league contract with the Angels six days later. Freeman allowed nine hits, three runs, six walks and struck out seven batters in nine innings (five games) with Salt Lake. He becomes the only left-hander in the Angels’ bullpen.
ALSO
Pitcher Tyler Skaggs (sprained left ankle) threw a 40-pitch bullpen and took part in fielding drills. Afterward, he told Ausmus “I’m ready to roll.” Skaggs is likely to rejoin the Angels’ rotation Friday, Saturday or Sunday in Kansas City, but Ausmus was not ready to say which game Skaggs might start. … Upton hasn’t been cleared to run yet, Ausmus said. … Shohei Ohtani’s first live batting practice is “probably imminent-ish,” Ausmus said.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Felix Peña) vs. Yankees (LHP CC Sabathia), Wednesday, 7 p.m., Fox Sports West, 830 AM
