The Angels have placed 35-year old lefty reliever Scott Downs on the 15-day disabled list due to a gastrointestinal viurs. Downs has pitched in only 2 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Angels and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP. He has given up 1 hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the Angels this year and this will already be his second stint on the D.L. in 2011. The Angels have recalled righty reliever/starter Trevor Bell up from AAA. He got right in on the action last night against the Red Sox as he worked 2 scoreless and hitless innings in which he walked 2 batters and whiffed 1.

The Los Angeles Angels have placed 27-year old switch-hitting starting shortstop Erick Aybar on the 15-day D.L. retroactive to April 4th, due to a strained left oblique muscle. Aybar has played in 3 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 5 for 12 (.417 avg, 1.083 OPS) with 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Angels won’t miss Aybar too much as Maicer Izturis is doing a great job of replacing him so far this year.

27-year old lefty Scott Kazmir got drilled by the Royals yesterday. He pitched 1 2/3 innings and he gave up 5 hits (1 homer), 5 earned runs and he walked 2 batters. Kazmir will likely have a short leash for the Angels this year as he was awful for them in 2010. He pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Angels in 2010 and he was 9-15 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Kazmir probably will get a couple more starts but if things don’t start getting better for him I see the Angels replacing him in the starting rotation by May 1st.

UPDATE: (4/9/2011) - The Angels have placed Scott Kazmir on the 15-day disabled list with a case of lower back stiffness. The Angels have recalled 32-year old righty Matt Palmer to replace him in the starting rotation starting tonight. Palmer pitched in 14 games (1 start) for the Angels last year and he was 1-2 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. He has now pitched in 54 games (14 starts) in his first two years with the Angels and he is 12-4 with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The Angels are hoping that they get the Palmer of 2009 instead of last year’s version.

The Angels have placed six players on the 15-day D.L. to start the 2011 season. Starting 1B Kendrys Morales will start the season on the D.L. as he has been slow to recover from left ankle surgery that he had last year. He also has soreness in his left big toe which has caused him to not be able to do to much in spring training. Rookie Mark Trumbo will replace Morales in the starting lineup until he’s ready to return to action. Righty starting pitcher Joel Pineiro will start the 2011 season on the D.L. due to right shoulder tightness. He will only likely miss a start or two as long as he doesn’t have a setback. Lefty reliever Scott Downs was placed on the D.L. due to a left broken big toe. With Hisanori Takahashi will take over as the Angels’ top lefty in the pen until Downs is ready to return to action. Outfielder Reggie Willits will start the year on the D.L. with a left calf strain. This hurts the Angels as Willits can play everywhere in the outfield. Infielder Freddy Sandoval wasn’t likely going to make the Angels anyway but he starts the year on the D.L. with a left oblique strain. He will likely get sent to the minors after he gets healthy. Righty reliever Bobby Cassevah has a case of right shoulder inflammation which is the reason that he will start the year on the D.L. Like Sandoval, Cassevah will likely start his season in the minors when he returns to health.

Lefty reliever Scott Downs will likely start the 2011 season on the 15-day disabled list due to a broken left big toe. Downs will likely miss between 2-4 weeks due to the injury. The Angels are going to miss Downs but the impact will be lessened a bit if 35-year old lefty Hisanori Takahashi gets off to a good start this year. The Angels were hoping to have a solid tag team from the left side in Downs & Takahashi after being a tad short on that side of the pen lately.

28-year old switch hitting infielder Freddy Sandoval is going to miss the next 6-8 weeks due to a pulled muscle in his side. Sandoval played in 22 games in AAA-ball for the Angels last season and he was 17 of 81 (.210 avg, .573 OPS) with 13 runs scored and 10 RBIs. He has played in 11 games in parts of two years with the Angels and he is 3 of 17 (.176 avg, .458 OPS) with 1 run scored. This was a bad break for Sandoval but the Angels won’t miss him too much as he wasn’t likely going to make the team out of spring training.

26-year old starting shortstop Erick Aybar is likely done for the year with a suspected sports hernia. Aybar has played in 132 games this year for the Angels and he is 132 of 520 (.254 avg, .639 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. It looks as if the Angels are going to give Brandon Wood a lot of P.T. at shortstop the rest of the year.

34-year old righty reliever Scot Shields will likely miss the rest of the season with a strained muscle inside his right forearm. Shields has pitched in 43 games (1 start) for the Angels this year and he is 0-3 with a 5.28 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. His main problem this year was his control as he has walked 34 batters in only 46 innings this year.

The Angels have placed 25-year old righty reliever Rich Thompson on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Thompson has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) this season for the Angels and he is 0-0 with a 1.86 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He has only walked 1 batter while whiffing 9 in 9 2/3 innings for the Angels so he was off to a good start with them this year. The Angels hope that Thompson gets well soon so he can get back to helping the bullpen.

The Angels have lost 31-year old righty starting pitcher Joel Pineiro for the next 6-8 weeks due to a left oblique strain. This is a huge blow to the Angels as they recently acquired Dan Haren to make the starting rotation one of the best in baseball from top to bottom. Pineiro has started 20 games for the Angels this year and he is 10-7 with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The best case scenario has Pineiro coming back for the last couple of weeks in 2010.