Weaver set to return to rotation Thursday
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jered Weaver is back in the Angels' starting rotation.
After throwing a full bullpen session Monday afternoon at Angel Stadium, the right-hander pronounced himself fit to start, and manager Mike Scioscia said he penciled in Weaver as the Angels' starter Thursday afternoon against the Oakland A's.
The operative word is "penciled."
The Angels will wait to see if Weaver feels any shoulder discomfort in the next couple of days, but at this point it appears he'll make his first start since Sept. 2.
"We don't have a crystal ball, but we're not anticipating anything," Scioscia said before the Angels faced the Oakland A's in the opener of a four-game series. "The way he felt today, we're very confident he's going to be able to answer the bell on Thursday. If something comes up in the next day or two, we can still adjust from that."
Weaver (16-4, 2.86 ERA) missed one start because of tendinitis in his shoulder but had a productive, pain-free 49-pitch session. Although he conceded he doesn't expect to be at 100 percent the rest of the season, he feels well enough to resume pitching.
"I didn't feel any bite at all, and I felt good in the bullpen," he said. "It was a step in the right direction. A little break has definitely helped out."
Scioscia also named Jerome Williams as his starting pitcher for Tuesday night, citing the right-hander's recent outings and Garrett Richards' strong work in relief as reasons for his decision. He had been considering Williams, Richards and Barry Enright, who was recalled recently from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Williams was an early season starter but lost his job after dropping five consecutive starts. Although he hasn't started a game since July 19, he's thrown three scoreless innings in four appearances out of the bullpen.
"Jerome has been throwing the ball well out of the ‘pen," Scioscia said. "I think it's a natural for him to go out there. Garrett has a well-defined role in our bullpen now, and we wouldn't want to affect what our bullpen is doing."
How much Williams can give the Angels is unknown. He hasn't pitched more than five innings since Aug. 11 and hasn't thrown as many as six innings since his last start.
"It doesn't affect anything," he said. "I'll just take the ball and go out there and try to go as long as I can."
Scioscia said, "We'll see how far he can take us. He'll have enough pitches to get deep enough into the game. It's not like he's going to be on a 60-pitch limit. He should be able to get into the fifth or sixth inning if he's pitching to the level he can."
Meanwhile, Weaver is hopeful he's past any concerns about his shoulder, although throwing at 100 percent isn't realistic at this point in the season.
"I don't think any pitcher is pitching at 100 percent right now," he said. "To get back to 90-95 percent would be great, and it felt better today, so it was good."