On Friday, the Los Angeles Angels announced that left fielder Justin Upton is expected to miss 8-12 weeks after injuring his toe during Sunday's spring training finale against the Dodgers. Upton suffered the injury running into the outfield wall at Angel Stadium while attempting to chase down a flyball when he jammed his foot into the cement below the padding.
Justin Upton is expected to be out 8-12 weeks, per Brad Ausmus. They just got further evaluation from a doctor. #Angels
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) March 30, 2019
#Angels Justin Upton is out 8-12 weeks. “Can we withstand it? We have to. We have no choice,” manager Brad Ausmus said.
— Maria Torres (@maria_torres3) March 30, 2019
The initial expectation was Upton would miss three weeks, but after further testing, manager Brad Ausmus confirmed that he'd be out longer than originally expected. The official diagnosis is turf toe, which is sprain of the main joint of the big toe. The most recent timetable puts Upton's return sometime between late May and late June.
Upton, 31, is in the second year of a five-year, $106 million contract. Last year, he hit 30 home runs with a team-leading 85 RBI and had a .808 OPS over 145 games last season.
Billy Eppler said he does not anticipate the Angels making additional moves outside of the organization to supplement their outfield depth, even with Justin Upton now out 8-12 weeks.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 30, 2019
Peter Bourjos, who started in left on Opening Day, is expected to split time with Brian Goodwin while Upton is on the injured list.
The Angels will also be without two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani through April as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Plus, Los Angeles' rotation still has a lot of question marks as the season gets underway. Andrew Heaney opened the season on the 10-day IL with elbow soreness, and Ausmus noted that he's "a little concerned" about the issue.
The injuries will force the Angels to test their depth right away, and it'll be tough considering the club faces four 2018 playoff teams (Athletics, Brewers, Cubs, Yankees) in their first month of the season. In an American League West dominated by the Houston Astros, the Angels won't want to end up falling behind early on.
