Angels’ C.J. Wilson likely out for season with surgery for bone spurs

Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson held up his left arm and tried to bend it. It didn’t bend much. Then he tried to straighten it. It didn’t straighten much.

He had reached the point, he said, where he no longer could pitch this season. An MRI revealed bone spurs on all sides of his elbow. Barring a different opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache or Dr. James Andrews, Wilson said he’ll require surgery and miss the rest of the season.

Wilson said an MRI earlier this year showed bone spurs, and he pitched through the condition for the entire season. But he kept losing range of motion.

“There’s nothing much I can really do,” Wilson said. “I don’t have a good knuckleball.”

Manager Mike Scioscia said it was obvious from Wilson’s four-inning, six-run start on Tuesday that he was struggling with the elbow.

He said if the surgery is “the direction that he goes, then obviously there’s a need for C.J. to contemplate whatever his options are.”

The loss of Wilson should not jolt the Angels significantly. Right-hander Jered Weaver is expected to return from a hip injury next week. The team should need a replacement starter only once, on Sunday.

“I think our rotation is still going to be intact,” Scioscia said. “I think it will still be as strong as it was in the first half.”

The injury will, however, make it difficult to trade Wilson this winter, which is believed to be the Angels’ intent. The Angels have promising young pitchers in Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker, Hector Santiago and Nick Tropeano. Tyler Skaggs will return from Tommy John surgery next year, and Weaver will be back.

A healthy Wilson, a consistent veteran left-hander, would’ve been a valuable trade chip.

Wilson has dealt with bone spurs for much of his career. He had a similar surgery in 2008 and 2012 and recovered well. In 2013, he went 17-7 with a 3.39 earned-run average.

He said doctors ruled out a return to the bullpen later this season.

“You just run out of gas and the tank’s empty,” Wilson said. “In this case, there’s no more elbow left to expire.”

Follow Zach Helfand on Twitter @zhelfand