Return of Angels slugger Mark Trumbo delayed again

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Mark Trumbo said Wednesday that the stress fracture in his right foot will take about five months to heal, an extended timetable that will push the Angels slugger’s rehabilitation right up to the start of spring training in late February.

When Trumbo was first diagnosed with the injury in late September, he said he hoped to resume baseball activities by mid-November. But after being examined by Dr. Philip Kwong, a foot-and-ankle specialist, on Nov. 11, Trumbo was told to rest the foot for at least another month.

But that timetable has been pushed back even further. The only running Trumbo has done is in a swimming pool, and he remains several weeks away from baseball activities.

The snag will delay a potential move from first base to third for Trumbo, who hit 29 home runs and drove in 87 runs as a rookie in 2011 but has been pushed off first base by the signing of Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $250-million deal.

‘I don’t think I had a complete picture of the extent of the injury when we first talked about this in late September,’ Trumbo said. ‘It takes about five months to completely heal. But I’m about 3 1/2 months in, we’ve been adding more and more activities, and everything is right where it needs to be.’

With Pujols at first and first baseman Kendrys Morales potentially returning from a broken left ankle that has sidelined him for 1 1/2 years, Trumbo, the team’s most dangerous hitter last season, could be fighting for at-bats at designated hitter and third base this season.

His name has popped up in trade rumors, ‘but I’m not scouring [the Internet] for the latest information,’ Trumbo said. ‘I’m an Angel, and I’m committed to this team.’

His focus is on getting healthy, but ‘putting a date’ on a projected return ‘hasn’t done me much good,’ Trumbo said. ‘I’ll be ready when I’m ready.’

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-- Mike DiGiovanna