BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Valenzuela Feared Unlimited Stint in Minors, Agent Says

Fernando Valenzuela, who was released by the Angels Friday, rejected the club’s plan for his rehabilitation because no limit was set on the length of his stay in the minor leagues, Valenzuela’s agent, Tony DeMarco, said Saturday.

Valenzuela was put on the disabled list June 13 after tests detected a problem with the blood flow in an artery leading to his heart. The 30-year-old left-hander received medical clearance to resume pitching Monday.

Valenzuela had sought a 20-day rehabilitation assignment, which would have required he be reinstated on the major league roster afterward. The Angels favored a 30-day plan.

DeMarco said Saturday the Angels never told him of that plan. If he had been told a specific number of days, he said, “something could have been worked out probably” that would have kept Valenzuela with the Angels.

“It’s true we were requesting a comeback for Fernando in 20 days, but he (Dan O’Brien, Angel senior vice president) never put a limit on it,” DeMarco said. “We were looking for a limit and that’s why we didn’t get together. Between 20 and 30 days is not that much of a difference.”

O’Brien said the club was unwilling to set a date for Valenzuela’s major league return as protection in case Valenzuela wasn’t ready on the targeted day.

“All we said is it would take longer than 20 days, and we felt it wasn’t fair to make a commitment to a specific number of days,” O’Brien said from Toronto, where he will attend Tuesday’s All-Star game. “His return would have hinged entirely on his performance.”

DeMarco declined to say whether Valenzuela will accept the Angels’ invitation to pitch for triple-A Edmonton if he clears waivers Wednesday.

Mark Langston (12-3) said he hasn’t heard whether he will start for the American League All-Stars Tuesday.

Langston, who gave up seven runs Friday on three days’ rest, says the Angels’ four-man rotation can succeed. “In August we might have some problems, but in July we have a lot of off-days,” Langston said. “We have four guys who can pitch into the seventh. If we keep the game close, we’re going to win a lot of ballgames.”

Reliever Scott Bailes initially said he sprained his right foot while walking down a corridor near the Angels’ clubhouse. But now the truth is out: The sprain occurred when Bailes jumped into the air in frustration over losing at Ping-Pong. Bailes is eligible to come off the disabled list July 15. . . . Doctors are expected to remove the stitches from Jack Howell’s right index finger today. . . . Dave Winfield’s hitless streak reached 14 at-bats, his longest as an Angel, before he homered to left in the third inning Saturday.