BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Gonzales Put on 15-Day Disabled List

Infielder Rene Gonzales, the Angels’ most consistent player offensively and defensively, was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a fractured left forearm, injured when he was hit by a Jaime Navarro pitch in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s game. To replace him on the roster, the Angels purchased the contract of infielder Damion Easley from triple-A Edmonton. Easley will join the team today in Oakland.

Gonzales was hitting .368 in August and .277 overall, second to Luis Polonia among the Angels’ regulars. His 38 runs batted in rank second behind Junior Felix’s team-leading 56.

“This is the worst feeling I’ve ever had. I’ve never been hurt or DL’d and I’ve never had to come out of a game,” said Gonzales, whose wrist will be immobilized at least two weeks. “Just another freaky thing.”

Easley, a graduate of Lakewood High School hit .289 for the Trappers with three homers and 44 RBIs in 108 games. He started 102 games at shortstop--committing 29 errors in 501 total chances--and six at third, all in the past week or so.

“You hate to see anything like this happen to somebody like Rene, who worked so hard to get the opportunity he was given,” said Marcel Lachemann, who is expected to manage one more game while interim Manager John Wathan attends his father’s funeral. “Plus, he’s been an inspirational guy for us.”

Reliever Bryan Harvey will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow today, a procedure he hopes will end the tightness and pain he has felt since May. “They’re going in looking for (bone) chips,” he said. “They’re going to clean it up and I hope I’ll be ready to go in January.”

Milwaukee’s Robin Yount was 0 for 10 in the series and remains stalled at 2,973 hits. He is 4 for 31 in August, and 29 for 160 in his last 44 games. . . . Gary DiSarcina’s second-inning single Wednesday produced his eighth RBI of August, his highest one-month total. However, he was 3 for 29 before that hit. . . . A New York TV station resurrected the rumor that the Yankees would acquire Jim Abbott from the Angels, this time for outfielder Mel Hall and first base prospect J.T. Snow, the International League’s batting leader. That’s unlikely for several reasons, chiefly because Abbott would have to clear waivers for a deal to be made and Abbott--a talented, young left-hander--would surely be claimed if he were placed on waivers. “I would like to be here. I don’t know why these rumors keep popping up,” Abbott said.