BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Orton Could Be Sidelined for Season

Angel catcher John Orton has been told he has a slightly torn tendon in his right elbow, and the Angels fear he will miss the rest of the season.

Orton was given a magnetic resonance imaging exam by Boston Red Sox physician Arthur Pappas. It showed no major tear, Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said, but Orton may have to undergo exploratory surgery, ending his season.

“Right now, I doubt he’ll be back,” Rodgers said. “It’s a question of what do you do with his arm. You can operate on it, or you can rest it, but the last thing we want him to do is play ball.”

Orton, projected as the Angels’ starting catcher this season, has played in only 37 games. He said he will receive treatment for two more weeks, and if there still is not modest improvement, will consent to surgery. “If it doesn’t get better, something will have to be done,” Orton said. “I want to find out what’s going on more than anybody.”

Considering Orton’s potentially lost season, will the Angels recommend he play winter ball? “I’d like to put John Orton in a cage on top of a barn,” Rodgers said, “so he doesn’t hurt himself.”

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Perhaps the biggest irony of the Kelly Gruber situation is that had the Angels known Gruber would play only 18 games, they never would have released third baseman Gary Gaetti. Gruber came to the Angels from Toronto with a serious neck injury, which the Angels were unaware of.

Instead of having two third veteran basemen, the Angels are paying $3 million to Gaetti--who is playing for Kansas City--and $2.3 million to Gruber--who is scheduled to undergo season-ending neck surgery.

“It’s a mess,” Rodgers said. “I’m not bitter about it, but I’m a realist. We’ve got a screwed-up situation.”

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Pitcher Scott Sanderson, who has lost a career-high eight starts, probably will be removed from the rotation if the Angels fall out of the American League West race, Rodgers said.

“You go with him as long as you think you have a chance to win the division,” Rodgers said. “As long as we feel we have a chance to contend in the division, Scott Sanderson will be part of the rotation.

“We drop out? Now that’s altogether a different matter.”

Sanderson probably would be replaced by Phil Leftwich (6-7, 4.91 ERA) or Mark Holzemer (6-5, 4.09 ERA) of triple-A Vancouver.

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Struggling first baseman J.T. Snow, batting .176 on the trip, was benched Tuesday night. Second baseman Torey Lovullo also was out of the lineup, replaced by Rod Correia, who left 41 tickets for his friends and family. . . . The Angels are uninterested in acquiring third baseman Kevin Seitzer, who recently was released by the Oakland Athletics, Rodgers said.