Salmon Getting Unwanted Rest

Tim Salmon was put on the 15-day disabled list Friday retroactive to April 23 because of a strained ligament in his left foot, an injury the right fielder hopes, with proper rest, will not become a recurring problem.

“I didn’t want to go on the DL,” said Salmon, who suffered an Achilles’ problem in his right foot last season. “But I’d rather miss two weeks now than a month and a half later.”

Salmon, batting .279 with a team-leading seven home runs, took batting practice Friday and launched several balls into the outfield seats, but he still can’t run at full strength.

“He only knows one way to play,” Manager Terry Collins said. “To bring him back and tell him not to run out balls hard, that’s not Tim Salmon.”

Salmon, who had two cortisone shots last week, already has missed eight games and is eligible to be activated Friday, but he couldn’t predict whether he’ll be ready by then.

“I’ll rest and do all the treatments, but I don’t know how my body will heal,” Salmon said. “This may nag at me all season. The key now is to be patient, because I don’t want it to be a recurring thing.”

Salmon’s spirits were at least bolstered by the return of the Angels, who went 6-1 without their best player in Tampa Bay, Baltimore and Boston.

“The weirdest thing was sitting home and watching everyone play,” Salmon said. “You talk about feeling left out. . . . I listened to [Thursday’s] game on the radio. It was so bizarre--I was trying not to go insane. The saving grace was they did well and started to swing the bats.”

The Angels replaced Salmon on the roster with left-handed reliever Greg Cadaret, who had not given up an earned run in 10 innings at triple-A Vancouver. Collins wanted a third left-handed reliever--and a 12th pitcher--to guard against overworking Mike Holtz, who has a team-high 14 appearances.

*

The annual trade rumor of Garret Anderson/Jim Edmonds for a pitcher heated up much earlier than usual this season with a recent ESPN report that the Angels would like to recall hot-hitting third baseman Troy Glaus from double-A Midland in June, move Dave Hollins from third to first, Darin Erstad from first to the outfield and deal Edmonds or Anderson for a front-line pitcher.

“There’s absolutely nothing to that,” Collins said. “It was bull.”

Don’t think the rumors didn’t reach the Angel clubhouse, though.

“Oh, I’m being traded again?” Edmonds said. “I hope it’s to a place that has shorter fences. I don’t worry about that stuff anymore. It always turns out to be rumor.”

Still . . .

“I can’t ever say that I’m untouchable,” Edmonds said. “They’ve always told me they’d only trade me for a front-line pitcher. I brace myself for it because some day it may happen. It’s a business, that’s how I look at it.”

*

An MRI test Friday on reliever Troy Percival showed some inflammation in his right elbow, but the closer was cleared to pitch Friday night. . . . Further tests, including a bone scan, on pitcher Jack McDowell revealed no structural damage in his right elbow. McDowell was put on the 15-day disabled list Thursday because of an inflamed elbow. . . . After a week of extended spring training games in Arizona, second baseman Randy Velarde and catcher Todd Greene will begin their minor league rehabilitation assignments Monday at Class-A Lake Elsinore. Velarde, recovering from elbow surgery, will play the field, but Greene, recovering from shoulder surgery, will be limited to designated hitter for at least a week.

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The two games against the New York Yankees that were postponed when Yankee Stadium was closed have been rescheduled. The April 13 game will be made up Aug. 24. The April 14 game will be made up as part of a doubleheader Aug. 26.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ CHUCK FINLEY (4-0, 1.54 ERA)

vs.

WHITE SOX’S MIKE SIROTKA (4-1, 3.60 ERA)

Edison Field, 7 p.m.

TV--Fox Sports West. Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Finley, who has a franchise-record 14-game winning streak dating to last season, on Friday was named American League pitcher of the month for the fourth time in his career. The left-hander leads the league in innings pitched (46 2/3) and earned-run average, but perhaps his most impressive statistic is that right-handers are batting only .184 against him. Opponents are batting .208 overall against Finley. Last weekend in Tampa Bay, Angel designated hitter Cecil Fielder aggravated the right thumb injury that sidelined him for two months of the 1997 season, but it hardly showed--he had five two-hit games and nine RBIs during the seven-day trip.

Tickets--(714) 634-2000.