Torn Elbow Ligament Ends Osuna’s Season

Dodger right-handed relief pitcher Antonio Osuna is out for the season and probably most of next season after he was found to have a partial tear to the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow following a MRI examination Friday.

Osuna is considering his future, but he must undergo surgery again if he wants to continue his career, team officials said. Osuna has an option for next season at $1.5 million, but the Dodgers won’t pick it up, according to team sources.

Osuna was examined by team physician Ralph Gambardella and Angel physician Lewis Yocum after experiencing stiffness in the elbow after a rehabilitation assignment with Class-A San Bernardino on Wednesday in Modesto.

Osuna, 0-0 with a 7.71 earned-run average in five relief appearances for the Dodgers this season, had surgery May 20 to remove a bone spur in the elbow. He also had surgery at the end of last season.

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Todd Hundley and Jamie Arnold will appeal the suspensions handed down by National League President Leonard Coleman, resulting from their involvement during the Dodgers’ bench-clearing brawl with Seattle on July 11.

The appeals will be heard Aug. 6, when the Dodgers travel to New York for a four-game series.

But bullpen coach Rick Dempsey will not be able to appeal his suspension, which began Saturday. Dempsey is suspended until Aug. 3, a total of 16 games. It was the largest suspension handed down to any of the seven Mariners or Dodgers suspended in the fracas.

Hundley and Arnold face three- and five-game suspensions, respectively.

Manager Davey Johnson, who had two “10- to 15-minute” telephone conversations with Coleman on Friday, said Dempsey was not fighting but trying to protect other Dodger players from getting hurt. “But it appears [Coleman is] holding coaches and managers to a higher standard.”

Dempsey said he was told that Coleman would not change his mind. “Not that he was going to listen to my side anyway, but I didn’t start any fights,” Dempsey said. “But to try and stop things by just telling guys to back off is not going to get the job done.

“The more I say, the more I’ll get in trouble. It’s not fair, but you have to live with it.”

Hundley said he wanted to present his side to National League officials “so we’re all on the same page and have the correct info” regarding what happened and what penalty he receives. He also said the length of Dempsey’s suspension was too severe, “but I guess they’re trying to make an example of him.”

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Johnson said most of his talks with Coleman centered around the league coming up with more definitive rules against fighting.

“We all have the best interests of the game at heart,” Johnson said. “We know fighting does not set a good example for the youths, and that you can lose a player to injury. This is not hockey. But if you see a [teammate] in trouble you go to his aid. We’ll all leave the bench.

“They need to do something to stop things before they start, by giving umpires more leeway, or whatever. If a batter charges the mound he is automatically suspended. If a pitcher drops his glove and motions to the batter he should be automatically ejected.”

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There was good news for the Dodgers. Ismael Valdes, who took a line drive by Angel catcher Matt Walbeck on his right (pitching) hand in Friday’s game, said the swelling had gone down Saturday and he does not expect to miss his next start.

“I still have some soreness,” said Valdes, who could not make a clinched fist Saturday. “And it affects all my pitches, fastball as well as curve. But I didn’t need any X-rays.”

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Tim Salmon is confident he will regain the stroke that helped him hit .347 with seven homers and 25 runs batted in before spraining his left wrist on May 3. Just don’t expect it to come tonight or during the next few days.

“I’m physically not capable of doing more than I’m doing right now,” Salmon said after going 0 for 5 in his return Saturday. “The reason I’m here is to maybe spur someone else in the order, maybe jump-start the lineup. But until I get my swing going, I may not be able to help the team much.”

The Angels are willing to be patient.

“If his wrist is physically able to perform and it’s just a matter of him getting his timing, why not let him do it here?” Manager Terry Collins said. “We know it may be a few days until he feels 100%--he may not feel 100% for the rest of the season--but he can hit. He can play.”

Salmon’s three hits for Class-A Lake Elsinore on Friday weren’t the only determining factors in his early return. He also checked his swing a few times and felt no pain and experienced no pain or stiffness Saturday morning.

“I called him at 9 a.m. [Saturday] and he said he felt good,” Collins said. “I told him he’d better get down here because we have batting practice in an hour and a half.”

Salmon will spend a few games at designated hitter before returning to right field. What will happen the next time a flare is hit to his left?

“If I feel I can make the catch, I’ll slide and make it,” said Salmon, who injured his wrist on such a play. “I won’t hesitate. But I will keep in mind that it has to be a ball right in front of me to attempt it. That’s how I got in trouble the last time.”

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Todd Greene had two hits, including a home run, in his first 14 at-bats for triple-A Edmonton following his July 6 demotion, but his average is the least of his concerns.

“I’m not trying to get hits, I’m just working on things,” said Greene, who was in a five-for-47, 14-strikeout slump when he was sent down. “I’m taking pitches to track them.

“I don’t think my problems are mechanical. I think my swing is fine. It’s more a case of trusting my ability, tracking the ball, and letting the ball get deep [in the hitting zone]. I was struggling, no question. I’ve got to work myself out of it here.”

Greene may be gone, but he doesn’t feel forgotten. The Angels sent their assistant video coordinator on the road with Edmonton to tape Greene’s at-bats. “They’ve made a commitment to me,” Greene said. “That’s good.”

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Collins will meet today with center fielder Jim Edmonds, General Manager Bill Bavasi, Yocum, trainer Ned Bergert and batting instructor Rod Carew to determine a course of action for Edmonds, who is on the verge of starting a minor league rehabilitation assignment after surgery on his right shoulder in April. “We’re doing this so when we leave this room, there’s no doubt where we’re heading,” Collins said. “I want him back and he wants to come back, but we may have to pull the reins back a bit.” . . . To make room for Salmon, the Angels designated utility player Tim Unroe for assignment.