DiSarcina Doubtful for Opening Day

Any hope Angel shortstop Gary DiSarcina had of being ready by opening day was virtually eliminated Tuesday when X-rays showed the broken bone in his left forearm was not fully healed.

DiSarcina, injured when he was struck by a fungo bat on Feb. 21, hoped to have the cast removed and begin rehabilitating his arm this week. Though doctors told him the bone was healing nicely, his forearm and wrist will remain in a cast for at least another week or so.

The initial prognosis called for DiSarcina to remain in a cast for a month, and DiSarcina thought he’d have enough time after that to prepare for the season, but with the April 6 opener less than two weeks away, he acknowledged his chances of returning by then are slim.

“You can’t just take a cast off your arm and be ready to play,” DiSarcina said. “You need time to get the strength and mobility back. The reality is, you look at the X-rays, and it’s still broken. I don’t want to put limitations on my body, but this makes it pretty tough.”

DiSarcina probably will open the season on the disabled list, and utility players Jeff Huson and Andy Stankiewicz are the leading candidates to win the starting shortstop job. DiSarcina said he is not sure how much of the season he will miss.