Salmon to Have Surgery After Season

Tim Salmon will undergo surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and biceps tendon in his left shoulder after this season, a procedure that may require up to 10 months to recover from and possibly sideline the reserve outfielder and designated hitter for the first part of 2005.

The Angels announced after the All-Star break that Salmon underwent an MRI test that showed some irritation and wear and tear in the shoulder, but the 35-year-old veteran revealed Wednesday that the exam actually showed tears in three of the four muscles that make up the rotator cuff, as well as a tear in the biceps tendon.

Salmon, whose role has been diminished because of shoulder and knee injuries and the emergence of Chone Figgins, Robb Quinlan and Jeff DaVanon, chose to play through the pain this season and hope for an encouraging prognosis after surgery.

“There are some significant issues, and I’m definitely going to have some work done this winter,” said Salmon, who had surgery on the same shoulder in 2000. “Everything just caught up with me, all those years of grinding it out, compensating for one injury and hurting something else.”

Salmon started at DH Wednesday, his first start in five games, and struck out in all three at-bats. The club’s all-time leader with 290 home runs, Salmon had only nine at-bats in the Angels’ previous nine games.

But he has not complained about playing time, because “physically, I can’t play every day,” Salmon said. “As much as I want to play, physically, I don’t know if it’s possible....

“When I wake up in the morning, I think, ‘How am I going to swing the bat today?’ Then I come to the park, get some treatment, get the blood flowing, and I can swing OK. I want to provide whatever I can, but it’s a catch-22. I want to play more, but rest and recovery between games helps too.”

Salmon, batting .243 with two homers and 22 runs batted in, is under contract next season for $10 million. He said he would not make any kind of decision about his future -- whether to return in 2005 or possibly retire -- until surgery.

“If they have to do some major repair work, it could take eight to 10 months to recover from,” Salmon said. “But if they just have to clean it up ... that may only take five or six months. I hope I can come back next season.”

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Third baseman Troy Glaus, who chose to have surgery on his injured right shoulder in May in hopes of returning as a DH in September, was cleared to begin swinging a bat Wednesday. There is no timetable for his return.

“He feels strong and is very confident the surgery will make his shoulder as strong as it could be,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “But there’s still a huge amount of work that has to happen before he can consider playing.”

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It’s mid-August, and the Angels haven’t even started serious negotiations with Jered Weaver, the Long Beach State right-hander who was the 12th overall pick in the June draft.

“Nothing is going on at all,” said Weaver, who threw more than 150 innings for Long Beach this season. “But I have no concerns. I’m just waiting it out, waiting to see what happens. I needed a break anyway.”

The Angels did not plan for Weaver to pitch in the minor leagues this season, so there is no rush to sign him.