Anderson Won’t Be Playing the Field

Garret Anderson, who has sat out eight games because of injuries to his left knee and lower back, had what Manager Mike Scioscia called “a great workout” Sunday, hitting soft toss, running and throwing, and his return for Tuesday’s game in Baltimore appears likely.

But Anderson will not play left field right away, and Scioscia acknowledged publicly for the first time Sunday that if Anderson is relegated to designated hitter for an extended period, Darin Erstad could move from first base to the outfield, and Casey Kotchman could take over at first.

“If Garret is a full-time DH, then we’ll strongly consider that move,” Scioscia said. “There are some trade-offs. It would be tougher to get [reserve outfielder Juan] Rivera’s bat in the lineup, and if we commit to Kotchman at first, we wouldn’t have that versatility [to play Rivera more regularly].

“The fact we’d consider moving Erstad to the outfield to get a bat like Kotchman’s into the lineup speaks volumes to the confidence we have in Casey. But a lot of it is contingent on G.A.”

Erstad, a Gold Glove outfielder and first baseman, said his arm is in good enough shape to play the outfield. If he switches positions, the Angels would want the move to be permanent, because Erstad would risk an arm injury going back and forth between the infield and outfield. But the Angels won’t make the switch until they’re convinced Anderson can’t play the outfield.

“We’ll break him in slowly, but as of now, the way he’s coming out of this, we won’t have to pigeonhole him into the DH spot,” Scioscia said of Anderson. “His legs are feeling better than they have all year, and his back feels great.”

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Sunday’s loss to the Red Sox came with a consolation prize: Struggling center fielder Steve Finley ended an 0-for-15 slump with a bloop single in the fifth inning and drove a ball off the right-field wall -- against Boston ace Curt Schilling -- for a run-scoring double in the ninth.

While watching videotape in recent days, Finley, who is batting .217, noticed he was moving too much in the batter’s box, so he has been concentrating on keeping his body still.

“It felt a little goofy doing what I was doing, but I saw the ball a lot better,” said Finley, who also made a nice running catch of Edgar Renteria’s third-inning drive in front of the wall. “I was trying to generate bat speed with movement instead of trusting myself. I didn’t even realize I was doing it until I watched video.”

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Erstad, who before Saturday hadn’t started a game at designated hitter since Aug. 4, 2002, made his second start in a row there Sunday because of a bruised right calf, an injury he suffered when he fouled a pitch off his leg in the first inning Friday night. Erstad expects to return to the field Tuesday.

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Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez provided another Manny-being-Manny moment in the first inning Sunday. Ramirez was so preoccupied with glaring at Boston writers in the press box as he approached the batter’s box that he bumped right into home-plate umpire Tim Welke.

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The Angels optioned reliever Greg Jones to triple-A Salt Lake after the game and are expected to recall catcher Josh Paul or utility infielder Robb Quinlan from a rehabilitation assignment Tuesday. Quinlan, on the disabled list since July 1 because of neck and shoulder injuries, is batting .375 in 14 games at Salt Lake.

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Veteran utility infielder Lou Merloni, who contemplated retirement after surgery to repair ligaments in his right ankle in May, began a minor league rehab assignment with the Angels’ rookie-league team in Mesa, Ariz.