Finley Is Healthy, and It Shows

In his first game back from the disabled list, center fielder Steve Finley gave the Angels a glimpse of the player he believes he can be now that his right shoulder, injured in the third game of the season, is sound.

Finley singled off the right-field wall in the third inning Thursday, and in the bottom of the third, he sprinted about 100 feet into the left-center field gap to catch Juan Castro’s drive in front of the wall. Then, in the fifth inning, Finley doubled off the wall in right to score the Angels’ first run.

“I haven’t been terrible this season, but I haven’t been capable of doing what I’m able to do,” said Finley, who began Thursday’s game with a .225 average. “I don’t settle for mediocrity. I’ll do everything I can to get back to where I should be.”

There was speculation in the first half that Finley’s bat had slowed, that age had caught up to the 40-year old, but when Finley revealed in late June that his shoulder had been hurting, the Angels believed there was an explanation for his struggles.

“Hopefully his shoulder will allow him to drive the ball the way we know he can,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Everything looks good, but this is only one hurdle. The real test is how he holds up over the course of time.”

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Orlando Cabrera, sidelined by an inflamed right elbow, took about 70 swings in early batting practice, the first time the shortstop has hit live pitching since going on the disabled list July 2. Cabrera also threw and ran the bases and is confident he’ll return when he is eligible to be activated Saturday.

“It’s getting better and better, and that has given me a lot of confidence,” Cabrera said. “There have been no setbacks.”

Cabrera also found time to throw during a whirlwind trip over the All-Star break to his native Colombia, where his foundation funded the restoration of numerous streets in the Los Caracoles neighborhood of Cartagena, where Cabrera grew up. “I had to be there to cut the ribbon with my wife,” Cabrera said.

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Garret Anderson was in his usual left-field spot in Thursday’s original lineup but was moved to designated hitter after experiencing lower-back stiffness in batting practice. Juan Rivera, the original DH, played left field.

“It doesn’t bother him when he swings,” Scioscia said, “but running on the [artificial] turf might hurt.”

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The Angels agreed to terms on a $600,000 signing bonus with second-round pick Ryan Mount, a shortstop who hit .440 with five home runs and 20 runs batted in at Chino Ayala High. Baseball America, in its best-tools list, ranked Mount as having the third-strongest arm in the recent draft.

The Angels are believed to be less than $100,000 apart in negotiations with top pick Trevor Bell, the Crescenta Valley High pitcher who is seeking a bonus of about $1 million. Bell was the 37th overall selection in the draft.

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The Angels thought enough of reliever Pedro Borbon during a workout in Texas in late June to sign the 37-year-old left-hander to a minor league contract. Borbon, who last pitched in the major leagues for St. Louis in 2003, reported to double-A Arkansas and threw a scoreless inning against San Antonio in his first appearance Wednesday night.... Angel shortstop prospect Brandon Wood hit his 30th home run Wednesday to set a Class-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes’ single-season record. With 51 games left, Wood is on pace for 47 homers.