Colon won’t return as a reliever

Though Bartolo Colon’s comeback from an elbow injury is something of a summer rerun -- it’s almost a carbon copy of Kelvim Escobar’s 2005 season, when the right-hander missed July and August because of elbow surgery -- it won’t have the same ending as Escobar’s.

The Angels, believing Escobar wouldn’t have time to build up the endurance required to return to the rotation in September 2005, moved the right-hander to the bullpen, where he went 1-0 with a 1.89 earned-run average in nine September appearances and helped the Angels reach the American League Championship Series.

Like Escobar in 2005, Colon, who threw a three-inning, 45-pitch simulated game Tuesday and will probably begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment this weekend, could return in early September. But the Angels have no plans to convert Colon to a reliever.

“I don’t think that’s as much of an option as it was with Kelvim,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Kelvim had experience as a reliever, and we had a big need in the bullpen. Let’s get Bart healthy first, and we’ll see.”

Colon, out since July 24 because of an elbow irritation, took a big step Tuesday, throwing 30 pitches in the bullpen before his simulated game, 75 pitches in all.

The right-hander’s fastball was clocked between 89-92 mph, and “he threw some good sliders and changeups,” pitching coach Mike Butcher said. “He looked good. I liked the way the ball came out of his hand. It was a healthy delivery.”

Weaver vs. Weaver will have to wait. Scioscia’s decision to plug Ervin Santana into the rotation Thursday against Toronto means Jered Weaver will start Friday against Toronto and next Wednesday in Seattle.

Had Weaver not been moved back, he would have been aligned with older brother Jeff Weaver, the Mariners right-hander who is scheduled to pitch Thursday against Texas and next Tuesday against the Angels. Instead of squaring off in Seattle, the brothers will miss each other by a day.

“Dang it,” Jered said Tuesday, before acknowledging he’s not looking forward to pitching against Jeff. “I don’t want to put my parents in that situation. I don’t want my dad to have a heart attack out there. It would be great for history -- I don’t know how many times it’s happened -- but it would be kind of weird for me.”

As the Angels’ backup catcher for five years, Jose Molina had a certain impression of the New York Yankees. After being traded to the Yankees for minor league pitcher Jeff Kennard on July 21, Molina, who started against his ex-team Tuesday night, discovered a wide gap between perception and reality.

“It’s different when you’re on the other side -- you see all these superstars and you think they’d be more quiet, keep to themselves,” Molina said. “But since I’ve been here, it’s been just the opposite. They’re really cool, really good people.”

Though Dustin Moseley kept the Angels in each of the five games he started in place of the injured Colon -- the Angels went 3-2, and Moseley got four no-decisions and a loss in the games -- the right-hander will return to the bullpen today.

A letdown, perhaps?

“Not at all,” Moseley said. “If Ervin can do what he’s capable of, and if Bart comes back, and I can go back to the bullpen, it makes us that much deeper and better of a team.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com