Stoneman has few regrets on winter ball

Though outfielder Juan Rivera suffered a broken leg in Venezuela, an injury that could sideline him for the first half of the season, and first baseman Kendry Morales suffered a minor knee injury in the Dominican Republic, the Angels have no plans to adopt a hard stance against winter ball.

“Some players get a lot out of winter ball, and you don’t want to take that away,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Like Francisco Rodriguez -- he loves to pitch winter ball, and he’s come into camp [in great shape] because of it. We monitor what he does, and it’s been a plus.”

The Angels limit Rodriguez, their closer, to three outings a week, one inning at a time, in Venezuela, and they limit his number of back-to-back appearances.

The Angels blocked Ervin Santana, Kelvim Escobar, Bartolo Colon and Vladimir Guerrero from playing this off-season, but Rivera did not reach the fatigue threshold of 500 at-bats required for the Angels to block him.

Rivera collided with a pitcher covering first base and broke a bone in his left leg in December, an injury that required surgery. Morales hurt his knee in January but has been cleared to begin workouts today.

“In Juan’s case, you’re asking me to second-guess,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said. “If he came out of winter ball healthy, we’re probably happy he did it. The guys who don’t reach the fatigue thresholds are guys you usually want to get more at-bats and innings pitched.”

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The Angels and FSN West took a serious bite out of Steve Physioc’s and Rex Hudler’s air time, announcing Wednesday that a second broadcast team of Jose Mota and former big-league pitcher Mark Gubicza will work 50 of the team’s 150 telecasts on FSN West and Channel 13.

Physioc and Hudler will return for their eighth season but will work 100 games, down from 150 games last season.

“This keeps everyone fresh,” said Tim Mead, Angels vice president of communications.

Mota, who has spent five years in the Angels’ Spanish-language radio booth, will assume play-by-play duties, and Gubicza, who has done studio work for FSN West, will offer color commentary.

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Escobar was traveling to Phoenix and did not arrive in time for his physical. The right-hander will undergo a physical this morning and then join Angels pitchers and catchers for their first workout.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com