Vladimir Guerrero strained his left knee Tuesday while playing right
field for just the second time all season and Torii Hunter has been
hindered by sore ribs thanks to various adventures in wall-crashing,
and both players will finish the first half on the sidelines after
being placed on the disabled list this afternoon.
Guerrero has hit .299/.320/.431 since returning from a pectoral injury
in late May, including .351 with two homers and three doubles in his
last nine games. Hunter has career-highs in batting average (.305),
on-base percentage (.380), and slugging percentage (.558) to emerge as
an MVP candidate and make his third All-Star team. In other words, with
the AL West up for grabs the Angels can’t afford to be without them for
long.
Brandon Wood and Bobby Wilson have been called up from Triple-A to replace Guerrero and Hunter on the roster, but Wilson is merely a third catcher and if the past is any indication
Wood will spend most of his time on the bench. Gary Matthews Jr.
figures to patrol center field in Hunter’s absence and Wood will likely
battle Howie Kendrick and Mike Napoli for Guerrero’s at-bats after
hitting .313/.367/.592 with 17 homers and 19 doubles in 70 games at
Triple-A.