LOS ANGELES -- Angels slugger Troy Glaus, a three-time All-Star and this year's AL home run leader, will have surgery on his right shoulder Friday and might miss the rest of the season.
The 2002 World Series MVP was limited to 91 games last season
because of a shoulder injury he sustained while trying to make a
diving catch.
Glaus was taken out of the lineup in New York last Wednesday.
The third baseman had been the Angels' designated hitter recently
because of a sore shoulder.
Glaus has hit 11 home runs in only 108 at-bats this season.
The surgery will be performed by Angels team physician Dr. Lewis
Yocum to repair fraying of the labrum and rotator cuff.
Glaus was placed on the 60-day disabled list on Tuesday.
"I don't think there's any time frame on this," Angels manager
Mike Scioscia said. "It's going to hinge on what Dr. Yocum finds
when he goes in there."
Glaus will join outfielder Garret Anderson, designated hitter
Tim Salmon, first baseman Darin Erstad and reliever Brendan Donnelly on a crowded Angels' disabled list.
Despite the injuries, the Angels have a 25-13 record -- the best
in baseball -- and a 2½-game lead over Texas in the AL West.
General manager Bill Stoneman said Glaus hopes to be playing
again this year.
"It's a little bit early to be speculating on that," Stoneman
said. "Rehab on normal rotator cuff and labrum stuff would suggest
somewhere around season's end. But who knows? The doc's going to be
going in there on Friday. I'm sure we'll be getting some
information from him to guide us a little bit."
Glaus, 27, was hitting .296 with 29 runs scored and 28 RBIs.
Twenty of his 32 hits were for extra bases, and he reached double
figures in home runs in his 24th game -- fastest in club history.
"Hopefully we'll get Troy back to where he needs to be,"
Scioscia said. "I think it's come to a point where he felt
something had to be done for him to do the things he needs to do on
the field. We hoped he would be able to swing the bat through this.
He had discomfort. He felt something needs to be done."
Scioscia said the Angels have several options at third base, but
added: "Our depth is on the field. Chone Figgins has played there,
Shane Halter, Alfredo Amezega. We have some guys we know can do a
job down there. We'll just have to keep going. We've done all right
with guys we've had out of the lineup. Hopefully we can continue to
do the job."
Said Stoneman: "You don't always hope you're going to need the
depth, at least not to the extent that we've used it. Hopefully
they'll keep playing the way they've been playing with some of the
big boys out. We are playing decent baseball right now, winning a
lot of ballgames."
The third overall selection in the 1997 amateur draft, Glaus hit
an AL-leading 47 homers in 2000. In the 2002 World Series, he hit
.385 with three homers and eight RBIs to lead the Angels past the
San Francisco Giants in seven games.
Glaus has a career batting average of .254 with 175 homers and
501 RBI in 798 games. His homer total is the fourth-highest in
franchise history.