Angels lose Justin Upton for 8-12 weeks after wall collision in spring training
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Justin Upton is expected to miss 8-12 weeks after injuring his toe during Sunday’s spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, manager Brad Ausmus announced.
Upton suffered the injury after running into the outfield wall at Angel Stadium while attempting to chase down a flyball.
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Justin Upton is expected to be out 8-12 weeks, per Brad Ausmus. They just got further evaluation from a doctor. #Angels
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) March 30, 2019
The wall collision appeared mild. However, Upton ended up jamming his foot into the cement below the padding. The official diagnosis is turf toe, which is a sprain of the main joint of the big toe.
The timetable suggests Upton will miss at least the first two months of the regular season.
Upton, 31, is in the second year of a five-year, $106 million contract. He hit 30 home runs with 85 RBIs over 145 games last season.
His presence will be missed, especially with the Angels’ offense already shorthanded. They will be without Shohei Ohtani through April as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. The injuries will force Mike Trout to carry a heavier load, which he did in Friday’s 6-2 win against the A’s by contributing two hits and two RBIs.
In the long run, it will also give opponents less incentive to challenge the perennial MVP candidate. That will put some pressure on the Angels role players to step up. Otherwise it could be a rough start for their offense.
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