Angels' Mike Trout ready for batting practice on the field

ANAHEIM >> Mike Trout took a big step toward retuing to action, with another coming up today.

Trout swung at 100 percent effort in the batting cage on Thursday, clearing the way for him to take his first swings on the field today, Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“He progressed from soft toss to letting some swings out, which is an important step,” Scioscia said. “Tomorrow he’ll hit on the field and start to get his batting practice underway and see how he responds.”

Trout is just over four weeks removed from surgery to repair a to ligament in his thumb. The initial prognosis was for him to retu six to eight weeks after the surgery, so it seems he’ll be in the early end of that window.

Trout needs to take batting practice on the field against coaches for a few days, and then see some velocity from a pitcher. Presumably, he’d then need a few games in the minors.

Almost back

Bud Norris pitched a scoreless inning for Class-A Inland Empire on Thursday night, with three strikeouts. That could be his only outing in the minors before coming off the disabled list. Norris has been out less than two weeks because of right knee inflammation.

When Norris retus, the Angels bullpen is going to be even deeper and more versatile. Norris was the closer when he got hurt. Cam Bedrosian, Huston Street, Yusmeiro Petit and David Heandez have all recorded saves for the Angels, and Keynan Middleton has certainly pitched well enough to be in the mix for the ninth inning eventually.

“Having another arm who can pitch holding leads or in close games is definitely something that’s going to help us,” Scioscia said. “Bud Norris is another guy we want to add to that mix. We’ll welcome that and we need it.”

Also

Tyler Skaggs, who last week had a setback in his rehab from a strained oblique, underwent an ultrasound on Thursday in Southe Califoia and was cleared to resume his throwing program, General Manager Billy Eppler said. The Angels had hoped Skaggs could retu by next weekend, but they are now targeting a retu later in July...

Matt Shoemaker was sick on Thursday, so his scheduled bullpen session was pushed back. Scioscia said he’s unsure when Shoemaker will be back. After he throws a bullpen session, the Angels will likely set him for a rehab assignment before he can retu to the rotation. ...

Andrelton Simmons was not in the Angels’ lineup on Thursday, with a pre-determined day off. The Angels have had the fewest off days in the majors, so Scioscia said he wants to make sure his players get a chance to “catch your breath.” ...

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Andrew Heaney is leaving for Arizona on Saturday to begin the next phase of his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Heaney is expected to spend at least a month there, throwing and facing hitters in minor league games. ...

Right-hander Jaime Barria, arguably the Angels minor leaguer having the best season, has been selected as the organization’s representative for the Futures Game, to be held on Sunday, July 9, as part of the All-Star Game festivities in Miami. A native of Panama, Barria was selected for the World team roster. Barria, 20, began the season at Class-A Inland Empire, and was promoted to Double-A Mobile. He has a combined ERA of 2.12 over 85 innings with the two clubs. He has allowed 61 hits, to go with 73 strikeouts and 16 walks. ...

Right-hander Troy Scribner was selected for the Triple-A All-Star Game, which will be July 12 in Tacoma. Scribner is 9-2 with a 4.29 ERA at Salt Lake City. ...

Brandon Marsh, one of the Angels top prospects, sprained his thumb sliding head first into a base on Wednesday night with Rookie-level Orem. So far, the Angels don’t believe Marsh needs surgery, Eppler said. He’s listed as day to day. Marsh, the Angels second-round pick in 2016, was off to a 15-for-30 start at Orem...

Thursday marked the 27th anniversary of the day that Feando Valenzuela pitched the second no-hitter of the day in the majors, following Dave Stewart, then with the Oakland A’s. Scioscia, who caught Valenzuela’s game with the Dodgers, said Valenzuela watched the end of Stewart’s game in the video room with him, and made a prediction. “You saw one on TV, and now you’re going to see one in person,” Scioscia recalled Valenzuela saying. “Then he walked down to the bullpen. And he threw a no-hitter.” ...

Today’s Angels game will be shown live via Facebook, the latest in a weekly series of MLB broadcasts streamed live. To view the game, go to facebook.com/mlb.

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