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    Pro Sports
    Saturday, April 27, 2024

    Baseball notes

    Mike Trout of the Angels stands in the dugout during a game against the Indians on August 4 at Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

    Trout goes on 10-day DL

    Mike Trout has landed on the disabled list with an inflamed right wrist, something the Los Angeles Angels had hoped to avoid.

    The move announced Friday is retroactive to Monday, when Trout received a cortisone injection in his wrist. The two-time AL MVP has missed seven consecutive games, the second-longest injury absence of his big league career.

    Trout hasn't played since Aug. 1, when he hurt his wrist during a feet-first slide into third base in Tampa Bay.

    Trout was out for 39 games last season after tearing a ligament in his left thumb in a headfirst slide.

    Manager Mike Scioscia initially didn't think Trout would need to go on the DL.

    Dodgers place Jansen on DL

    Kenley Jansen spent the day in the doctor's office getting checked out for an irregular heartbeat.

    The conclusion: Nothing definitive yet.

    The Los Angeles Dodgers closer was placed on the 10-day disabled list Friday and manager Dave Roberts wasn't sure if his absence would be 10 days or possibly even closer to a month — like it was when the right-hander landed on the DL for the same thing seven years ago.

    "I'm hoping as soon as I can to get something, just for my peace of mind, the guys on the field — our peace of mind," Roberts said. "His health is most important. Whatever they have to do, the doctors have to do, to protect him.

    "I know there are things out there as far as a timeline. I haven't heard definitive as far as any time."

    Jansen was at the hotel before the game Thursday against the Colorado Rockies and didn't feel right. He was taken to a Denver hospital for tests and then sent back to Los Angeles for more evaluation.

    When Jansen dealt with an irregular heartbeat in 2011, he was sidelined about a month due to his blood thinning medication. Roberts wasn't sure if Jansen would need the medication again.

    "If he does, that's a four-to-six week thing," Roberts said. "I'm not sure what the protocol is right now."

    In 2012, Jansen was out again after suffering an irregular heartbeat during an Aug. 27 appearance in Colorado. He underwent a procedure on his heart on Oct. 23, 2012, to return it to normal rhythm.

    The 30-year-old Jansen is tied for the NL lead with 32 saves. In his absence, Roberts will use a closer-by-committee approach. Scott Alexander finished out the ninth in an 8-5 win over the Rockies on Thursday.

    "If I look at Scott right now, and look at our pen, he's our highest-leverage reliever," Roberts said. "At what part of the game is that most impactful to deploy him? That's kind of how I'll approach it. After that, to get the last three outs of the game, figure out who matches up best."

    Roberts said all eight of his relievers are available to close on any given night.

    "That's my story and I'm sticking to it," Roberts said.

    To take Jansen's place on the roster, the Dodgers recalled switch-handed pitcher Pat Venditte from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 33-year-old Venditte has allowed four runs over 4 1/3 innings in five appearances.

    Loaiza pleads guilty to drug charges

    Former All-Star pitcher Esteban Loaiza, who earned more than $43 million over 14 seasons, pleaded guilty Friday to federal drug charges in California.

    Loiza acknowledged that he possessed about 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of cocaine with intent to distribute. He faces up a minimum of 10 years in a prison and maximum of life when he is sentenced Nov. 2.

    Loaiza, 46, was under surveillance when he was arrested in February near a house in Imperial Beach, which borders Tijuana, Mexico. His sliver Mercedes SUV had just left the garage when authorities confronted him.

    After a canine sniffed drugs in the SUV, authorities obtained a search warrant for the house and found the cocaine in 20 packages in the compartment of a Nissan parked in the garage. Loaiza admitted in a plea agreement that he transferred the drugs from one vehicle to the other.

    Loaiza attorney, Janice Deaton, declined to speak with reporters after leaving the courthouse.

    The hurler played for several U.S. teams between 1995 and 2008, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. He had a 21-9 record with the White Sox in 2003 and started in the All-Star Game that year.

    Born in Tijuana, Loaiza became a celebrity in his native country after marrying the late Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera. The "Diva de la Banda" was considered to be the most successful female singer in grupero, a male-dominated Mexico regional style, selling more than 15 million records, and acting in reality television before she was killed in a plane crash in 2012.

    Rivera filed for divorce shortly before her death, ending their two-year marriage.

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