Justin Upton still far from return to Angels

The Los Angeles Angels got a nice boost when Shohei Ohtani made his season debut earlier in May. They will have to wait some time longer before getting Justin Upton back.

Upton has been out since suffering a turf toe injury in the team’s final exhibition series before the start of the regular season. He said Saturday that he is doing some throwing and hitting but has a lot of steps to take before he is ready, according to Angels reporter Jeff Fletcher.

Justin Upton said he can run on about 80 percent of his weight in the Alter G treadmill. He is doing some throwing and hitting. He says he has a lot of steps still to take before he’s ready. #Angels

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) May 18, 2019

Upton has been on the 60-day injured list since April and has always been expected to be out the first 2-3 months of the season. Based on how many steps he has left to take before a return, he probably will not be back for around a month or so.

Upton, 31, is in his third season with the Angels after being acquired in a mid-season trade in 2017. He has batted .255 with an .820 OPS in 172 games with the team.