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.

Angels’ Justin Upton day-to-day with toe sprain

Justin Upton gave the Los Angeles Angels a reason to be concerned after exiting Sunday’s Spring Training game, though he seems to be OK.

Upton exited after running into the wall during the Angels’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Angels later said that Upton has a left big toe sprain and is day-to-day.

Justin Upton left today's game with a left big toe sprain. He is considered day-to-day.

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) March 25, 2019

Upton is coming off his first full season with the Angels. He batted .257 with 30 homers last season in 145 games. He’s set to share the outfield with Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun once again.

Justin Upton on DL after cutting finger on broken wine glass

Justin Upton was placed on the 10-day DL because of a laceration on his finger, and now we know what led to the injury.

The OC Register’s Jeff Fletcher reported on Tuesday that Upton cut his finger on a broken wine glass.

Upton said he cut his finger on a broken wine glass at his home in Arizona on Sunday night. He got 4 stitches. #Angels

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 21, 2018

That explains why he did not play on Sunday.

The 30-year-old outfielder was acquired by the Angels in a trade last season. They signed him to a 5-year, $108 million contract after the year. He has batted .267 with 26 home runs and an .826 OPS this season — inline with his career averages.

The Angels recalled Jabari Blash in a corresponding move.

Justin Upton leaves game after being hit on hand

Justin Upton left Thursday’s Los Angeles Angels-Tampa Bay Rays game after being hit by a pitch on the hand.

Upton was batting against Chris Archer with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. Archer was trying to go inside and nailed Upton around the left hand with a 95 mph fastball.

Upton was bent over cradling his left arm after being hit and received medical attention. He was taken out of the game and replaced by Chris Young, who ran for him at first.

Upton was 1-for-1 with a walk in the game. He’s batting .267 with six doubles and 11 home runs on the season. He’s a middle-of-the-order hitter for the Angels, and any length of absence would hurt the team.

UPDATE: X-rays on his hand were negative, and the Angels say Upton is day-to-day.

Justin Upton reveals ‘sketchy’ free agent experience

Justin Upton signed a five-year deal to return to the Los Angeles Angels early on in the winter, but even he wasn’t immune to the suspect free agent market.

In an in-depth interview with Pedro Moura of The Athletic that ran Thursday, the four-time All-Star outfielder discussed his bizarre free agency experience.

“Every team wants you at their price,” he said. “I will say this, and I don’t give a f— if you write it or not: I had a stretch in free agency where, within a week, every team called and offered me a one-year deal. After eight years of pretty good baseball. In my mind, that’s really, really, really sketchy and weird.

“It was somewhere between seven and 10 teams I heard about from my agent,” Upton continued when pressed further. “It’s like, a one-year deal? I feel like I’ve done pretty damn good. Maybe I should shut it down.”

In the full interview, Upton further mentioned how teams would call him and tell him what he didn’t do well in order to justify a lower contract offer. He also discussed why he believes that the free agent-courting process is dead.

The 30-year-old Upton, who reached career-highs with 35 home runs and 109 RBIs last season, did re-sign with the Angels for five years and $106 million at the start of November. But his greater point still remains: teams curiously played extreme hardball with the free agent class this offseason, which led to quality talents like Eric Hosmer and Yu Darvish not signing until February. Meanwhile, others like Jake Arrieta and Mike Moustakas are still looking for employment even now that it is March with Opening Day just a month away.

The frigid market has created some serious bad blood between representatives from both sides, and now Upton is giving us an idea of just how ticked off the players themselves are at this winter’s developments as well.

Mike Trout, Justin Upton react to Shohei Ohtani news

It’s safe to say that many of the Angels’ players are pumped about the team landing Japanese star Shohei Ohtani.

Just when the news was announced that Ohtani had picked the Angels, Mike Trout sent the following tweet:

— Mike Trout (@MikeTrout) December 8, 2017

Justin Upton, who was acquired by the team in a trade last season and signed a new extension with the club, had this reaction:

So pumped right now…@Angels pic.twitter.com/XeJEMHBImH

— Justin Upton (@JUST_JUP) December 8, 2017

The Angels had a major need for an ace, and they also needed to add some power this offseason. They may have addressed both by landing Ohtani.

The club will have to figure out what to do with Kole Calhoun (RF), CJ Cron (1B/DH), and Albert Pujols (DH) considering Ohtani will likely want to play right field or DH, but that should be the easy part.

The Angels now look a heck of a lot more like a playoff contender after going just 80-82 last season despite having the best player in baseball on their team. And with Ohtani coming so cheaply, the Angels can probably afford to continue being aggressive in free agency.

Justin Upton to sign new five-year deal with Angels

The Los Angeles Angels’ August trade for Justin Upton was not for naught.

The Angels and Upton agreed on a one-year extension to his existing contract. Upton was under contract for $88 million over the next four seasons but could have opted out of his deal this offseason. Instead, the Angels gave him a fifth year, so he’s set to earn $105 million over the next five years, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. That gives him an additional $17 million guaranteed.

Upton’s new deal also reportedly contains a full no-trade clause, according to Jon Morosi.

The Angels acquired Upton from the Tigers just before the waiver trade deadline passed in August and sent Grayson Long and Elvin Rodriguez to Detroit in return. Though Upton did fine in his limited action for the Angels, the move did not pay off as the Angels finished 80-82 and didn’t come close to making the playoffs.

Upton, 30, is coming off arguably his best season as a pro. He batted .273 with a .901 OPS, 35 home runs and 109 RBIs.